--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fate is nothing but the deeds committed…" description: "\"Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f65/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_deeds_fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed_2205276.png" --- # Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state… ![“Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f65/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_deeds_fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed_2205276.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f65/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_deeds_fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed_2205276.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f65/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_deeds_fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed_2205276.png) > “Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our present actions are shaped by past deeds, suggesting destiny is self‑crafted. **In simple terms:** Past actions determine current fate. Key Takeaway Reflect on past choices to shape future. Themes fate personal responsibility determinism Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - ethical decision‑making - habit formation Key Concepts philosophy of self karma Questions to Reflect On - How do your past choices influence today? - Can you change a predetermined path? A Different Perspective Past actions may not fully dictate future possibilities; free will also plays a role. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Committed Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committed-prior-4860453/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Deeds Committed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds-committed-4860452/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Fate Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate-deeds-2096536/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“Actions are the seeds of fate. Deeds grow into destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/actions-are-the-seeds-of-fate-deeds-grow-into-destiny/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Actions are the seed of fate deeds grow into destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/actions-are-the-seed-of-fate-deeds-grow-into-destiny/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) > [Fate, then, is a name for facts not yet passed under the fire of thought; for causes which are unpenetrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/fate-then-is-a-name-for-facts-not-yet-passed-under-the-fire-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Every man finds a sanction for his simplest claims and deeds, in decisions of his own mind, which he calls Truth and Holiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-man-finds-a-sanction-for-his-simplest-claims-and-deeds-in/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A lady with whom I was riding in the forest said to me that the woods always seemed to her to wait, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-lady-with-whom-i-was-riding-in-the-forest-said-to-me-that-the-woods/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Sleep takes off the costume of circumstance, arms us with terrible freedom, so that every will rushes to a deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/sleep-takes-off-the-costume-of-circumstance-arms-us-with-terrible/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the order of nature, we cannot render benefits to those from whom we receive them, or only seldom. But the benefit we receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-the-order-of-nature-we-cannot-render-benefits-to-those-from-whom/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The babe in arms is a channel through which the energies we call fate, love, and reason visibly stream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-babe-in-arms-is-a-channel-through-which-the-energies-we-call-fate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Every man beholds his human condition with a degree of melancholy. As a ship aground is battered by the waves, so man, imprisonedin mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-man-beholds-his-human-condition-with-a-degree-of-melancholy-as/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we must accept fate we are not less compelled to affirm liberty, the significance of the individual, the grandeur of duty, the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-must-accept-fate-we-are-not-less-compelled-to-affirm-liberty/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The man who believes that the secrets of the world are forever hidden lives in mystery and fear. Superstition will drag him down. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-man-who-believes-that-the-secrets-of-the-world-are-forever-hidden/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [We are our own fates.- Our deeds are our own doomsmen.- Man's life was made not for creeds but actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/we-are-our-own-fates-our-deeds-are-our-own-doomsmen-man-s-life-was/) [Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bulwer-lytton-1st-earl-of-lytton/) > [They who talk much of destiny, their birth-star, etc., are in a lower dangerous plane, and invite the evils they fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/they-who-talk-much-of-destiny-their-birth-star-etc-are-in-a-lower/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ 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/) > [“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/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Deeds quotes > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Time often serves to justify a deed which seems at first unjustifiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-p-ryan/time-often-serves-to-justify-a-deed-which-seems-at-first-unjustifiable/) [Donald P. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-p-ryan/) > [When deeds speak, words are nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/when-deeds-speak-words-are-nothing/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Somehow, what's in our hearts, good or bad is eventually translated into words and deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/somehow-what-s-in-our-hearts-good-or-bad-is-eventually-translated/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Mechanical instruments, potentially a vehicle of rational human purposes, are scarcely a blessing when they enable the gossip of the village idiot and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/mechanical-instruments-potentially-a-vehicle-of-rational-human/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [Tis e'er the wont of simple folk to prize the deed and o'erlook the motive, and of learned folk to discount the deed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/tis-e-er-the-wont-of-simple-folk-to-prize-the-deed-and-o-erlook-the/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/how-oft-the-sight-of-means-to-do-ill-deeds-makes-ill-deeds-done/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A nation of character is filled with citizens who gradually build lives based on the living awareness that their deeds are judged by eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/a-nation-of-character-is-filled-with-citizens-who-gradually-build/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [The final estimate of men shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/the-final-estimate-of-men-shows-that-history-cares-not-an-iota-for/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) [Browse all 2,029 Deeds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed-in-a-prior-state-of-existence/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deeds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed-in-a-prior-state-of-existence/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f65/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_deeds_fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed_2205276.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f65/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_deeds_fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed_2205276.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f65/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_deeds_fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed_2205276.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fate is nothing but the deeds...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed-in-a-prior-state-of-existence/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/fate-is-nothing-but-the-deeds-committed-in-a-prior-state-of-existence/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```