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

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

Life treads on life, and heart on heart;
We press too close in church and mart
To read more

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

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives and create a monster they call destiny.

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives and create a monster they call destiny.

For rarely man escapes his destiny.
[It., Che l'uomo il suo destin fugge di raro.]

For rarely man escapes his destiny.
[It., Che l'uomo il suo destin fugge di raro.]

Unseen hands delay
The coming of what oft seems close in ken,
And, contrary, the moment, when read more

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.

My death and life,
My bane and antidote, are both before me.

My death and life,
My bane and antidote, are both before me.

Character is fate. (Destiny)

Character is fate. (Destiny)

In life, the only certainty is uncertainty.

In life, the only certainty is uncertainty.

Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is read more

Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect, as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.