A man with a wife and family cannot be so adventurous, or take so many
chances, as an unmarried man. A hostage is a person given to another as a
pledge or security. ‘Hostages to fortune’ are persons or things that one may
lose.

The proverb comes from Francis Bacon’s essay, _Of Marriage and Single Life_ :
‘He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for thay are
impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.’

##### See also:

* He travels the fastest who travels alone
* Wedlock is a padlock