Thus neither the praise nor the blame is our own.
Circumstances beyond my individual control.
Man is not the creature of circumstances,
Circumstances are the creatures of men.
It is circumstances (difficulties) which show what men are.
To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.
Circumstances alter cases.
Man, without religion, is the creature of circumstances.
Thos. Hardy—Guesses at Truth. Vol. I.
| seealso = (See also Owen)
| topic = Circumstances
| page =
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = Thus we see, too, in the world that some persons assimilate only what is ugly and evil from the same moral circumstances which supply good and beautiful results—the fragrance of celestial flowers—to the daily life of others.
| author = Hawthorne
| work = Mosses from an Old Manse. The Old Manse.
| place =
| note =
| topic = Circumstances
| page = 120
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>Et mihi res, non me rebus, subjungere conor.
And I endeavour to subdue circumstances
to myself, and not myself to circumstances.
Horace—Epistles. I. 1. 191.
Quid velit et possit rerum concordia discors.
What the discordant harmony of circumstances would and could effect.
Horace—Epistles. I. 12. 19.
For these attacks do not contribute to make us frail but rather show us to be what we are.
Consilia res magis dant hominibus quam homines rebus.
Men's plans should be regulated by the circumstances, not circumstances by the plans.
Man is the creature of circumstances.
Robert Owen—The Philanthropist.
| seealso = (See also {{sc|Hardy)
u
Act-KTentp' ind fortuitous concourse of atoms.
Lord -'almhrston. Of the combination of
Parties led by Disraeli and Gladstone, March
| seealso = (See also {{sc|Bentley)
Condition, circumstance is not the thing.
| author = Pope
| work = Essay on Man.
| place = Ep. IV L. 57.
The happy combination of fortuitous circumstances.
Scott—Answer of the Author of Waverly to the
Letter of Captain Clutterbuck. The Manastery -
| seealso = (See also {{sc|Bentley)
The Lie with Circumstance.
As You Like It. Act V. Sc. 4.
L. 100.
is My circumstances
Being so near the truth as I will make them,
Must first induce you to believe.
Cymbdine. Act II. Sc. 4. L. 62.
Leave frivolous circumstances.
Taming of the Shrew. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 27.
How comes it to pass, if they be only moved
by chance and accident, that such regular mutations and generations should be begotten by a
fortuitous concourse of atoms.
J. Smith—Select Discourses. III. P. 48.
(Ed. 1660) Same phrase found in MarcusMinucius Felix his Octamus. Preface. (Pub.
1695)
| seealso = (See also Bentley)
| topic = Circumstances
| page =
}}
{{Hoyt quote
| num =
| text = <poem>In all distresses of our friends
We first consult our private ends;
While Nature, kindly bent to ease us,
Points out some circumstance to please us.
Swdt—Paraphrase of Rochefoucauld's Maxim.
| seealso = (See also {{sc|under Adversity)
"
Aliena nobis, nostra plus aliis placent.
The circumstances of others seem good to
us, while ours seem good to others.
Syrus—Maxims.
Varia sors rerum.
The changeful chance of circumstances.
Tacitus—Histories.
| place = Bk. II. 70.
So runs the round of life from hour to hour.
| author = Tennyson
| work = Circumstance.
And grasps the skirts of happy chance,
And breasts the blows of circumstance.
| author = Tennyson
| work = In Memoriam. Pt. LXIII. St. 2.
<poem>This fearful concatenation of circumstances.
Daniel Webster—Argument. The Murder of Captain Joseph White. (1830) Vol. VI. P. 88.
<poem>F. M. the Duke of Wellington presents his
compliments to Mr. and declines to interfere in circumstances over which he has no control. Wellington. See G. A. Sala—Echoes of the Week in London Illustrated News, Aug. 23, 1884. See Capt. Marryatt—Settlers in Canada. P. 177. Grenville—Memoirs. Ch. II. (1823), gives early use of phrase.
{{Hoyt quote
| num = | text = <poem>Who does the best that circumstance allows,
Does well, acts nobly, angels could no more. Young—Night Thoughts. Night II. L. 90. (Compare Habakkuk. II. 2)
