Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Fear
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“The greatest felony in the news business today is to be behind, or to miss a big story. So speed and quantity substitute for thoroughness and quality, for accuracy and context. The pressure to compete, the fear somebody else will make the splash first, creates a frenzied environment in which a blizzard of information is presented and serious questions may not be raised.”
Carl Bernstein (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The greatest problem about old age is the fear that it may go on too long.”
A. J. P. Taylor (1906–1990) first seen 1981 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An Old Man's Diary ([1981] 1984) p. 39
“Privacy is a luxury; to buy it you need to be able to buy space and fit locks, to switch off the phone and live without fear of dependency on others. Privacy is a peculiarly twentieth-century concept, an artefact of the Western urban middle classes: Before then, only the super rich could afford it, and since the invention of e-mail and the mobile phone, it has largely slipped away.”
Charles Stross (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In Agent First’s world, the ineluctable law of power is that you rule or you die. To Agent First, the puppet show of democracy that Cassie believes in is obviously a child’s tissue of attractive lies, set before the cattle to enable the secret rulers to dominate them without fear of uprisings.”
Charles Stross (born 1964) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Look fear in the face and it will cease to trouble you.”
Yukteswar Giri (1855–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like”
Mitch McConnell (born 1942) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: told the Senate on January 19 according to What will Mitch McConnell do? February 12, 2021 by David Axelrod
“The reward of renunciation is some good greater than the thing renounced. To renounce with no vision of such a good, from fear or in automatic obedience to a formula, is to weaken the springs of life, and to diminish the soul's resistance to this world.”
Hugh Kingsmill (1889–1949) first seen 1928 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Matthew Arnold (1928) p. 89
“And when that foghorn blows, I will be coming home, When that foghorn blows, I wanna hear it, I don't have to fear it, And I wanna rock your gypsy soul, Just like way back in the days of old, And magnificently we will fold Into the mystic.”
Van Morrison (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Someone to hold onto And keep me from all fear Someone to be my guiding light And keep me ever dear To keep me from my selfishness To keep me from my sorrow To lead me on to givingness So I can see a new tomorrow.”
Van Morrison (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All the talk now is of freedom and pride (pride!), but these young hotheads in their pink bell-bottoms, clamouring for the right to do it in the streets if they feel like it, do not seem to appreciate, or at least seem to wish to deny, the aphrodisiac properties of secrecy and fear.”
John Banville (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Only in intimate communion with solitude may man find himself. Solitude is good company and my architecture is not for those who fear or shun it.”
Luis Barragán (1902–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Serenity is the great and true antidote against anguish and fear, and today, more than ever, it is the architect’s duty to make of it a permanent guest in the home, no matter how sumptuous or how humble. Throughout my work I have always strived to achieve serenity, but one must be on guard not to destroy it by the use of an indiscriminate palette.”
Luis Barragán (1902–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I remember those difficult days, I remember the fear, I remember the strength, I remember that hand of that fellow American soldier, reassuring me that I was going to be okay.”
Jessica Lynch (born 1983) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Abiding in heaven was he, my desire, Against the eagle, against the fear of the unskilful. I am a bard, and I am a harper, I am a piper, and I am a crowder. Of seven score musicians the very great enchanter.”
Taliesin (518–599) said by 599 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Canada firmly and unequivocally denounces female genital mutilation. No woman or girl - anywhere in the world - should ever live in fear of physical or psychological harm.”
Justin Trudeau (born 1971) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 6 February 2022 tweet
“In fact, I'm beginning to fear that this confusion will go on for a long time. And all because he writes down what I said incorrectly.”
Mikhail Bulgakov (1891–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We, in the UAE, have no such word as “impossible”; it does not exist in our lexicon. Such a word is used by the lazy and the weak, who fear challenges and progress. When one doubts his potential and capabilities as well as his confidence, he will lose the compass that leads him to success and excellence, thus failing to achieve his goal. I require you, youth, to insist on number one.”
Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let those flatter, who fear: it is not an American art.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1774 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)
“Let those flatter who fear; it is not an American art. To give praise which is not due might be well from the venal, but would ill beseem those who are asserting the rights of human nature. They know, and will therefore say, that kings are the servants, not the proprietors of the people.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) said by 1826 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded, are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them, they cannot love us....”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1786 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Benjamin Hawkins (13 August 1786) Lipscomb & Bergh ed. 5:390
“I have no fear that the result of our experiment will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master. Could the contrary of this be proved, I should conclude either that there is no god, or that he is a malevolent being.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1787 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to David Hartley (2 July 1787)
“The returning good sense of our country threatens abortion to their hopes, & they believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: and enough, too, in their opinion.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1800 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On members of the clergy who sought to establish some form of "official" Christianity in the U.S. government. Letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush (23 September 1800)
“There is not a truth existing which I fear or would wish unknown to the whole world.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1826 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Henry Lee (15 May 1826)
“There's real fear of aging in this country, which I don’t share. It seems to be an American nightmare, especially for women. There’s nothing worse than a woman trying to look like she did when she was 32 when she is 58. It’s like, “Have some dignity, guys—just go with it!”
