Famous quotes
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Fear
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“Anyone who bar-codes their employees isn’t likely to be the forgiving type, and the reflex of long-held obedience through hierarchy is usually enough to overcome fear of a combat death. That’s how you fight wars, after all—with soldiers who are more afraid of stepping out of line than they are of dying on the battlefield.”
Richard Morgan (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In handling men, there are three feelings that a man must not possess - fear, dislike and contempt. If he is afraid of men he cannot handle them. Neither can he influence them in his favor if he dislikes or scorns them. He must neither cringe nor sneer. He must have both self-respect and respect for others.”
Herbert N. Casson (1869–1951) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Herbert N. Casson cited in: Forbes magazine (1950) The Forbes scrapbook of Thoughts on the business of life. p. 158
“Coupled with my hate-fueled eagerness to carry out my act of revenge, there was also an extreme sense of fear inside me. Part of me still didn’t want to do it. It will mean my death, and I have always been afraid of death.”
Elliot Rodger (1991–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They did not talk or want to talk. It was as if they were afraid to talk for fear of spoiling something beautiful. But Anne had never felt so near Katherine Brooke before. By some magic of its own the winter night had brought them together . . . almost together but not quite.”
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942) said by 1942 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Be not afraid... Have courage. Be bold. Do not let yourself be intimidated. Do not yield to the bullies. Stand up. Speak out. Fear God, not men. Be willing to bear the cost of discipleship. Be prepared to take up your cross and follow Jesus — even to Calvary.”
Robert P. George (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[S]hould we be afraid? Yes. But understand that what we think we fear may not exhaust its real sources.”
Adam Garfinkle (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Could this reaction against the personal by [analytic] philosophers … be, at bottom, one of fear? … Are … bright people … blindly afraid of their own precarious identity and unspeakable vulnerability as particular bodily beings?”
Bruce Wilshire (1932–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The discovery of freedom, for instance, means little if we are not empowered to act, to be free for something, not just from something. As fear falls away, we are less afraid of power's Siamese twin, responsibility.”
Marilyn Ferguson (1938–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think there’s a deep societal fear of female rage, partly because it hasn’t been experienced a lot. Men—I speak in vast generalities—are often very afraid of what they don’t know how to handle. And they haven’t had to handle female rage a lot, and they think they need to handle it.”
Gillian Flynn (born 1971) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On how she perceives female rage in “Gillian Flynn Isn’t Going to Write the Kind of Women You Want” in Vanity Fair (2018 Jun 28)
“Everybody is afraid. The Gospel speaks to this fear! It offers a way out, and a way forward!”
Rod Dreher (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The savant whose learning pursuits the Almighty God, all people hold reverential fear of him, and he whose objective is worldly gain, is afraid of the people.”
Shaqiq al-Balkhi (died 810) said by 810 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We condemn the violence and reaffirm the right to practice our religious faith in this country, in accordance with the Constitution. To Christians I say: do not be afraid, let us move forward without fear, with faith in God who is our salvation.”
Gervas Rozario (born 1951) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interreligious cooperation to curb violence against Christians (8 June 2022) Fides News Agency
“I overcame the fear of loving my body because it’s been a long time of me hating my own body. With this EP I decided to not be afraid anymore,” the singer says.”
Ariel Wayz (born 2000) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ariel Wayz on music, self-love and why body-shamers will not stop her. New Times (September 26,2026)
“Of course I was afraid. But I had learned to fear other things more: being despised, whittled down one small piece of myself at a time, smirked at and taken advantage of. I put my chin up and said, as cold as I could be in answer, “And what will you give me in return?”
Naomi Novik (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We know fear. We are not afraid. Our concern is that this power we carry is nothing before those who do not know what it means to be strong.”
Jumoke Verissimo (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People think that fighter pilots aren’t afraid of anything, and yet that’s not true,” she says. “It’s that we’ve learned and developed the ability to work through fear, and flip it, and make it actionable, so that it works for us, and not against us.”
