“Fortune is glass: when it shines, it breaks.”Publilius Syrus · Sentințe · -50 · 617
The peak of fortune is also its breaking point: shine draws the pressures that shatter it.
Syrus uses glass to capture a paradox of luck: it seems most solid when it shines brightest, but that very shine attracts envy, scrutiny, and pressures that shatter it. Those who rise quickly make enemies, lose their caution, and believe the climb will go on forever. The mechanism is the fragility of what wasn't earned through merit: without a foundation, the peak is also the breaking point. A trader who wins enormously in one year triples his stakes just before the market crashes.
Why it matters A useful reminder in good times: when everything goes well, that's when to be most careful, not most daring.