Sometimes when you’re talking you’ll hear someone use a phrase like “fortune favors the bold.” When you hear these phrases you may find yourself pausing to reflect on what the person actually means.
“Fortune favors the bold” is used in reference to people facing problems with determination and courage. It means that these are the people who are able to attain a lot of success in their lives. This is because bravery is thought to bring good luck their way, helping them achieve this success.
Origin of The Phrase
“Fortune favors the bold” is a Latin proverb that originally existed in several different forms, each with a slightly different yet identical meaning. One of the first places it was seen is in the “Aeneid” where the antagonist Turnus used it to refer to luck or the personification of luck which was a Roman goddess. Some of the other places in which this quote was used include:
- The comedy play “Phomio” by Terence used another version of this proverb saying “fortune favors the strong/brave.”
- In “Ars Amatoria” by Ovid the phrase is parodied as “Venus, like Fortune, favors the bold.”
- In AD 79 when Pliny the Younger decides to take his fleet and investigate Mount Vesuvius’ eruption he quotes his uncle, Pliny the Elder, saying “fortune favors the brave.” Unfortunately, this expedition cost him his life.
- Louis Pasteur, a French microbiologist, and chemist is quoted as saying, “In the fields of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind.”
Alternative Ways to Say This Phrase
Clearly, there are several ways in which to say this phrase. These include:
- Fortune comes to those who are brave enough to ask.
- Those who are willing to take a risk are oftentimes highly rewarded.
- Bravery is oftentimes rewarded.
Meaning of The Phrase
“Fortune favors the bold” is a proverb that’s rooted in ancient times. It means that someone who’s willing to take a risk will usually reap great rewards from doing so. The proverb is used to point out that those who are courageous are usually those who are the most successful. When this proverb is used it’s typically meant to encourage someone to take a chance at getting what they want. This is why you’ll frequently see these proverbial phrases used as slogans on family coats of arms or by military organizations.
What Is A Proverb?
Proverbs are short, common sayings that serve as famous or inspirational quotes. They can also be a remark that expresses an idea in a clever or amusing way or the topic of a parable. In any case, they’re meant to give good advice, share universal truths, or impart wisdom to people.
Oftentimes a proverb is so familiar to a person that the speaker will only need to quote half of it because they believe that the listener can supply its ending. Unfortunately, those who speak English as a second language may become easily confused by these sayings. This is because when they’re translated into another language they usually don’t carry the same meaning or have the same impact as they originally did in English.
There are many proverbs in existence today. These are usually quotations that come from literature, especially the writings of Shakespeare. They may also come from sacred writings such as the Bible which itself has an entire book devoted to them: the Book of Proverbs. There are many words and phrases that come from here because the sayings themselves are full of wisdom.
How Are Proverbs Used?
It’s important to understand what a proverb is but once you do, you may find that you’d like to know how to use them. Usage is something that depends on the type of speech that’s being used.
In Conversation
Typically it’s adults who will most frequently use proverbs in a conversation. This is mainly because children haven’t been alive long enough to learn many proverbs. It takes years to develop the skill of using proverbs well. Children also haven’t yet mastered the patterns of metaphorical expression that are required when using proverbs.
Since proverbs are indirect they allow you to disagree with another person or give them advice in a manner that’s less offensive than if you hadn’t used a proverb.
In Literature
There are many authors who have used proverbs in their writings over the years. These authors come from a wide variety of literary genres too. Some of them include epics, novels, poems, and short stories.
The way in which proverbs are used in literature is something that’s changed over time. For instance, classical Chinese novels used a lot of proverbs. Two examples of this are “Water Margin (Sui-hu chuan)” where one is used once every 3,500 words and “Wen Jou-hsiang” where one is used once every 4,000 words. Over the years fewer proverbs have been used in Chinese novels though.
You’ll also discover that proverbs have been the inspiration for book titles. Some of the clearer examples of this include “The Bigger They Come” by Erle Stanley Gardner, “Birds of a Feather” (a title that’s been used by numerous authors over the years), and “Devil in the Details” (another title that’s been used by numerous authors over the years).
There are also times when a title may not be a proverb itself but it still may allude to one. It may even simply use a bit of the proverb in the title instead of using the whole thing. An example of this is “The Gift Horse’s Mouth” by Robert Campbell.
Some books will also have titles that are twisted proverbs (a.k.a. anti-proverbs). There are several examples of this that have occurred throughout history (e.g. “No use dying over spilled milk,” “when life gives you lemons”). The best-known example of this is found in “Life of Brian” by Monty Python. In this movie, a person accidentally mishears one of Jesus Christ’s beatitudes as being “blessed are the cheesemakers.”
You also have some books and stories that have been built around proverbs. Some book critics have said that books by Tolkien have “governing proverbs.” This means that the book’s actions fulfill a proverbial saying. There are yet other books that do this much more overtly. For instance, Louisa May Alcott is known for writing proverbial stories such as “Kitty’s Class Day” which opens with the proverb, “A stitch in time saves 9.” Some books will even end with a proverb that appears to sum up the story’s moral. This is something that Aesop’s Fables frequently do. For instance, in “Hercules and the Wagoner” the fable ends with the proverb, “Heaven helps those who help themselves.”
In Poetry
Poets are also known to strategically use proverbs. Sometimes they’ll use a proverb, a portion of a proverb, or an anti-proverb as the title of their poem. Some of the most popular examples of this are “A bird in the bush” by Lord Kennet and Peter Scott or “The blind leading the blind” by Lisa Mueller.
There are also times when multiple proverbs may play an important role in a poem. Some of these were written hundreds of years ago. For instance, the Turkish poet Refkik strung a lot of different proverbs together to compose an entire poem. When this poem was translated into English it gave us such proverbs s “Be watchful and be wary, but seldom grant a boon; the man who calls the piper will also call the tune.” Another poet who did this was Eliza Griswold whose Libyan proverbs have since been translated into English.
More English Idioms
Examples on How to Use the Phrase
Now that you have a clear understanding of what this proverb means and how to use it, here are a few sentences to help you do so:
- John should have gone for it. He’d have been married to the love of his life if he’d been courageous. Fortune favors the bold.
- In this business, fortune favors the bold.
- You can’t expect to be a successful action stuntman if you don’t believe that fortune favors the bold.
- I took the risk in the stock market hoping that fortune would favor the bold.
- Although it’s true that fortune favors the bold, you also need to be careful what risks you choose to take.
Conclusion
Proverbs are found everywhere throughout people’s speeches in history. “Fortune favors the brazen” is merely one example of these famous sayings. This Latin proverb is used to mean people who are courageous in facing challenges in their lives will be successful. However, there are proverbs that are used to mean many different things which is why they’re so popular to use. Hopefully, now you’ll feel much more comfortable using them in your speech and in your writing.
Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. He’s one part content manager, one part writing ninja organizer, and two parts leader of top content creators. You don’t even want to know what he calls pancakes.