Quotes about Fate

Death was irreversible, he suspected

That men would die was a matter of necessity; which men would die, though, was a matter of circumstance, and Yossarian was willing to be the victim of anything but circumstance.

Mudd was the unknown soldier who had never had a chance, for that was the only thing anyone ever did know about all the unknown soldiers—they never had a chance. They had to be dead.

and a great, choking moan tore from Yossarian's throat as McWatt turned again, dipped his wings once in salute, decided oh, well, what the hell, and flew into a mountain. Colonel

Why can't you be a fatalist about it the way I am? If I'm destined to unload these lighters at a profit and pick up some Egyptian cotton cheap from Milo, then that's what I'm going to do. And if you're destined to be killed over Bologna, then you're going to be killed, so you might just as well go out and die like a man. I hate to say this, Yossarian, but you're turning into a chronic complainer

Do not be afraid; our fate Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.

Evil wishes, like chickens, come home to roost.

Forbear harping on what was of yore, for it is the common lot of mortals to sustain the ups and downs of fortune.

I feel as if I were a piece in a game of chess, when my opponent says of it: That piece cannot be moved.

Charlotte read the preprinted slip. Redeemed. $1,000. She whirled around. "Wait, sir, excuse me, but how did you know . . ." But he was gone. Along with the crowd and the hum of voices. Charlotte stood completely alone except for the battered trunk and the glittering swirl in the air.

Work and acquire, and thou hast chained the wheel of Chance.

America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine providence on behalf of the human race.