Inspirational Quotes on Fate

“The young fool might have known his prayers were doomed to fail. Achilles was not kind or tender-hearted, but a man of fierce passions”

“For each man his day stands fixed. For all mankind the days of life are few, and not to be restored. But to prolong fame by deeds, that is valour's task. (Hercules to Pallas)”

“Prophet of evil,' he cried, 'never have you said a word to my advantage. It is always trouble that you revel in foretelling.”

“The powe if fate is something terrible. It cannot be escaped--not with wealth or by war, not with a tower ir a sea-lashed black ship.”

“Sweet relics, sweet so long as God and Destiny allowed, now receive my life-breath, and set me free from this suffering. I have lived my life and finished the course which Fortune allotted me.”

“I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.”

“In ancient tragedy, the action itself has an epic element; it is just as much event as action. This, of course, is because the ancient world did not have subjectivity reflected in itself. Even if the individual moved freely, he nevertheless rested in substantial determinants, in the state, the family, in fate. This substantial determinant is the essential fateful factor in Greek tragedy and is its essential characteristic. The hero's downfall, therefore, is not a result solely of his action but is also a suffering, whereas in modern tragedy the hero's downfall is not really suffering but is a deed. Thus, in the modern period situation and character are in fact predominant”

“when you two goddesses command, a man must obey, however angry he may be. Better for him if he does. The man who listens to the gods is listened to by them”

“Ah, Palinurus, you were too trustful of the calm sky and sea. So you will lie, a shroudless form, on an unknown strand.”

“Wer sich vornimmt, Gutes zu wirken, darf nicht erwarten, dass die Menschen ihm deswegen Steine aus dem Weg räumen, sondern muss auf das Schicksalshafte gefasst sein, dass sie ihm welche daraufrollen.”

“Zeus the Thunderer in his own person and with all solemnity made me certain promises. These you tell me to forget; and instead you would have me base my actions on the flight of birds, winged creatures who do not interest me at all - in fact I do not care whether they fly to the right towards the morning sun or to the left into the western gloom.”

“Take my advice then, and set aside all thoughts of avenging your son. Many a finer and stronger man than he has been killed before now and will be killed hereafter. We can hardly expect to keep our eyes on the pedigree of every man on Earth.”

“Hector...boast while you may. The victory is yours, a gift from Zeus the Son of Cronos and Apollo. They conquered me...Listen to this and ponder it well. You too, I swear it, have not long to live. Already sovran Destiny and Death are very close to you, death at the hands of Achilles, the peerless son of Peleus”

“How fortunate were you, thrice fortunate and more, whose luck it was to die under the high walls of Troy before your parents' eyes!”

“However, what is done is better left alone, though we resent it still, and we must curb our hearts perforce...as for my death, when Zeus and the other deathless gods appoint it, let it come.”

“O Achates, where in the world is there a country, or any place in it, unreached by our suffering? Look; there is Priam. Even here high merit has its due; there is pity for a world's distress, and a sympathy for short lived humanity.”

“What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations. And therefore the general who understands war is the Minister of the people's fate and arbiter of the nation's destiny.”