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Fear

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“At all times, in all places, and in every heart, human fear is the same: it is the fear of destruction, the fear of death. [...] To overcome the fear of death is at once to overcome every other terror, for they all have meaning only in relation to this fundamental problem. The forest passage is, therefore, above all a passage through death.”
Ernst Jünger (1895–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The biggest obstacle we face is the fear people have about their freedom, the fear of deciding for themselves, the fear of joining a transformative force. We are overcoming that fear.”
Francia Márquez (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The shortest way to multiply damnations is to divide mortals. Fear’s a great one for that—fear the stranger, fear the different, fear the afflicted—long as you can keep your pigeons so damn scared there’s no room in them to even try to figure out whether there’s anything real to be scared of in the first place.”
Esther Friesner (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was stupid to feel fear. Fear was nothing but the body’s involuntary response to perceived threats. Fear increased heartbeat, respiration, and perspiration; fear clouded the mind and paralyzed the limbs, and I’m going to die wasn’t subject to logical arguments about its counterproductivity.”
Adam-Troy Castro (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why do people need to have control over the lives of others? Why this fear of the other? This fear of difference — the fear of change — why this fear of our own bodies? Why this inability to accept our own death? What are the connections between those things?”
Rikki Ducornet (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe in living a life that’s free of the fear of judgement, the fear of criticism and the fear of not being enough. And when fear does creep in, I confront it and fight back against it.”
Janine van Wyk (born 1987) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You say 'Although the fear of loss is before me, Yet I feel greater fear in remaining idle. I have a better hope through exerting myself My fear is increased by remaining idle.' Why then, O faint-hearted one in the matter of religion, Are you paralysed by the fear of loss? See you not how the traders in this market of ours Make large profits, both apostles and saints?”
Rumi (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fear of losing money is real. Everyone has it. Even the rich. But it’s not fear that is the problem. It’s how you handle fear. It’s how you handle losing. It’s how you handle failure that makes the difference in one’s life. That goes for anything in life, not just money. The primary difference between a rich person and a poor person is how they handle that fear.”
Robert Kiyosaki (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh let thy fear within me dwell, Thy love my footsteps guide ; That love shall vainer loves expel, That fear all fears beside.”
James Merrick (1720–1769) said by 1769 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Sacred Poets of England and America For Three Centuries" printed 1848.
“I fear God, and next to God I chiefly fear him who fears him not.”
Saadi (1210–1292) said by 1292 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have a fear of heights, so falling off something very tall. But I've conquered a good amount of my fears. I guess most people would have the fear of getting up in front of a large audience of people and making a fool of themselves. I've gotten over that.”
Beck (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear is the hidden through-line in Trump’s life – fear of weakness, of inadequacy, of failure, of criticism and of insignificance. He has spent his life trying to outrun these fears by “winning” – as he puts it – and by redefining reality whenever the facts don’t serve the narrative he seeks to create. It hasn’t worked, but not for lack of effort.”
Tony Schwartz (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Entrepreneurs should not entertain fear as it’s a mirage. When you look deeply, you would see that fear doesn’t exist. Therefore, look past your fears and work on achieving those goals. You have the absolute power to achieve anything you dream about. You just have to put a date to it.”
Dupe Olusola (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have triumphed over both life and death because I no longer desire to live, nor do I any longer fear to die. I want nothing. I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. Therefore I am free. For during life it is our wants, our hopes, our fears that enslave us.”
Nawal El Tatawy (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They’re Mabden, of course. They are afraid of the city. Afraid of almost everything. And being permitted no weapons with which they can attack what they fear, they are reduced to what you see. It seems the Mabden can only kill or run away. Their brains are of no use to them.”
Michael Moorcock (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Not living in fear is a great gift, because certainly these days we do it so much. And do you know what I like about comedy? You can’t laugh and be afraid at the same time—of anything. If you're laughing, I defy you to be afraid.”
Stephen Colbert (born 1964) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Parade interview (23 September 2007)
“We teach boys to be afraid of fear. We teach boys to be afraid of weakness, of vulnerability. We teach them to mask their true selves, because they have to be, in Nigerian speak, "hard man!”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born 1977) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: We Should All Be Feminists - April 12, 2013
“If you're afraid of anything, why not take a chance and do the thing you fear. Sometimes it's the only way to get over being afraid. The way I see it, if you're scared of something you'd better get busy and do something about it. I'd call that a challenge - and I believe that the way to grow is to meet all the challenges as they come along.”
Audie Murphy (1924–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quotation from Audie Murphy: American Soldier", by Harold Simpson (1999), pp. 369-371
“Fear does not know ‪Gender‬. To be afraid to try, be you a man or woman, means you’re afraid to take advantage of your ever – evolving environment. Take a leap.”
Anita Erskine (born 1978) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Woman Wednesday: Anita Erskine,May 27, 2015,by Eric Vondee
“The wise one does not speak to one whom he fears he shall be belied, he does not ask anyone of anything if he fears he shall not give, and he does not repose hope on one whom he does not trust.”
Husayn ibn Ali (626–680) said by 680 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the world view of , man fears only one power, and is answerable before only one judge. He turns to only one qibla, and directs his hopes and desires to only one source. And the corollary is that all else is false and pointless all the diverse and variegated tendencies, strivings, fears, desires and hopes of man are vain and fruitless.”
Ali Shariati (1933–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 97; partly cited in: John L. Esposito (1996) Islam and Democracy. p. 25.
“The absent danger greater still appears; Less fears he who is near the thing he fears.”
Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) said by 1619 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fears of children were simpler and usually more powerful. The fears of children could often be summoned up in a single face... and if bait were needed, why, what child did not love a clown?”
