“Wars are begun by frightened men. They fear war, but more than that, they fear what will happen if they don't start one — or take equivalent action, I suppose.”
Red Rabbit (2002)
2000s
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Tom Clancy83
American author 1947–2013Related quotes
“Worse than war is the very fear of war.”
peior est bello timor ipse belli.
Thyestes, line 572 (Chorus).
Tragedies
Ernst Röhm (1887–1934) German Nazi and military officer
Cited in "The Nazis: A Warning from History", Disc 1, 10:48. Also quoted in "The Face of the Third Reich: Portraits of the Nazi Leadership" - Page 139 by Joachim C. Fest - History - 1999
“Disunion and civil war are at hand; and yet I fear disunion and war less than compromise.”
Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) American politician, 19th President of the United States (in office from 1877 to 1881)
Diary (4 January 1861)
Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1922 - 1926)
Context: Disunion and civil war are at hand; and yet I fear disunion and war less than compromise. We can recover from them. The free States alone, if we must go on alone, will make a glorious nation.
“Nothing is more frightening than a fear you cannot name.”
Cornelia Funke Inkheart trilogy
Variant: Nothing is more terrifying than fearlessness.
Source: Inkheart
“Fear cripples faster than any implement of war.”
Dan Brown book Angels & Demons
Source: Angels & Demons
George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States
2000s, 2003, Mission Accomplished (May 2003)
Laurell K. Hamilton book The Laughing Corpse
Anita
Source: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, The Laughing Corpse (1994)