It is a proverbial expression ...

It is a proverbial expression that every man is the maker of his own fortune, and we usually regard it as implying that every man by his folly or wisdom prepares good or evil for himself. But we may view it in another light, namely, that we may so accommodate ourselves to the dispositions of Providence as to be happy in our lot, whatever may be its privations.
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 Alexander von Humboldt

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Collaboration operates through a process in which the successful intellectual achievements of one person arouse the intellectual passions and enthusiasms of others.
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 Alexander von Humboldt
The expression of vanity and self-love becomes less offensive, when it retains something of simplicity and frankness.
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 Alexander von Humboldt
Petroleum is the product of a distillation from great depth and issues from the primitive rocks beneath which the forces of all volcanic action lie.
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 Alexander von Humboldt