Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Fear
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“We can't be afraid to use our military, but sending our sons and daughters should be the very last resort. I've seen what wars do to our kids. I've seen their broken bodies, know all about the horrors that live in their heads, and the enormous effects of trauma. We cannot commit American troops to battle without a real and tangible objective.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives. We have to be very smart and very vigilant.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Donald Trump claims parts of London are 'so radicalised' police officers are 'afraid for their lives'" by Rose Troup Buchanan, The Independent (8 December 2015); also in "'Trump's not wrong – we can't wear…
“Our police, in many cases, are afraid to do anything. We have to protect our inner cities, because African-American communities are being decimated by crime, decimated.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Kamabla Harris is afraid to Debate me on FoxNews”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 6 August 2024 cited in "Donald Trump’s ‘Pathetic’ New Way Of Attacking Kamala Harris Is Slammed Online", Yahoo News / Huffington Post
“I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy. You know, they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid…. Over the last few days it looked pretty glum… You have to be flexible. You have to be able to show a little flexibility. And I'm able to do that.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reasons given for pausing his tariff plan for 90 days for all countries except China, reported in Trump explains dramatic reversal on tariffs: People getting 'a little bit afraid' ABC News (April 9.2025)
“These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts, there’s nothing to be afraid of ... They have no Navy, we sunk all their ships.”
Donald Trump (born 1946) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hormuz Strait Attacks Follow Trump Saying Crews Should ‘Show Some Guts’" Newsweek (March 11, 2026)
“Don't be afraid of death so much as an inadequate life.”
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's a lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.”
Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in 101 Best Ways to Get Ahead (2004), edited by Michael E. Angier and Sarah Pond, p. 59
“I just tend to admire people who go for what they believe in, like David Lynch for example, and just say what goes through their heads, and are not afraid of people not accepting them. I have no respect for people who deliberately try to be weird to attract attention, but if that's who you honestly are, you shouldn't try to "normalize yourself". It's a fine line.”
Alicia Witt (born 1975) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: AOL Live (1996)
“The Devourers want not only the patronage of all beings in all universes, but—doubtless because they are afraid someone will some day raise the ever-unpleasant question of the true worth of things—they want all their customers reduced to a state of slavish and submissive suggestibility, so that they are fit for nothing whatever but to gawk at and buy the trash the Devourers offer for sale.”
Fritz Leiber (1910–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One who takes account of his shortcomings will always gain by it; one who is unmindful of them will always suffer. One who is afraid of the Day of Judgment, is safe from the Wrath of Allah. One who takes lessons from the events of life, gets vision, one who acquires vision becomes wise and one who attains wisdom achieves knowledge.”
Ali (599–661) said by 661 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Because you see, it is not as if you are judged wholly on what you say. You are up against people who deliberately set out to twist what you say to make it mean other things, and that I am afraid is part of the job, part of the world in which one lives.”
Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview for Parade magazine (17 April 1986)
“I'm not afraid of death myself, because I'm not gonna know I'm dead. I'm awed a bit by the idea, but I'm perfectly reconciled to it. Certainly I am, as everyone is, reconciled to everyone else's death but their own. They think an exception can be made in their own case.”
Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Christmas with Christopher Hitchens", by Gregg LaGambina, The A.V. Club (20 December 2007)
“Don’t these people ever get lonely?” “They’re used to it this way.” “Don’t they get afraid, then?” ”They have a religion for that.” “I wish I had a religion.” “The minute you get a religion you stop thinking,” he said. “Believe in one thing too much and you have no room for new ideas.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Next in Line (1947)
“Oh,” said Brunilla, the cow-searcher. “A man with wings.” That was how she took it. She was startled, yes, but she had never been hurt in her life, so she wasn’t afraid of anyone, and it was a fancy thing to see a winged man and she was proud to meet him.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Uncle Einar (1947)
“Whole town out there is up to their earholes in watchsprings, no hands on the clocks, afraid to get up every morning and find it’s always always and forever Sunday!”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nobody has tried to swallow us since I've been here. I think they are afraid how we would taste.”
Steve Jobs (1955–2011) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: At the annual Apple shareholder meeting (22 April 1998)
“The old man nodded, as if his neck was afraid of the weight of his head.”
Raymond Chandler (1888–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we can begin to take our failures nonseriously, it means we are ceasing to be afraid of them. It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves.”
Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Journal entry (October 1922), published in The Journal of Katherine Mansfield (1927)
“Most cassettes are afraid of me.”
Stevie Wonder (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To see the heaven in your eyes is not so far, 'Cause I'm not afraid to try and go it, To know the love and beauty never known before, I'll leave it up to you to show it.”
Stevie Wonder (born 1950) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We need a barrier behind which, in the years to come, our people can work in security to rebuild its ruins. That barrier is the Rhine. I must take national feelings into account. That does not mean that I am afraid of losing office. I am quite indifferent on that point. But I will not, by giving up the occupation, do something which will break the willpower of our people.”
Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929) first seen 1919 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at the Paris Peace Conference (June 1919), quoted in David Robin Watson, Georges Clemenceau: A Political Biography (London: Eyre Methuen, 1974), p. 352
“William always scanned the airports and airplanes for little brown guys who reeked of fundamentalism. That meant William was equally afraid of Osama bin Laden and Jerry Falwell wearing the last vestiges of a summer tan. William himself was a little brown guy, so the other travelers were always sniffing around him, but he smelled only of Dove soap, Mennen deoderant, and sarcasm.”
Sherman Alexie (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It’s not often people will tell you how they really feel about gut-level things. Like god or how they’re afraid they’ll go insane like their grandfather or sex or how obnoxious you are when you pick your nose and wipe it on your pants. They play cozy with you, because nobody likes to be hated, and large doses of truth from any one mouth tend to make the wearer of the mouth persona non grata.”
Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m afraid I felt a straight pin of jealousy. Perfection does that to me.”
Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A party with a narrow vision, a party that is afraid of the future, a party whose leaders are inclined to shoot from the hip, a party that has never been willing to put its investment in human beings who are below them in economic and social status.”
Jimmy Carter (1924–2024) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks on the Republican party, at a fundraiser in Hollywood, Florida, as quoted in "Carter Attacks Reagan Tax Cut, Seeks Debates," The Washington Post, (18 July 1980), Pg. A1; this has often become misquoted as "Repub…
“All I insist on, and nothing else, is that you should show the whole world that you are not afraid. Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary, speak—and speak in such a way that people will remember it.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) first seen 1114 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter as published in The Letters of Mozart & His Family (1938) translated and edited by Emily Anderson, p. 1114.
“People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest. It was a scandal that a breed of fearless and sinister people ran around freely, so they attached a nickname and a myth to these people to get even with them, to make up for the many times they had felt afraid.”
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I sped through heaven and saw god at work. I suffered holy pains. I dropped all my defences and was afraid of nothing in the world. I accepted all things and to all things I gave up my heart.”
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Jesus was a great worker, and His disciples must not be afraid of hard work.”
Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) said by 1892 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've never been afraid to be who I really am on screen.”
Halle Berry (born 1966) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lana K. Wilson-Combs (November 21, 2003) "Halle Berry finally finds a scary movie she can embrace in 'Gothika'", Alameda Times-Star, Section: Bay Area Living.
“Hitler: (biting into a bagel) First of all, Larry, I don't know what I was so afraid of. These are delicious!!!”
Jon Stewart (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I must tell you that I was always afraid of the fury with which I loved you. It overwhelmed me. I thought it beyond comprehension, therefore my silence.”
Henry Rollins (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Basically, men are afraid of women and can't handle the fact that they came out of the same thing they spend the rest of their lives trying to get back into.”
Henry Rollins (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“X-rays ... I am afraid of them. I stopped experimenting with them two years ago, when I came near to losing my eyesight and Dally, my assistant practically lost the use of both of his arms.”
Thomas Edison (1847–1931) first seen 1903 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in 'Edison Fears Hidden Perils of the X-Rays', New York World (3 Aug 1903), 1
“Harry, I need advice.” “You do? Well, I’ve got it in all sizes. All of it free and all of it worth what it costs, I’m afraid.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I said God but you know what I mean!” “I do indeed. You are indulging in theology; I would rather see you take laudanum. Maureen, when anyone talks about ‘God’s will’ or ‘God’s intentions’ or Nature’s intentions if he is afraid to say ‘God,’ I know at once that he is selling a gold brick. To himself, in some cases, as you were just doing.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don't suspect me of denying the principle of nationality altogether. Only, if I were to say as much as you say, I should be afraid of being driven to admit the priority of National Independence before individual liberty,—of the figurative conscience before the real. We do not find that Nationalists are always Liberals, especially in Austria.”
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) first seen 1888 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to William Ewart Gladstone (26 February 1888), quoted in J. N. Figgis and R. V. Laurence (eds.), Selections from the Correspondence of the First Lord Acton, Vol. I (1917), p. 185
“Knowledge is a fine thing, and mother Eve thought so; but she smarted so severly for hers, that most of her daughters have been afraid of it since.”
Abigail Adams (1744–1818) first seen 1791 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Elizabeth Shaw (20 March 1791)
“People say, I am afraid of changes. But who is asking you to change? Knowledge is not a change. When you see yourself in the mirror, the first thing you will realize is that beauty that you have always looked for is right there. That's the first thing you will realize. That, to me, is the magic of this Knowledge.”
Prem Rawat (born 1957) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Escobar, Argentina, January 23, 1991
“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “The dead cannot hurt you. They give you no pain, except that of seeing your own death in their faces. And one can face that, I find.” Yes, he thought, the good face pain. But the great—they embrace it.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pen spared a moment of fresh loathing for the sectarian idiocy that made even children afraid.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He feared neither God, nor devil, nor man, nor wind, nor sea, nor his own conscience. And I believe he hated everybody and everything. But I think he was afraid to die. I believe I am the only man who ever stood up to him.”
Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There stole into my mind Coleridge's poignant lines: Ah God! It is fell Christmas-tide So to the shops I hie; And my shopping-list, like the Albatross, About my neck doth lie. This was to be included in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" but was dropped to please Wordsworth, who secretly held shares in a large toy-shop and was afraid it might hurt business.”
Robertson Davies (1913–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm not afraid of Spassky. The world knows I'm the best. You don't need a match to prove it.”
Bobby Fischer (1943–2008) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by William Lombardy, 1972
“I like Houston. It's the last great 19th-century city. Houston has a spirit about it that is truly American, an optimism. People there aren't afraid to try something new.”
Philip Johnson (1906–2007) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Financial Times (June 3, 1989)
“Never be afraid of the moments—thus sings the voice of the everlasting.”
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How do you see this tree? Is it really green? Use green, then, the most beautiful green on your palette. And that shadow, rather blue? Don't be afraid to paint it as blue as possible.”
Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) first seen 1888 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from a conversation in 1888, Pont-Aven, with Paul Sérusier as cited by w:Maurice Denis, inL'influence de Paul Gauguin, in Occident (October 1903) and published in Du symbolisme au classicisme. Théories (1912), ed.…
“The violence and injustice of the rulers of mankind is an ancient evil, for which, I am afraid, the nature of human affairs can scarce admit a remedy.”
Adam Smith (1723–1790) said by 1790 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“America isn’t afraid to compete.”
Hillary Clinton (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source