The basis of optimism is sheer terror.
—Oscar Wilde, 1891
Archive
Quotes
Suffering has its limit, but fears are endless.
—Pliny the Younger, c. 108Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.
—Albert Camus, c. 1940The man in constant fear is every day condemned.
—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BCPeople react to fear, not love—they don’t teach that in Sunday school, but it’s true.
—Richard Nixon, 1975Dread attends the unknown.
—Nadine Gordimer, 1998An ugly sight, a man who’s afraid.
—Jean Anouilh, 1944Tell us your phobias and we will tell you what you are afraid of.
—Robert Benchley, 1935I am a living symbol of the white man’s fear.
—Winnie Mandela, 1985People living deeply have no fear of death.
—Anaïs Nin, 1935I wants to make your flesh creep.
—Charles Dickens, 1837War is fear cloaked in courage.
—William Westmoreland, 1966Fear has a smell, as love does.
—Margaret Atwood, 1972