Destiny

"Here burns my candle out; ay, here it dies, Which, whiles it lasted, gave King Henry light."

"Think you I bear the shears of destiny? Have I commandment on the pulse of life?"

"For it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell."

"What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?"

"Things at the worst will cease or else climb upward To what they were before."

"If he had been as you and you as he, You would have slipt like him."

"A man whom both the waters and the wind, In that vast tennis-court, hath made the ball For them to play upon."

"They that stand high have many blasts to shake them; And if they fall, they dash themselves to pieces."

"What is done cannot be now amended."

"But He, that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my sail!"

"And all the bustle of departure—sometimes sad, sometimes intoxicating—just as fear or hope may be inspired by the new chances of coming destiny."

"And from his ashes may be made The violet of his native land."

"Quisque suos patimur manes."

"God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath He, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore, they who are elected . . . are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by His power. through faith, unto salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only. The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, whereby He extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as He pleaseth, for the glory of His Sovereign power over His creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praise of His glorious justice. (Chap. III — Articles I, III, VI and VII)"

"We talk about destiny, about what's meant to be, when in reality it's usually a combination of failure plus time, a series of adjusted circumstances, a question of human resilience and ability to reconfigure our expectations."

"Life treads on life, and heart on heart; We press too close in church and mart To keep a dream or grave apart."

"Art and power will go on as they have done,—will make day out of night, time out of space, and space out of time."

"Character is fate. (Destiny)."

"No living man can send me to the shades Before my time; no man of woman born, Coward or brave, can shun his destiny."

"All, soon or late, are doom'd that path to tread."

"The future works out great men's destinies: The present is enough for common souls, Who, never looking forward, are indeed Mere clay wherein the footprints of their age Are petrified forever."

"We are but as the instrument of Heaven. Our work is not design, but destiny."

"Unseen hands delay The coming of what oft seems close in ken, And, contrary, the moment, when we say "'Twill never come!" comes on us even then."

"They only fall, that strive to move, Or lose, that care to keep."

"The irrevocable Hand That opes the year's fair gate, doth ope and shut The portals of our earthly destinies; We walk through blindfold, and the noiseless doors Close after us, forever."

"Every man meets his Waterloo at last."

"Ich fühl 's das ich der Mann des Schicksals bin."

"Truly some men there be That live always in great horrour, And say it goeth by destiny To hang or wed: both hath one hour; And whether it be, I am well sure, Hanging is better of the twain; Sooner done, and shorter pain."

"The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears."

"Thou cam'st not to thy place by accident, It is the very place God meant for thee; And should'st thou there small room for action see, Do not for this give room for discontent."

"Tes destins sont d'un homme, et tes vœux sont d'un dieu."

"Pluck one thread, and the web ye mar; Break but one Of a thousand keys, and the paining jar Through all will run."

"One country, one constitution, one destiny."

"To be a Prodigal's favourite,—then worse truth, A Miser's Pensioner,—behold our lot!"