“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Facing FearLeadership
Fear Quotes
200 FAMOUS QUOTES · FEAR
Fear Quotes
Read the best fear quotes from Shakespeare, Seneca, the Bible, Emerson and more, with timeless words to help you face your fears and find courage.
“Fear always springs from ignorance.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
KnowledgeUnderstanding Fear
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
H. P. Lovecraft
The UnknownHuman Nature
“There are more things likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”
Seneca
WorryImagination
“Cease to hope, and you will cease to fear.”
Seneca
Peace Of MindStoicism
“Or in the night, imagining some fear, how easy is a bush supposed a bear!”
William Shakespeare
ImaginationNight
“Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not.”
The Bible (Isaiah 35:4)
EncouragementFaith
“Fear may be defined as a pain or disturbance due to a mental picture of some destructive or painful evil in the future.”
Aristotle
Understanding FearPhilosophy
“Fears make devils of cherubins; they never see truly.”
William Shakespeare
PerceptionUnderstanding Fear
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
Mary Shelley
FearlessnessPower
“The first duty for a man is still that of subduing Fear.”
Thomas Carlyle
Overcoming FearDuty
“I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
The Bible (Psalm 34:4)
PrayerDeliverance
“Be stirring as the time; be fire with fire; threaten the threatener and outface the brow of bragging horror.”
William Shakespeare
BoldnessFacing Fear
“Fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns.”
William Shakespeare
AmbitionFearlessness
“Folly meets fearful ills with fearless heart; to fear where cause of fear exists is wisdom's part.”
Thiruvalluvar
WisdomCaution
“From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear.”
Buddha
DetachmentPeace Of Mind
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”
The Bible (Proverbs 29:25)
TrustFear Of Others
“To fear the foe, since fear oppresseth strength, gives in your weakness strength unto your foe.”
William Shakespeare
StrengthWeakness
“To be furious is to be frighted out of fear.”
William Shakespeare
AngerUnderstanding Fear
“For even as children are flurried and dread all things in the thick darkness, thus we in the daylight fear at times things not one whit more to be dreaded than those which children shudder at in the dark.”
Lucretius
DarknessImagination
“He must fear many, whom many fear.”
Publilius Syrus
PowerTyranny
“To him who is in fear everything rustles.”
Sophocles
AnxietyPerception
“For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me.”
The Bible (Job 3:25)
WorrySuffering
“There is no hope unmingled with fear, and no fear unmingled with hope.”
Baruch Spinoza
HopePhilosophy
“It is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.”
Niccolo Machiavelli
PowerLeadership
Related Topics
About Fear Quotes
Fear is one of the oldest feelings we know. It keeps us safe from real danger, but it can also stop us from speaking up, trying something new or chasing the life we want. Philosophers, poets and spiritual teachers have written about fear for thousands of years, and their words still help us understand it, question it and move past it.
This collection brings together 200 of the best fear quotes, from Shakespeare, Seneca, the Bible, Emerson, Mary Shelley, Franklin D. Roosevelt and more. Some explain where fear comes from, some offer comfort, and a few are simply wonderfully spooky. For more words to lift your spirit, explore our [Courage Quotes](/topics/courage-quotes).
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Fear quotes.
What is the most famous quote about fear?
Franklin D. Roosevelt's line from his 1933 inaugural address, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," is one of the most famous quotes about fear ever spoken. He said it to calm a nation facing the Great Depression.
What did Shakespeare say about fear?
Shakespeare wrote about fear often. In A Midsummer Night's Dream he joked that at night a frightened mind can mistake "a bush" for "a bear," and in Troilus and Cressida he wrote that "Fears make devils of cherubins; they never see truly."
What do the Stoics say about fear?
Seneca taught that "we suffer more often in imagination than in reality," meaning most of what we fear never happens. He also said, "Cease to hope, and you will cease to fear," because both come from worrying about the future.
What does the Bible say about fear?
"Fear not" is one of the most repeated phrases in the Bible. Psalm 34:4 says, "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears," and Isaiah 35:4 tells the fearful, "Be strong, fear not."
What is a good quote about fear of the unknown?
H. P. Lovecraft wrote that "the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Ralph Waldo Emerson made a similar point in fewer words: "Fear always springs from ignorance."
What are good short fear quotes for Instagram?
Try "Fear always springs from ignorance," "Fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns," "Black Care sits behind the horseman," or "Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful."