Fortune Favors The Bold Ao3
Roshan Fried
"Fortune favours the bold" or "fortune favours the brave" are among the English translations of the Latin proverb "audentes Fortuna iuvat" and its variations. The phrase has been widely used as a slogan in the Western world to emphasize the rewards of courage and bravery, particularly within military organizations, and it is also used up to the present day on the coats of arms of numerous families and clans. It has historically served as a popular motto for universities, along with other academic institutions and recreational associations.
Another version of the proverb, fortes Fortuna adiuvat, 'fortune favours the strong/brave', was used in Terence's 151 BC comedy play Phormio, line 203.[3] Ovid extends the phrase at I.608 of his didactic work, Ars Amatoria, writing "audentem Forsque Venusque iuvat" or "Venus, like Fortune, favors the bold."
Pliny the Younger quotes his uncle, Pliny the Elder, as using the phrase Fortes fortuna iuvat when deciding to take his fleet and investigate the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, in the hope of helping his friend Pomponianus: "'Fortes' inquit 'fortuna iuvat: Pomponianum pete.'" ("'Fortune', he said, 'favours the brave: head for Pomponianus.'")[4][5] Pliny the Elder ultimately died during the expedition.
The Latin phrase Fortuna Eruditis Favet ("fortune favours the prepared mind") is also used. Louis Pasteur, the French microbiologist and chemist, expressed this as: "Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits prpars", meaning "In the fields of observation, chance favours only the prepared mind."
In The Prince, Niccol Machiavelli remarked, "It is better to be adventurous than cautious," but extending the metaphor, "because fortune is a woman and . . . it is necessary to beat and ill-use her; and it is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous."[6][7]
'Virtutis Fortuna Comes' (Fortune is the companion of virtue) is the unit motto of the 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers; an Army Reserve unit based in Northern New South Wales (the Hunter River region, hence the name) and South East Queensland.
The Wellington Regiment (City of Wellington's Own) adopted the badge of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment of the British Army, along with the motto of the Duke of Wellington "Virtutis Fortuna Comes" (see United Kingdom below). The Regiment's traditions are now carried on by Wellington Company, 5th / 7th Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. Also the motto of the Regular Force Cadets new Zealand
Because it was the motto of the Duke of Wellington, Earl of Mornington, Virtutis Fortuna Comes is used as the motto for the British Army's Yorkshire Regiment having been previously used by one of the Yorkshire's antecedent regiments, the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding [33rd/76th Foot]).[11] It is also the motto for Wellington College, Berkshire.[12]
A number of armigerous families use this motto, often featured on their coats of arms; these families include Clan MacKinnon,[13] Clan Turnbull,[14] and several Dickson families, including a number resident in Forfarshire, and the Dickson Barons Islington.[15]
In the movies John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2, the title character bears a tattoo across his upper back reading "FORTIS FORTUNA ADIUVAT". "Fortis" means both "strong" and "brave". Thus, the saying denotes "Fortune favors the strong and the courageous". It should also be mentioned that "adiuvat" means "help" and the saying can also be translated as "Fortune helps the strong and the courageous".
In the 2002 Film Gangs of New York , midway during the film, on election night, Boss Tweed yells out to the gathered crowd "Fortuna Juvat Audentes". Leading the chant back was the lead character, Amsterdam Vallon, and they replied in English "Fortune Favors the Bold".
In Episode 12 Season 2 of the anime The Faraway Paladin the spirits of the dwarven warriors chant this as a rallying war cry against the evil dragon Valacirca in support of Will William G. Mary blood and his brave party as they prepare to face off once more.
In the award-winning video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, while exploring the landscape, players can find and read a book entitled 'Unfinished Book'. Within the text of this book, the phrase "audentes fortuna iuvat!" can be found.
In 2021, Matt Damon appeared in an advertisement for Crypto.com encouraging investors using the proverb ("Fortune favors the bold") as a slogan. The advertisement was widely criticized, and it was frequently satirized by the animated series South Park, beginning in its twenty-fifth season.[25][26]
Latin proverb traditionally attributed to Terence (c. 190-159 B.C.)
Many sources say that the first recorded use of this ancient proverb was in the play Phormio (161 B.C.), written by Publius Terentius Afer, the Roman playwright known as Terence for short. It's a common translation of the Latin phrase "fortis fortuna adiuvat," which is spoken by a character in Act 1 ofPhormio. However, like "Charity begins at home," another saying traditionally credited to Terence, "fortune favors the brave" is not quite a literal translation of what he wrote in Latin and it may have been a proverbial saying before Terence used it.
The Latin word fortis (sometimes misspelled as fortes) does mean brave and fortuna means fortune. Fortuna with a capital F, used in some versions of the classical quote, refers to the Goddess Fortuna (Fortune). However, adiuvat is more literally translated as helps or aids, rather than favors (in the sense of liking or preferring someone). In the Aeneid (c. 19 B.C.), the Roman poet Virgil used another well known variation of the saying: "Audentis Fortuna iuvat." Both Latin versions have also been translated as "Fortune favors the bold." (Audentis, sometimes given as audentes, comes from the Latin verb audeo, which means to dare or to be bold.Iuvat, sometimes spelled juvat, means to help or aid.)
Whichever version you prefer, the meanings are virtually the same. The brave and the bold are often in a better position for success. Whether in a career, or in life or in a football game on a rainy day in Morgantown West Virginia, fortune favors the bold.
I've always preferred the "bold" version so we stenciled it onto the wall of our son's crib before he was born. It's a personal philosophy I hope is embedded in him and all of our kids, and I'm so glad to know it's now a philosophy for our Red Raiders.
The game yesterday was incredibly nerve-wracking. In the 2nd quarter Tech was about to take a 20-3 lead and completely take the crowd out of it but within minutes the teams were heading into halftime tied at 13. A 17 point swing followed almost immediately by two more touchdowns by the Mountaineers with only one field goal by Bustin sandwiched in between.
So we had gone from potentially a 20-3 Tech lead to trailing 27-16 and a crowd getting ready to burn all the couches. Crazy penalties that kept extending drives kept taking me back to the early 2000's and it really appeared that the game was about to get out of hand.
I haven't had those sorts of anxious moments during a Tech game in years, and I'm so happy to be in this place again. Texas Tech football hasn't been the same for me in a long time and it's back now. The mistakes and the penalties and the tension and living on the edge of your seat is back. But more importantly, the swagger and the winning ways are back.
Sure there are a ton of things to correct. Texas Tech has yet to play anything close to a great game, but we are 7-0. Let that sink in for a minute. We've stumbled our way to 7-0 because there is a mindset inside that locker room that finds a way to get it done. This team wins all the money plays.
Coach Kingsbury and his Red Raiders know when it's time to win the money plays and they do it. West Virginia was slicing our defense apart in the 3rd quarter but did absolutely nothing in the 4th quarter. Our offense was sputtering and stalling all over the place but cashed in on all the money plays when it counted most.
We can panic and worry and let Gilbert take over VTM, or we can sit back and think about where we are right now. Undefeated at 7-0 with a brand new head coach and two freshmen quarterbacks and Texas Tech is winning all the money plays.
This story started with Roman playwrights and poets Terence and Virgil, so naturally we'll finish it with a Robert Earl Keen song. Robert Earl sums up the feeling that pervades Double T Nation nicely.
So I strolled across old Main Street
Walked down a flight of stairs
Stepped into the hall
And saw all my friends were there
A neon sign was flashin' "Welcome come on in"
It feels so good feelin' good again
"Fortune favors the bold" (from the Latin proverb, "audentes Fortuna iuvat") may sound like trite or even dangerous advice. Yet, it's a motto employed by military units, family crests, and even universities across the world. It resonates strongly enough with me that I adopted boldness as one of the three words on my decision-making measuring stick.
It might help to clarify that in the original Latin, "Fortuna" refers to luck as personified by a Roman goddess. Boldness, sometimes translated as "bravery," is not recklessness. It's an invitation to forswear cowardice and adopt the courage required to move into something frightening and worthwhile.
The Latin proverb is probably a reworded translation of the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, "Boldness is the beginning of action, but fortune controls how it ends." In other words, fortune's favor is something that must be earned through a discipline of dauntlessness.
What possibility do you want to pursue but feel resistance or anxiety toward? Maybe that fear is a compass pointing to the very thing fortune is beckoning you to explore and step into more boldly? What happens if you act just half-a-shade braver and take a small step into that potential?
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