"Religion is for people who fear hell, spirituality is for people who have been there."
Fear quotes
Fear
2.7K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Quote collection
Fear quotes (page 1 of 134)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"F-E-A-R has two meanings: 'Forget Everything And Run' or 'Face Everything And Rise.' The choice is yours."
"Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking."
"Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted."
"Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater."
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate... Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
"The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds."
"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
"The years of imprisonment hardened me ... Perhaps if you have been given a moment to hold back and wait for the next blow, your emotions wouldn't be blunted as they have been in my case. When it happens every day of your life, when that pain becomes a way of life ... there is no longer anything I can fear. There is nothing the government has not done to me. There isn't any pain I haven't known."
"You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen."
"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present."
"Make yourself sheep and the wolves will eat you."
"This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect."
"If a man considers that he is born, he cannot avoid the fear of death. Let him find out if he has been born or if the Self has any birth. He will discover that the Self always exists, that the body that is born resolves itself into thought and that the emergence of thought is the root of all mischief. Find from where thoughts emerge. Then you will be able to abide in the ever-present inmost Self and be free from the idea of birth or the fear of death."
"Now is the time to understand more, so we fear less."
"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."
"He who has overcome his fears will truly be free."
"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."
"He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures."
"Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire."
"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience."