He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune.

I have a wife, I have sons: all of them hostages given to fate.

He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.

You must avoid giving hostages to fortune, like getting an expensive wife, an expensive house, and a style of living that never lets you aford the time to take the chance to write what you wish.

A man who gives his children habits of industry provides for them better than by giving them fortune.

To know what should be going on in a household: spend a few minutes with the wife, or, the husband. To know what’s really going on: spend a few minutes with their kid(s).