It is more easy to get a favor from Fortune than to keep it.

Publilius Syrus was a 1st‑century BCE writer of Latin mimes whose lines survived chiefly as moral maxims (Sententiae) excerpted and transmitted through later anthologies and school collections. The saying about Fortune reflects a common Roman ethical theme: fortuna’s gifts are unstable and can vanish as quickly as they arrive, so prudence and self-command matter more than mere luck. In the late Republic, when political and personal standing could shift abruptly with patronage, war, or factional change, such maxims circulated as practical wisdom—short, memorable reminders about the precariousness of success and the difficulty of sustaining it.

The maxim contrasts acquisition with preservation. Fortune (chance, circumstance, luck) may grant a benefit easily—often without merit or effort—but keeping that benefit requires vigilance, discipline, and sometimes moral steadiness. The line implies that what comes from luck is inherently insecure: because it was not built on stable foundations, it is harder to maintain. It also carries a caution against complacency after success; the real test is not receiving an advantage but managing it responsibly over time. In a broader ethical sense, it elevates character and prudence above external gifts, suggesting that lasting good depends more on how one lives than on what one happens to receive.