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Fear

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“Anyone who feels the urge to undertake such a task must dedicate himself for his labors as he would prepare for a pilgrimage to distant lands. He must spare no time or effort, fear no earthly power or rank, and rise above his own vanity or false modesty in order to tell, in accordance with the expression of the Code Napoléon, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831) said by 1831 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every suspension of offensive action, either from erroneous views, from fear or from indolence, is in favor of the side acting defensively.”
Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831) said by 1831 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As the thought comes to me to exorcise and transform this black with a white drawing, it has already become a surface.. .Now I have lost all fear, and begin to draw on the black surface.”
Jean Arp (1886–1966) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hans Arp's quote on drawing on the black surface; as quoted in Search for the Real, Hans Hofmann, Addison Gallery of modern Art, 1948
“Hitler was a master of manipulation, using propaganda, violence, intimidation, showmanship, and spectacle — and above all, fear. By demonizing "the other" – Jews, social democrats and communists – Hitler won the hearts and minds of the masses, consolidating his power, and turning Germany into a one-party Nazi state.”
Bill Moyers (1934–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is said in the Hadith: "I swear to Allah, I wish to fight for Allah's cause and be killed." ... Being killed for Allah's cause is a great honor achieved only by those who are the elite of the nation. We love this kind of death for Allah's cause as much as you like to live. We have nothing to fear for.”
Osama bin Laden (1957–2011) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview conducted by Peter Arnett in Afghanistan in 1997. Transcript of Osama bin Laden [television] interview by Peter Arnett, March 1997, http://www.anusha.com/osamaint.htm. Reported in Pierre-André Taguieff, Rising…
“It’s not impossible,” Minelli said. “No,” Edward admitted, “but it’s paranoid as hell, and that’s the last thing we need, more fear.”
Greg Bear (1951–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“With every moon it is as though you're getting closer to your soul And then you go alone and with no fear Then you will know That it was like this before we had to go And you will find that you were blind Until you saw these lights glowing in your nights.”
Nico (1938–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everyone has got the fear It's holding on Holding on”
Thom Yorke (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Jumped in the river, what did I see? Black-eyed angels swam with me A moonful of stars and astral cars And all the figures I used to see All my lovers were there with me All my past and futures And we all went to heaven in a little row boat There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt”
Thom Yorke (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The following complaint sets perhaps the smuttiest tone about the poet’s detainment: "al-Amin, I languish in the sodomites' prison and fear being buggered. Do you wish them to bugger your very own poet?”
Abu Nuwas (756–814) said by 814 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Philip F. Kennedy, Abu Nuwas: A Genius of Poetry (2005)
“In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth.”
Xunzi (philosopher) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in: Joan Klostermann-Ketels (2011) HumaniTrees, p. 96
“The very thought of this Alaska garden is a joyful exhilaration. … Out of all the cold darkness and glacial crushing and grinding comes this warm, abounding beauty and life to teach us that what we in our faithless ignorance and fear call destruction is creation finer and finer.”
John Muir (1838–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Travels in Alaska (1915), chapter 16: Glacier Bay
“In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground- a time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now.”
Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Woman power to the fore, by R.S. Binuraj, The Hindu (1 July 2017)
“. “African women in general need to know that it’s OK for them to be the way they are — to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence.”
Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Kenya's Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai dies aged 71 BBC NEWS (26 September 2011)
“If Mr. Lloyd George had no good qualities, no charms, no fascinations, he would not be dangerous. If he were not a syren, we need not fear the whirlpools.”
John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) first seen 1923 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mr. Lloyd George: A Fragment", p. 35; Originally published in The Nation and the Athenaeum, May 26, 1923.
“The fear of missing out means today's media, more than ever before, hunts in a pack. In these modes it is like a feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits. But no-one dares miss out.”
Tony Blair (born 1953) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lecture on Our Nation's Future - Public Life, Reuters (12 June 2007).
“Laughter is man's most distinctive emotional expression. Man shares the capacity for love and hate, anger and fear, loyalty and grief, with other living creatures. But humour, which has an intellectual as well as an emotional element belongs to man.”
Margaret Mead (1901–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly.”
Margaret Mead (1901–1978) said by 1978 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Attributed in American Quotations (1992) by Gorton Carruth and Eugene H. Ehrlich, p. 149
“What collapsed at that time? First of all a lot of high walls, which divided people, nations and all continents in defiance of common sense. The Iron Curtain, which separated European nations subordinated to the soviet empire from nations which celebrated freedom, collapsed... Walls built among citizens by omnipresent fear tumbled down.”
Václav Havel (1936–2011) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1 January 1999. Quoted at the European Solidarity Centre.
“Faith — what is this emotion but a desperate attempt to escape from mind-burning fear?”
David Zindell (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Screaming along in South London Vicious but ready to learn Sometimes I fear that the whole world is queer Sometimes but always in vain So I'll wait until we're sane Wait until we're blessed and all the same Full of blood, loving life and all it's got to give Englishmen going insane”
David Bowie (1947–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“President's power does not extend to threatening or shutting down social media platforms. But we should fear this in every country. Worst case scenario is that platforms don't have courage to tell Trump to go away, that they begin to adapt policies to his whims because he is a lunatic,”
Jimmy Wales (born 1966) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Donald Trump is a lunatic: Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales interview with India Times on May 28, 2020
“Satire is at once the most agreeable and most dangerous of mental qualities. It always pleases when it is refined, but we always fear those who use it too much, yet satire should be allowed when unmixed with spite, and when the person satirised can join in the satire. It is unfortunate to have a satirical turn without affecting to be pleased or without loving to jest.”
François de La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680) said by 1680 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don't fear failure. — Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.”
Bruce Lee (1940–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's only for a week so have no fear! Be grateful that it doesn't last all year!”
Tom Lehrer (1928–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do not fear death.”
Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) said by 1645 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let us put away our sins; the real ground of all our calamities! Which never will or can be thoroughly removed, till we fear God and honour the King.”
John Wesley (1703–1791) first seen 1775 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Calm Address to our American Colonies (1775), pp. 17–18.
“I don't believe in fear of divine vengeance, and I do believe in justice and equality.... ~ Ch. 57”
Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Between our fear of failure And our ultimate potential We are called to action, A line must be drawn. Commit to Realization And experimentation, Stay centered in the Uncreated Source of Creation, Leave the critics behind. Let Love draw the line.”
Alex Grey (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The only death I fear is dying ignorant.”
Steven Erikson (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Can you live without answers? All of you, ask that of yourself. Can you live without answers? Because if you cannot, then most assuredly you will invent your own answers and they will comfort you. And all those who do not share your view will by their very existence strike fear and hatred into your heart. What god blesses this?”
Steven Erikson (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'Then, does everyone lives in fear?'”
Steven Erikson (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fools, art is a heavy task, more heavy than gold crowns; it's far more difficult to match firm words than armies, they're disciplined troops, unconquered, to be placed in rhythm, the mind's most mighty foe, and not disperse in air. I'd give, believe me, a whole land for one good song, for I know well that only words, that words alone, like the high mountains, have no fear of age or death.”
Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I wanted to offer a supreme model to the man who struggles; I wanted to show him that he must not fear pain, temptation or death — because all three can be conquered, all three have already been conquered.”
Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Outside the wind of Jehovah still beat on the door, trying to enter. There was no other sound. Not a jackal on the earth, nor a crow in the air. Every living thing cowered in fear, waiting for the Lord's anger to pass.”
Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whoever climbed the Lord's mountain had to possess clean hands and an innocent heart; otherwise the Summit would kill him. Today the doorway is deserted. Soiled hands and sinful hearts are able to pass by without fear, for the Summit kills no longer.”
Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don’t shortchange the future, because of fear in the present.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Barack Obama: "The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom in London, England," April 1, 2009. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
“Societies held together by fear and repression may offer the illusion of stability for a time, but they are built upon fault lines that will eventually tear asunder.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Barack Obama: "Remarks at the Department of State," May 19, 2011. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
“And that’s the question we all must answer -- what kind of Europe, what kind of America, what kind of world will we leave behind. And I believe that if we hold firm to our principles, and are willing to back our beliefs with courage and resolve, then hope will ultimately overcome fear, and freedom will continue to triumph over tyranny -- because that is what forever stirs in the human heart.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We choose hope over fear. We see the future not as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better through concerted and collective effort. We reject fatalism or cynicism when it comes to human affairs. We choose to work for the world as it should be, as our children deserve it to be.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So civil society is the conscience of our countries. It’s the catalyst of change. It’s why strong nations don’t fear active citizens. Strong nations embrace and support and empower active citizens.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Africa’s progress will also depend on security and peace -- because an essential part of human dignity is being safe and free from fear.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He knew, better than the cynic, that if you look out over the arc of history, human beings should be filled not with fear but with hope.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks by President Obama at Memorial Service for Former Israeli President Shimon Peres on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Israel. (30 September 2016)
“And I've always believed in what Martin Luther King, Jr. called “the fierce urgency of now” -- we should not fear change, we should embrace it.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Very much of my poetry is, I know an enquiry and a terror of fearful expectation, a discovery and facing of fear. I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their subjugation and victory, downthrow & upheaval, and my effort is their self-expression.”
Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Henry Treece, 16 May 1938
“I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn’t going to be one of those people who die wondering, “What if?” I would keep putting my dream to the test — even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there. If you can't live here, get back to YOUR roots and LEARN to live here!”
Alex Haley (1921–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The violent have been victorious for most of history because they kindled the fear with which everyone is born.”
Theodore Zeldin (born 1933) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[On Yom Kippur] The rabbi intones that today is the day that God will put your name in the Book of Life... or the Book of DEATH. I'm five, and I'm going, "Uhhh, what the fuck is that? The book of WHAT?!?" Death? Death was not anything that had ever occurred to me. My greatest fear was that my parents were going to leave me in a grocery store.”
Lewis Black (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the small countries of the world that constitute the majority in our comity of nations cannot count on respect for their territorial integrity and sovereignty, then I fear the very basis of the international political system that has evolved is in dire jeopardy.”
Mahathir Mohamad (born 1925) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In Selma as elsewhere we seek and pray for peace. We seek order. We seek unity. But we will not accept the peace of stifled rights, or the order imposed by fear, or the unity that stifles protest. For peace cannot be purchased at the cost of liberty.”
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source