Stephen King (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To say that corrupt means corrupt the ends is to believe in the immaculate conception of ends and principles. The real arena is corrupt and bloody. Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when to go to bed; he who fears corruption fears life.”
Saul Alinsky (1909–1972) said by 1972 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our very hopes belied our fears, Our fears our hopes belied; We thought her dying when she slept, And sleeping when she died.”
Thomas Hood (1799–1845) said by 1845 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Death-Bed; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“America fears the unshaven legs, the unshaven men's cheeks, the aroma of perspiration, and the limp prick. Above all it fears the limp prick.”
Walter Abish (1931–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do the people of the South really entertain fears that a Republican administration would, directly or indirectly, interfere with their slaves, or with them, about their slaves? If they do, I wish to assure you, as once a friend, and still, I hope, not an enemy, that there is no cause for such fears.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“groups work tirelessly to delegitimise the democratic institutions in Brazil. These groups make and distribute fake news as a way to take advantage of people's fears and vulnerabilities. As people hope for a solution and as a fix to the fears, they promote the narrative of pro-military intervention.”
David Nemer (born 1984) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Right-wing militias on the loose (May 23, 2020) by Shobhan Saxena,
“In other words, white fears rest on the presumption that they are rooted in fact; everyone who is nonwhite is treated as though their fears are the stuff of fantasy.”
Brittney Cooper (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We’re always a victim of our fears, if we can convey them and have people understand them, maybe we can help them protect themselves from their fears.”
Christian Duguay (director) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At Githima, people believed that a complaint from [Karanja] was enough to make a man lose his job. Karanja knew their fears. Often when men came into his office, he would suddenly cast them a cold eye, drop hints, or simply growl at them; in this way, he increased their fears and insecurity. But he also feared the men and alternated this fierce prose with servile friendliness.”
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (1938–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Social media is a very important tool too, we can’t underestimate the age of information. Anyone who fears social media, fears the freedom knowledge brings.”
Laila Johnson-Salami (born 1997) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Laila on social media in 2021
“He is as cowardly Who longer fears to live, as he who fears to die.”
Phineas Fletcher (1582–1650) said by 1650 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears.”
Michel de Montaigne (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The premonition of madness is complicated by the fear of lucidity in madness, the fear of the moments of return and reunion, when the intuition of disaster is so painful that it almost provokes a greater madness [...] One would welcome chaos if one were not afraid of lights in it.”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear,” Jason said, “can make you do more wrong than hate or jealousy. If you're afraid you don’t commit yourself to life completely; fear makes you always, always hold something back.”
Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You survive by having your fear compass calibrated correctly. Our compass is off now because we're being told to be afraid of everything. The things that we're frightened of, or told to be frightened of, are not necessarily the things that we need to fear.”
Michael Moore (born 1954) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview on All Things Considered NPR (November 2002)
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As long as we believe ourselves to be even the least different from God, fear remains with us; but when we know ourselves to be the One, fear goes; of what can we be afraid?”
Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like a steely blade in a silken sheath We don't see what they're made of They shout about love, but when push comes to shove They live for the things they're afraid of And the knowledge that they fear is a weapon to be used against them... - The Weapon (Part II of 'Fear') (1982)”
Neil Peart (1952–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Therefore, blessed are those who do not fear solitude, who are not afraid of their own company, who are not always desperately looking for something to do, something to amuse themselves with, something to judge... If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself... And if you do not know yourself, you will begin to fear the void.”
Paulo Coelho (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Women respond to racism. My response to racism is anger. I have lived with that anger, ignoring it, feeding upon it, learning to use it before it laid my visions to waste, for most of my life. Once I did it in silence, afraid of the weight. My fear of anger taught me nothing. Your fear of that anger will teach you nothing, also.”
Audre Lorde (1934–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Afghans have stood firm in the face of all odds and pressures and have indeed made the greatest of sacrifices. They have sacrificed a million and a half people. They are no longer afraid of death. The truth is that when death seems far away then fear of it is magnified, but this fear disappears for those who see it close to them. For the Afghans, death is no longer something to be avoided!”
Israr Ahmed (1932–2010) said by 2010 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Men afraid may see demons in the familiar, and direct their fear of the insensible to a fear of the sensible.” “Thought-lacking!” “So it is; but it is what folk do.”
Michael F. Flynn (1947–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sorrow is better than fear. Fear is a journey,a terrible journey, but sorrow is at least an arrival. When the storm threatens, a man is afraid for his house. But when the house is destroyed, there is something to do. About a storm he can do nothing, but he can rebuild a house.”
Alan Paton (1903–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear means being afraid of the future. When you are not ready to accept the future moments, it becomes fear.”
Nithyananda (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am afraid now, though it is hard to write about fear because fear is formless and because it offends my pride. I have heard the silence of my non-Jewish friends with horror because they, apparently progressives, should know better. I can't write more, for maybe one day I may want to speak to them again.”
Tanya Gold (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The instinct of fear within me is always active. It is almost a separate gland in my body, since I have always lived in fear. I am even afraid when crossing a one-way street.”
Najwa Binshatwan (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He who flies from his master is a runaway; but the law is master, and he who breaks the law is a runaway. And he also who is grieved or angry or afraid, is dissatisfied because something has been or is or shall be of the things which are appointed by Him who rules all things, and He is Law, and assigns to every man what is fit. He then who fears or is grieved or is angry is a runaway.”
Marcus Aurelius (121–180) said by 180 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Not to be content with Life is the unsatisfactory state of those which destroy themselves; who being afraid to live, run blindly upon their own Death, which no Man fears by Experience.”
Thomas Browne (1605–1682) said by 1682 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source