Hostages to fortune

Sometimes appears in the form of not being held hostage to fortune which means refusing to be placed in a compromising or perilous situation. The source is Francis Bacon (1561-1626) in Essays (Of marriage and Single Life). “He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.” Bacon meant that someone who has a wife (or husband) and has children, who depend on them, should not embark on reckless enterprises.