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Fear
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“In whatever state of knowledge we may conceive man to be placed, his progress towards a yet higher state need never fear a check, but must continue till the last existence of society.”
John Herschel (1792–1871) said by 1871 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love is the master-key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear. How terrible is the one fact of beauty!”
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1894) first seen 1885 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Mortal Antipathy (1885) ch. 20
“One unquestioned text we read, All doubt beyond, all fear above; Nor crackling pile nor cursing creed Can burn or blot it—God is love.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1894) said by 1894 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I saw a thing, actually-- a study that said: speaking in front of a crowd is considered the #1 fear of the average person. I found that amazing! #2 was death. Death is #2? This means, to the average person, if you have to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.”
Jerry Seinfeld (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear is funny. Especially when it's not fake!”
Jerry Seinfeld (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But now? well now, now I have no fear of Witches, goblins, ghosts, thugs, Giants, ghouls, scallywags, etc, nor any sort of body.”
Francisco Goya (1746–1828) first seen 1784 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: letter to his friend Don Martín Zapater and [https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Francisco_de_Goya_-_Portrait_of_Mart%C3%ADn_Zapater_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg, Feb. 1784; as quoted in Goya, A life in Letters, edited an…
“Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be described as "grace under pressure" — grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.”
Aung San Suu Kyi (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Unless we are free from fear we will not be able to give our children the kind of future that we would like them to have.”
Aung San Suu Kyi (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I would not like young people to ask this question, why were we born at all. I want them to ask every kind of question but for them to question why they have been born to a situation which does not assure them of their right to dignity and to freedom from want and from fear, that is not the kind of question I would want anyone to ask.”
Aung San Suu Kyi (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All the copy-cat predictions of a Muslim takeover of Europe not only ignore history and Europe’s ineradicable viciousness and Europe's ineradicable piousness, but do a serious disservice by exacerbating fear and hatred. And when it comes to hatred, trust me: The Europeans don't need our help.”
Ralph Peters (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not the rich man's son that the young struggler for advancement has to fear in the race of life, nor his nephew, nor his cousin. Let him look out for the "dark horse" in the boy who begins by sweeping out the office.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Lord will always send a people wake-up calls. And he has been sending us wake-up call, after wake-up call, after a wake-up call. … He has been sending us wake-up calls, and you can send two kinds of wake-up calls. One through fear, like 9/11. 9/11 woke us up, and we stood shoulder-to-shoulder for a very short period of time.”
Glenn Beck (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Most intellectual people do not believe in God, but they fear him just the same.”
Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Philosophy : An Introduction to the Art of Wondering (2005) by James Lee Christian, p. 556
“I fear that the consumer who buys a Confederate flag coffee cup, which she will then put on her American flag place mat, is the sort of sophisticated thinker who is open-minded enough that she is capable of hating blacks and Arabs at the same time.”
Sarah Vowell (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mute in the clamour of shells he watched them burst Spouting dark earth and wire with gusts from hell, While posturing giants dissolved in drifts of smoke. He crouched and flinched, dizzy with galloping fear, Sick for escape,— loathing the strangled horror And butchered, frantic gestures of the dead.”
Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Till society is very differently constituted, parents, I fear, will still insist on being obeyed, because they will be obeyed, and constantly endeavour to settle that power on a Divine right, which will not bear the investigation of reason.”
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) said by 1797 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Executions, far from being useful examples to the survivors, have, I am persuaded, a quite contrary effect, by hardening the heart they ought to terrify. Besides, the fear of an ignominious death, I believe, never deterred anyone from the commission of a crime, because in committing it the mind is roused to activity about present circumstances.”
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) said by 1797 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Be a constant outrage to modesty There is nothing to fear: modesty is exercised only among the blind.”
Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do not fear being ridiculous in relation to the ridiculous.”
Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The happy consciousness is shaky enough—a thin surface over fear, frustration, and disgust.”
Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979) said by 1979 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I could almost smell her fear... Why did it bother me so much? Because she and I were the only women here, and we had to be better than the men. Braver, quicker, whatever. It was a rule for playing with the big boys.”
Laurell K. Hamilton (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People are supposed to fear the unknown, but ignorance is bliss when the knowledge is so damn frightening.”
Laurell K. Hamilton (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have no joy in strife, Peace is my great desire; Yet God forbid I lose my life Through fear to face the fire.A peaceful man must fight For that which peace demands,— Freedom and faith, honor and right, Defend with heart and hands.”
Henry van Dyke (1852–1933) first seen 1918 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Peaceful Warrior, st. 1-2 (May 1918).
“Time Is... Too slow for those who wait, Too swift for those who fear, Too long for those who grieve, Too short for those who rejoice, But for those who love, Time is Eternity. (Music and Other Poems, 1904)”
Henry van Dyke (1852–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“See the fear and terror as black men run. White is right in the white man’s world, on the big white screen.”