Carey Lohrenz (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, we do fear hugging Rahul Gandhi. Married BJP MPs are afraid that if they hug Rahul Gandhi, their wives might divorce them or accuse them of developing different symptoms.”
Nishikant Dubey (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear is a vice that takes root once it is cultivated. It takes time to recover from it." Jean Luze shrugged. "Who can boast that he has never been afraid?" he shot back at Audier. "At least you have been spared from war. As for me, I bear its mark on my body and soul forever.”
Marie Vieux-Chauvet (1916–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But if I feared it, I faced up to it anyway. A man’s got to be a man sometime. You show me one who was nair afraid, and I’ll right away show you one that nair in his life came up against aught to fear.”
Manly Wade Wellman (1903–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Roads cannot flourish where fear governs the highways. Investors cannot build where kidnappers build camps. Farmers cannot feed a nation while fleeing their farms. Children cannot prepare for tomorrow when they are afraid to attend school today.”
Godswill Akpabio (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For truth and death are similar in that they both require a great courage if one wishes to face them. And truth is like death in that it kills. When I killed I did it with truth not with a knife. That is why they are afraid and in a hurry to execute me. They do not fear my knife. It is my truth that frightens them.”
Nawal El Tatawy (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fearlessness is a core part of a psychopathic personality. … People with psychopathy are really bad at recognizing when other people are afraid. And the reason we think that is because they don’t feel fear strongly themselves.”
Abigail Marsh (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I know for a fact that extraterrestrials are spying on us, keeping us under control. They fear us. Aliens are afraid of the use we can make of nuclear power, and have been here since the dawn of time. On UFOs we have remarkable scientific documentation, there is evidence of extraterrestrial vehicles. And if there are vehicles there must be someone inside too.”
Mario Borghezio (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They know me, I be old soldier, I no dey fear anything for this life. I am not afraid of anything except God. If you want to score me, go and check the national budget, check the items that fall under Lavun/Mokwa/Edati Federal Constituency and the allocation. Go and check if the projects were 100 per cent funded, then you can come and ask me about it and that is when you can score me.”
Joshua Audu-Gana wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is the same when the country’s elite fear to give advice or are afraid to discuss publicly or sharing opinions about what is right or wrong in their society and then surrender their acumen and allow the uninitiated and poor thinkers to do the thinking for the country. That country is doomed.”
George Kanyeihamba (1939–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My personal success lies in the safety I’ve gained from being open and visible over the years. I feel secure. I’m no longer afraid of being outed in the papers, or of a call from a friend or family member. I’m no longer worried about that, I’ve overcome that fear. That is my greatest success.”
Frank Mugisha (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can write about anything and anyone on earth except bats. I fear bats and cannot write about them because I'm even afraid of imagining them”
Sabata-Mpho Mokae wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I fear freedom. I, above all, fear the freedom that is above all feardom.”
Giannina Braschi (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Panicky fear is more contagious than typhoid or cholera. The atom bombs cause terrible panicky fear. People leave their houses and move to villages.”
Swami Sivananda (1887–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Anxiety and worry are the effects of fear. Some sort of fear gets buried in the subconscious mind. So man worries himself. There is continued strain and tension in the mind.”
Swami Sivananda (1887–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There can be fear only where there is duality. How can there be fear for one who experiences non-duality? Such a person is the most courageous of men. The courage of a soldier in the battlefield or of a dacoit is only Tamasic courage. It is not courage at all. It is only brutal ferocity born of hatred or jealousy. That Sattvic courage born of Wisdom of the Self alone is real courage.”
Swami Sivananda (1887–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sit with closed eyes in the early morning. Meditate on courage, the opposite of fear, for half an hour. Think of the advantages of courage and the disadvantages of fear.”
Swami Sivananda (1887–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I didn't ask any questions. Everything I wanted to know was written in tortured phrases across the desolation of her face. It didn't look like insanity to me. It looked like fear, the terrible fear screaming from her big hungered eyes, alert now from the drug.”
