--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man may his fate foresee, but not…" description: "\"Man may his fate foresee, but not prevent. 'Tis better to be fortunate than wise.\" — John Webster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/john-webster-7470_fate_man-may-his-fate-foresee-but-not-prevent_2065265.png" --- # Man may his fate foresee, but not prevent. 'Tis better to… ![“Man may his fate foresee, but not prevent. 'Tis better to be fortunate than wise.” quote by John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/john-webster-7470_fate_man-may-his-fate-foresee-but-not-prevent_2065265.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/john-webster-7470_fate_man-may-his-fate-foresee-but-not-prevent_2065265.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/john-webster-7470_fate_man-may-his-fate-foresee-but-not-prevent_2065265.png) > “Man may his fate foresee, but not prevent. 'Tis better to be fortunate than wise.” [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fate can be seen but not altered; luck is preferable to wisdom because it spares suffering. **In simple terms:** You can predict destiny but not change it; luck beats wisdom. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty, value luck. Themes fate wisdom luck Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career planning - personal goals - risk assessment Key Concepts philosophy determinism Questions to Reflect On - Can you prepare for unknown outcomes? - Is luck truly better than insight? A Different Perspective Wisdom also offers preparation and resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > ['Tis better to be fortunate than wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/tis-better-to-be-fortunate-than-wise/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [I married a woman who is much better than me, I'm very fortunate to be with her and I know I'll be happy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-caviezel/i-married-a-woman-who-is-much-better-than-me-i-m-very-fortunate-to-be/) [Jim Caviezel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-caviezel/) > [A man's fate is his own temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/a-man-s-fate-is-his-own-temper/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“Concern for man himself and his fate must always constitute the chief objective of all technological endeavors...in order that the creations of our mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/concern-for-man-himself-and-his-fate-must-always-constitute-the-chief/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Man's fate in battle is worked out before the war begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wilson/man-s-fate-in-battle-is-worked-out-before-the-war-begins/) Charles Wilson > [Concerns for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/it-did-not-matter-after-all-he-was-only-one-man-one-man-s-fate-is-not/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Each person decides in early childhood how he will live and how he will die... His trivial behavior may be decided by reason, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-berne/each-person-decides-in-early-childhood-how-he-will-live-and-how-he/) [Eric Berne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-berne/) > [It's the people y'gotta watch out for. You never know who y'might meet, or what Ol' Man Fate has in store for yah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-redmerski/it-s-the-people-y-gotta-watch-out-for-you-never-know-who-y-might-meet/) [J.A. Redmerski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-redmerski/) ## More by John Webster > [Sorrow is held the eldest child of sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/sorrow-is-held-the-eldest-child-of-sin/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [All the damnable degrees Of drinking have you staggered through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/all-the-damnable-degrees-of-drinking-have-you-staggered-through/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle. She died young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/cover-her-face-mine-eyes-dazzle-she-died-young/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [A powerful portfolio of physiological and behavioural evidence now exists to support the case that fish feel pain and that this feeling matters. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/a-powerful-portfolio-of-physiological-and-behavioural-evidence-now/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“We make desire, not truth, the real clue to what’s valuable. If we desire something, then it has value; if not, we despise and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/we-make-desire-not-truth-the-real-clue-to-what-s-valuable-if-we/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [When I go to hell, I mean to carry a bribe: for look you, good gifts evermore make way for the worst persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/when-i-go-to-hell-i-mean-to-carry-a-bribe-for-look-you-good-gifts/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“In company with Christians down through the ages, we read…every passage of Scripture…out of the fact that for us, the center of Scripture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/in-company-with-christians-down-through-the-ages-we-read-every/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“Fellowship with God is what human beings are for. That is, we flourish as human beings if we live in free and joyful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/fellowship-with-god-is-what-human-beings-are-for-that-is-we-flourish/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“Pull and pull strongly for your able strength / Must pull down heaven upon me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/pull-and-pull-strongly-for-your-able-strength-must-pull-down-heaven/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [How tedious is a guilty conscience!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/how-tedious-is-a-guilty-conscience/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“Think't the best voyage that e'er you made like an irregular crab which, though’t goes backward, thinks that it goes right, because it goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/think-t-the-best-voyage-that-e-er-you-made-like-an-irregular-crab/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“Why is it that we often go away from Scripture unmoved, unaffected, dull? In the end, it’s because we refuse to be schooled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/why-is-it-that-we-often-go-away-from-scripture-unmoved-unaffected/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“We are merely the star's tennis balls, struck and banded Which way please them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/we-are-merely-the-star-s-tennis-balls-struck-and-banded-which-way/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [I have long served virtue, And never ta'en wages of her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/i-have-long-served-virtue-and-never-ta-en-wages-of-her/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“The weakest arm is strong enough that strikes with the sword of justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/the-weakest-arm-is-strong-enough-that-strikes-with-the-sword-of/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) [Explore all 91 John Webster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) ## More Fate quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [When you have counted eighty years and more, Time and Fate will batter at your door; But if you should survive to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/when-you-have-counted-eighty-years-and-more-time-and-fate-will-batter/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Real chessplayers think about chess more or less 24 hours a day. It is a passion and a fate that one has to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simen-agdestein/real-chessplayers-think-about-chess-more-or-less-24-hours-a-day-it-is/) Simen Agdestein > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What would have been the fate of sages if there were no fools?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/what-would-have-been-the-fate-of-sages-if-there-were-no-fools/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/) [Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. 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