a man of talent accepts events and the circumstances in which he finds himself, and turns everything to his own ends.
 Honoré de Balzac, Father Goriot (1835). copy citation

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Author Honoré de Balzac
Source Father Goriot
Topic talent events
Date 1835
Language English
Reference
Note Translated by Ellen Marriage
Weblink http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1237/1237-h/1237-h.htm

Context

“A man who prides himself on going in a straight line through life is an idiot who believes in infallibility. There are no such things as principles; there are only events, and there are no laws but those of expediency: a man of talent accepts events and the circumstances in which he finds himself, and turns everything to his own ends. If laws and principles were fixed and invariable, nations would not change them as readily as we change our shirts. The individual is not obliged to be more particular than the nation. A man whose services to France have been of the very slightest is a fetich looked on with superstitious awe because he has always seen everything in red;” source