John Fante (1909–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The reason why you don't put your hand in the fire is not because of fear, it's because you know you'll get burned. You don't need fear to avoid an unnecessary danger, just a minimum of intelligence and common sense.”
Eckhart Tolle (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let them fear bondage who are slaves to fear; The sweetest freedom is an honest heart.”
John Ford (dramatist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear can keep us safe, but fear can also keep us small.”
Michelle Obama (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Without fear of God as a basis, nothing is possible spiritually, for the absence of fear is a lack of self-knowledge.”
Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Henceforth the majesty of God revere; Fear Him, and you have nothing else to fear.”
James Fordyce (1720–1796) first seen 1639 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Answer to a Gentleman who apologized to the Author for Swearing. Compare: "Je crains Dieu, cher Abner, et n'ai point d'autre crainte" (translated: "I fear God, dear Abner, and I have no other fear"), Jean Racine, Athali…
“Healthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death.”
Erik Erikson (1902–1994) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Childhood and Society (1950), p. 269
“I read, I study, I examine, I listen, I reflect, and out of all of this I try to form an idea into which I put as much common sense as I can. I shall not speak much for fear of saying foolish things; I will risk still less for fear of doing them, for I am not disposed to abuse the confidence which they have deigned to show me. Such is the conduct which until now I have followed and will follow.”
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) first seen 1776 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his father-in-law, the Duc d'Ayan (4 December 1776), as quoted in George Washington's Generals and Opponents: Their Exploits and Leadership (1994) by George Athan Billias, p. 219
“Pride is a reaction formation to the feeling of inferiority, of the experience of powerlessness, of not being worthy enough of love. Only anxiety compels a person to lose moderation and to want to be more than he is. Out of fear of being an animal, he has to become an angel. Out of fear of being a nothing, a god. Anxiety never allows him to be simply a man.”
Eugen Drewermann (born 1940) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Strukturen des Bösen III LXXVII (fifth edition 1986)
“Fear of emotional contact with men out of fear of being a sexual suspect makes boys, ironically, even more powerless before girls. Homophobia is like telling the United States it will be a sissy nation if it doesn’t get all its oil from OPEC.”
Warren Farrell (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“After divorce, women’s biggest fear is economic deprivation; men’s biggest fear is emotional deprivation.”
Warren Farrell (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Imagine how wicked society would be if the fear of God and the fear of civil law were both completely removed. Imagine if a man could rape and murder, with no concerns about being punished? That’s when we would see the true heart of humanity, and that’s where we as a nation are slowly heading.”
Ray Comfort (born 1949) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Mass Murder 'Normal' in World without God'", WorldNetDaily (2012-07-23)
“You can't have thought without emotion, and one emotion is fear, and making an important decision on the basis of fear is not a good idea. So develop your courage.”
Ursula Goodenough (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Things can be done under the incentive of terror and fear that can not be done when the fear disappears.”
Lester B. Pearson (1897–1972) said by 1972 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The public welfare demands that constitutional cases must be decided according to the terms of the Constitution itself, and not according to judges' views of fairness, reasonableness, or justice. I have no fear of constitutional amendments properly adopted, but I do fear the rewriting of the Constitution by judges under the guise of interpretation.”
Hugo Black (1886–1971) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Columbia University's Charpentier Lectures (1968)
“Don't fear the nighttime, cause the monsters know that you're divine. Don't fear the sunshine, cause everything's better in the summertime”
Michael Franti (born 1966) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Never Too Late, Everyone Deserves Music (2003)
“[on the fear of a nervous breakdown] I don't think I ever lost this fear. It turned me into a default existentialist by the time I was six: I quickly learned that the pursuit of happiness is largely pointless, happiness being the only target one merely has to aim at in order to miss.”
John Cooper Clarke (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear tends to come from ignorance. Once I knew what the problem was, it was just a problem, nothing to fear.”
Patrick Rothfuss (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source