He that is overcautious will accomplish nothing.
[Wer gar zu viel bedenkt, wird wenig leisten.]
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) German poet, playwright, critic [Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller]
Wilhelm Tell (1804)
Quotations about:
venture
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been, full of work that has never been done, full of tasks, claims, and demands; and let us see that we learn to take it without letting fall too much of what it has to bestow upon those who demand of it necessary, serious, and great things.
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1963) German poet
Letter to Clara Rilke (1 Jan 1907)
(Source)
Usually paraphrased: "And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been."
You have deeply ventured;
But all must do so who would greatly win.George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) English poet
Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice, Act 1, sc. 1 [Doge] (1821)
(Source)
Smile on this
My bold endeavour.[Audacibus annue coeptis]
Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]
Georgics [Georgica], Book 1, l. 40ff (1.40) (29 BC) [tr. Rhoades (1881)]
(Source)
Calling on (now declared divine) Augustus Caesar to bless his poetry. This line, and a similar one in Virgil's Aeneid (9.625), inspired the phrase "Annuit cœptis" ("He [God] has favored our undertakings") on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States.
(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:
Aid my bold design.
[tr. Ogilby (1649)]
To my bold Endeavours add thy Force.
[tr. Dryden (1709), l. 60]
Aid my bold design.
[tr. Nevile (1767), l. 50]
Favour my adventurous enterprise.
[tr. Davidson (1854)]
Bid my gallant enterprise succeed.
[tr. Blackmore (1871)]
Favor my bold emprise.
[tr. Wilkins (1873)]
Our bold endeavor bless.
[tr. King (1882)]
Favor my adventurous enterprise.
[tr. Bryce (1897)]
Favour my bold endeavour.
[tr. Mackail (1899)]
Smile on this
My bold endeavour.
[tr. Greenough (1900)]
O smile upon this my bold emprise!
[tr. Way (1912)]
Give assent to my bold emprise.
[tr. Fairclough (Loeb) (1916)]
Be gracious to this my bold design.
[tr. Day-Lewis (1940)]
Condone this enterprise
Of bold experiment.
[tr. Bovie (1956)]
I hope for an easy passage in this bold venture.
[tr. Slavitt (1971)]
Assent to bold undertakings.
[tr. Miles (1980)]
Smile on my enterprise.
[tr. Wilkinson (1982)]
Agree to my bold beginning.
[tr. Kline (2001)]
Assent to this work boldly begun.
[tr. Lembke (2004)]
Bless the boldness of this undertaking.
[tr. Fallon (2006)]
Approve my bold endeavour.
[tr. Johnson (2009)]
Grant me the right to enter upon this bold
Adventure of mine.
[tr. Ferry (2015)]
Look with favor upon a bold beginning.
[Bartlett's]
BRUTUS: There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves
Or lose our ventures.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Julius Caesar, Act 4, sc. 3, l. 249ff (4.3.249-255) (1599)
(Source)
Nought venter nought have.
John Heywood (1497?-1580?) English playwright and epigrammist
Proverbes, Part 1, ch. 11 (1564)
(Source)
More commonly rendered, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new Heaven to the human spirit.
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
John Augustus Shedd (1859-1928) American writer, educator
Salt from My Attic (1928)
Variants:
More information on this quotation here. Sometimes (mis)attributed to William Greenough Thayer Shedd.- "Ships in harbor are safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
- "A ship in port is safe. But that’s not what ships were built for." (used by Grace Hopper)
- "A ship is always safe at shore, but that is not what it is built for." (frequently misattributed to Albert Einstein)
If you are never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take chances.
Rosalyn Drexler (b. 1926) American visual artist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter [pseud. Julia Sorel]
See How She Runs (1978)
Based on the screenplay by Marvin Gluck. As Julia Sorrel (sometimes attrib. "Julia Soul").
Progress always involves risk. You can’t steal second base and keep one foot on first base.
Robert Quillen (1887-1948) American journalist and humorist
“Editorial Epigrams,” The Evening Repository (Canton, OH) (27 Mar 1924)
Also noted by him in the column "Corks and Curls," Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC) (11 Aug 1927): "Every big venture involves some risks. You can’t steal second and keep one foot on first."
This quotation is frequently attributed to Frederick B. Wilcox, who was the editor of A Little Book of Aphorisms (1947) where this was included, uncited.
More discussion about this quotation: The Big Apple: “You can’t steal second base while your foot is on first base”.
