Fear is the foundation of most governments. 

—John Adams, 1776

Tell us your phobias and we will tell you what you are afraid of.

—Robert Benchley, 1935

The man in constant fear is every day condemned.

—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BC

War is fear cloaked in courage. 

—William Westmoreland, 1966

I am a living symbol of the white man’s fear.

—Winnie Mandela, 1985

Fear is a poor guarantor of a long life.

—Marcus Tullius Cicero, 44

Who lives in fear will never be a free man.

—Horace, 19 BC

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

—Oscar Wilde, 1891

Dread attends the unknown.

—Nadine Gordimer, 1998

Worry over what has not occurred is a serious malady.

—Solomon ibn Gabirol, 1050

I wants to make your flesh creep.

—Charles Dickens, 1837

Suffering has its limit, but fears are endless.

—Pliny the Younger, c. 108

People living deeply have no fear of death.

—Anaïs Nin, 1935

People react to fear, not love—they don’t teach that in Sunday school, but it’s true.

—Richard Nixon, 1975

Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.

—Albert Camus, c. 1940

An ugly sight, a man who’s afraid. 

—Jean Anouilh, 1944

Fear has a smell, as love does.

—Margaret Atwood, 1972