Robert Banks (filmmaker) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Here was a new generation, shouting the old cries, learning the old creeds, through a revery of long days and nights; destined finally to go out into that dirty gray turmoil to follow love and pride; a new generation dedicated more than the last to the fear of poverty and the worship of success; grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken. . . .”
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[T]here is a flaw in civilization from the instant it has to admit fear.”
Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our party must continue to strike fear in the heart of the white man, our real enemy!”
Robert Mugabe (1924–2019) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Whites are real enemy, warns Mugabe", Irish Times, 15 December 2000, p. 11.
“From the time they turned one they were tossed from the balconies of the kitchens, first with life preserves so they would lose their fear of the water, and then without life preservers so they would lose their respect for death.”
Gabriel García Márquez (1927–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.”
Pope Benedict XVI (1927–2022) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inauguration homily, April 24, 2005
“Love has a particular trait: it has a task or purpose to fulfill - to abide. By its nature, love is enduring. The Holy Spirit offers our world love that dispels uncertainty; love that overcomes the fear of betrayal; love that carries eternity within; the true love that draws us into a unity that abides!”
Pope Benedict XVI (1927–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One must not fear truth, because it is a friend of man and of his freedom”
Pope Benedict XVI (1927–2022) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In General Audience, General Audience 30 September 2009 (30 September 2009)
“People with bad consciences always fear the judgment of children.”
Mary McCarthy (1912–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How often had he longed to hold us, hug us, grant our every wish, but held himself back for fear of letting us see his vulnerability, believing as he did that real love demanded not affection but discipline?”
Clarence Thomas (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All I can hope to teach my son is to tell the truth and fear no man.”
Edward R. Murrow (1908–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have no feud, either with my employers, any sponsors, or with the professional critics of radio and television. But I am seized with an abiding fear regarding what these two instruments are doing to our society, our culture and our heritage.”
Edward R. Murrow (1908–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The task of the wise government of so vast an empire may be an impossible one—I often fear it is so—we may fail in our efforts, but, whether we fail or succeed, let us do our best to compensate for the wrong of the past and the present by conferring on the Indian people whatever good it is in our power to give them.”
John Bright (1811–1889) first seen 1883 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Major Evans Bell (25 August 1883), quoted in The Public Letters of The Right Hon. John Bright, M.P., ed. H. J. Leech (1885), p. 282
“In view of what has happened to other indigenous groups, the fear and insecurity of Fijians should be easy to understand".”
Laisenia Qarase (1941–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Time takes her toll and the memory fades but his glory is broken, in the magic that he made. Reality is ruined; it's the freeing from the fear The drama is distorted, to what they want to hear Swimming in their sorrow, in the twisting of a tear As they wait for a new thrill parade.”
Phil Ochs (1940–1976) said by 1976 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For too long, we have allowed fear to dictate our politics and suspicions, to shape how we perceive other communities.”
Epeli Ganilau (1951–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are those people who are acting irresponsibly … and spreading their gospel of fear and hate and not doing anything to help the ordinary people put bread on their table for their families.”
Epeli Ganilau (1951–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those threats they (Apisai Tora and Tomasi Vakatora) came up with should be condemned. He (Tora) has come up with the same threats that politicians like him throw up before elections. That if any other party especially Labour wins, there will be instability … These people are forcing the population to vote out of fear. These types of talks have to be condemned now.”
Frank Bainimarama (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All investigations of Time, however sophisticated or abstract, have at their true base the human fear of mortality.”
Thomas Pynchon (born 1937) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have no fear nor shrinking; I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me.”
Edith Cavell (1865–1915) said by 1915 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Iran should not be denied the human right to knowledge...the fear of America is Iran's attitude to Israel, and the cornerstone of America's foreign policy is the protection of Israel... If Iran believes in Allah, and if Iran believes in the power of Allah, Iran can't be frightened by America.”
Louis Farrakhan (born 1933) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Louis Farrakhan, Leader of the "Nation of Islam", Declares His Support of Iran's Nuclear Program and Claims that Since the U.S. Administration Ignored His Warnings, "the Time for the Chastisement of Allah Is Here" (Marc…
“But France's powerful armies, and a very large number of fortresses, ensure that the French Sovereign will possess the throne forever, and they do not have anything to fear now concerning internal wars or their neighbors invading France.”
Frederick II of Prussia (1712–1786) said by 1786 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Before anything else [Numa] decided that he must instill in his subjects the fear of the gods, this being the most effective measure with an ignorant, and at that time uncultured, people.”
Livy (59 BC–17) said by 17 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Under the influence of fear, which always leads men to take a pessimistic view of things, they magnified their enemies’ resources, and minimized their own.”
Livy (59 BC–17) said by 17 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In Cuba, there is no fear of a racial war. Men are more than whites, mulattos or Negroes. Cubans are more than whites, mulattos or Negroes. On the field of battle, dying for Cuba, the souls of whites and Negroes have risen together into the air.”
José Martí (1853–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As long as those responsible are still lurking in the shadows and this culture of silence remains, then certain sections of the community will remain insecure, intimidated and live in fear.”
Koila Nailatikau (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source