
“Fortune blinds men when she does not wish them to withstand the violence of her onslaughts.”
Book V, sec. 37
History of Rome
Maxim 277
Sentences
Fortuna cum blanditur, captatum venit.
“Fortune blinds men when she does not wish them to withstand the violence of her onslaughts.”
Book V, sec. 37
History of Rome
Fortunate Fool.
Song lyrics, Brushfire Fairytales (2001)
“It is when fortune is the most propitious that she is least to be trusted.”
Book XXX, sec. 30
History of Rome
“Betrayal does that -- betrays the betrayer.”
Becoming Light: Poems New and Selected (1991)
“When Fortune smiles, I smile to think
How quickly she will frown.”
Source: Content and Rich, Line 63; p. 59.
Alcun non può saper da chi sia amato,
Quando felice in su la ruota siede:
Però c'ha i veri e i finti amici a lato,
Che mostran tutti una medesma fede.
Se poi si cangia in tristo il lieto stato,
Volta la turba adulatrice il piede;
E quel che di cor ama riman forte,
Ed ama il suo signor dopo la morte.
Canto XIX, stanza 1 (tr. B. Reynolds)
Orlando Furioso (1532)
“To Fortune's forelock Charles knew how to cling
When favourable to him her face she showed.”
Che ben pigliar nel crin la buona sorte
Carlo sapea, quando volgea la faccia.
Canto XVIII, stanza 161 (tr. B. Reynolds)
Orlando Furioso (1532)
“Why does my Muse only speak when she is unhappy?
She does not, I only listen when I am unhappy.”
"My Muse"
Selected Poems (1962)
2000s, Change and Determination: After 9/11, a shaking up (2002)
“A trustworthy person does not betray you, but you consider the betrayer to be trustworthy.”
Majlisi, Bihārul Anwār, vol.78, p. 335.
General Quotes