Tracey Ullman (born 1959) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in 2009 in The Many States of Tracey Ullman
“What I fear most is that you will know where the laughs are going to come, or that you will know a character so well that you know when they're going to sing a song. In some shows, you just know that the audience is sitting there going "Oh no, she's going to sing.”
Tracey Ullman (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have had my share of criticism and continue to be pilloried, at times, by the media. When one is on the side of truth, however, one does not need to fear media.”
Francis Escudero (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The greatest fear I have is that the people of this Church will accept what we say as the will of the Lord without first praying about it and getting the witness within their own hearts that what we say is the word of the Lord.”
Brigham Young (1801–1877) first seen 1857 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Deseret News, 317 (December 9, 1857)
“When we love, we are courageous; and courage has nothing to do with being fearless, it’s about being willing to experience fear, even dread, to do what we must, without guarantee of outcome.”
Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear plants the whisper to beware but doesn't look to see who's there.”
Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pushing fear and sex buttons is a poor substitute for aesthetic elation, transcendental euphoria and quintessential stimulation.”
Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“20. The activity affected by causes like fainting, sleep, excessive joy, grief, possession by spirits, fear etc goes to the heart, its own place.”
Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now Albert had heard about lions, How they was ferocious and wild; And to see Wallace lying so peaceful, Just didn't seem right to the child. So straightway the brave little feller, Not showing a morsel of fear, Took his stick with the 'orses 'ead 'andle, And shoved it in Wallace's ear.”
Marriott Edgar (1880–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Where hope rises fear must lurk behind.”
Anne Brontë (1820–1849) said by 1849 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think often, and never without a certain fear of Nessim's love for Justine. [-] It coloured his unhappiness with a kind of ecstasy [-] Yet one touch of humour would have saved him from such dreadful comprehensive suffering.”
Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990) said by 1990 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Can she who shines so calm be fear? What poison pours she in slumber's ear?”
Edmund Charles Blunden (1896–1974) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Evening Mystery", st. 6. The Shepherd, &c. (1922) p. 30
“Your Dollar is your only Word, The wrath of it your only fear. You build it altars tall enough To make you see, but your are blind; You cannot leave it long enough To look before you or behind.”
Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935) said by 1935 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cassandra (1950).
“The winds are sometimes sad to me, The starry spaces, full of fear; Mine is the sorrow on the sea, And mine the sigh of places drear. Some players upon plaintive strings Publish their wistfulness abroad; I have not spoken of these things, Save to one man, and unto God.”
Lionel Johnson (1867–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear is unnatural. Lightning and thunder are unnatural. Pain, death, reality, these are all unnatural. We can't bear these things as they are. We know too much. So we resort to repression, compromise and disguise. This is how we survive the universe. This is the natural language of the species.”
Don DeLillo (born 1936) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The national polities of the modern world maintain their existence by deliberately fostered craving and fear.”
Gary Snyder (born 1930) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every breath I drew was a breath of fear, every shadow a stifling shock, every footfall struck on my heart like the heavy boot of the Cossack. (beginning of "How I Found America")”
Anzia Yezierska (1880–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What thrust us into war were not Hitler's political teachings: the cause, this time, was his successful attempt to establish a new economy. The causes of the war were: envy, greed, and fear.”
J. F. C. Fuller (1878–1966) first seen 1939 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Second World War, 1939-1945: a strategical and tactical history, (1948).
“If fathers who fear fathering and run away from it could only see how little fathering is enough. Mostly, the father just needs to be there.”
Frank Pittman (1935–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What I am and what I feel are good enough to be a basis for therapy, if I can transparently be what I am and what I feel in relationshipto him. Then perhaps he can be what he is, openly and without fear.”
Carl Rogers (1902–1987) said by 1987 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear became my weapon.”
Don Arden (1926–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sleep, angry beauty, sleep, and fear not me. For who a sleeping lion dares provoke?”
Thomas Campion (1567–1620) said by 1620 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Her feet beneath her petticoat, Like little mice, stole in and out, As if they fear'd the light: But O, she dances such a way! No sun upon an Easter-day Is half so fine a sight.”
John Suckling (1609–1642) said by 1642 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Superstition saw Something it had never seen before: Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear, Beauty so sudden for that time of year.”
Jean Toomer (1894–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh! then, let us gird up our minds in courage, and compose them in peace. Let us cast aside fear and suspicion, suspend our jealousies and disputes, acknowledge the rights of others and assert our own. And oh! let us understand that the first and noblest of these rights is, the cultivation of our reason.”
Frances Wright (1795–1852) said by 1852 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is written that the last enemy to be vanquished is death. We should begin early in life to vanquish this enemy by obliterating every trace of the fear of death from our minds. Then can we turn to life and fill the whole horizon of our souls with it, turn with added zest toall the serious tasks which it imposes and to the pure delights which here and there it affords.”
Felix Adler (1851–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's easy to hate and point out everything that is wrong with the world; it is the hardest and most important work in one's life to free oneself from the bonds of fear and attachment.”
Noah Levine (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source