If evils come not,
Then our fears are vain;
And if they do,
Fear but augments the pain.

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

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Read this proverb at the National Archives website

More information about this quote

Topic

Anxiety Fear

Author

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

Source

Poor Richard's Almanack

Medium

Almanac

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1741 1740s 18th century

Era

Colonial America

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Franklin, Benjamin [published as Richard Saunders]. Poor Richard's Almanack. Philadelphia, 1741.

Current Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. "Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1741." Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography, Poor Richard, and Later Writings, edited by J. A. Leo Lemay. Library of America, 2005.

Illustrated Quote

A quote from Poor Richard's Almanack about anxiety: “If evils come not, Then our fears are vain; And if they do, Fear…”
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A quote from Poor Richard's Almanack about anxiety: “If evils come not, Then our fears are vain; And if they do, Fear…”
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A quote from Poor Richard's Almanack about anxiety: “If evils come not, Then our fears are vain; And if they do, Fear…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1740s

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire.

Jonathan Edwards

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

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More information about this quote
Topic
God's wrath God and man

Author

Jonathan Edwards
Source
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Medium
Sermon
Genre
Religious literature
Language
English
Time
1741 1740s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." 8 July 1741, Edwards Church, Northampton, MA, USA. Sermon.

Current Citation

Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Jonathan Edwards: Writings from the Great Awakening. Library of America, 2013.

Another quote about Fear

Always do what you are afraid to do.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Essays: First Series (Emerson)

Read Heroism at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Facing one's fears Fear Taking risks

Author

Ralph Waldo Emerson
Source
Heroism Essays: First Series (Emerson)
Medium
Essay
Statement Type
Advice
Language
English
Time
1841 1840s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Heroism." Essays: First Series. Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1841.

Current Citation

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Heroism." The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, edited by Brooks Atkinson. Modern Library, 2000.

Another quote from Colonial America

Remember that Time is Money.

Benjamin Franklin

The American Instructor: or Young Man's Best Companion

Read Advice to a Young Tradesman at the National Archives website
More information about this quote
Topic
Time is money Capitalism Efficiency

Author

Benjamin Franklin
Source
Advice to a Young Tradesman The American Instructor: or Young Man's Best Companion
Medium
Essay
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages
Language
English
Time
1748 1740s 18th century
Era
Colonial America
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. "Advice to a Young Tradesman." The American Instructor: or Young Man's Best Companion. Philadelphia: George Fisher, 1748.

Current Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. "Advice to a Young Tradesman." Benjamin Franklin: Silence Dogood, The Busy-Body and Early Writings, edited by J. A. Leo Lemay. Library of America, 2005.

Another quote of the following type Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Fortune, that arrant whore,
Ne’er turns the key to th’ poor.

William Shakespeare

King Lear

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Read King Lear at The Folger Shakespeare Library
More information about this quote
Topic
Fortune Good luck The poor
Speaker
Fool

Author

William Shakespeare
Source
King Lear
Medium
Play
Genre
Tragedy (play)
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages
Language
English
Time
1606 1600s 17th century
Era
European Renaissance
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. King's Men, 26 Dec. 1606, Palace of Whitehall, Westminster, England, UK, act 2, sc. 4.

Current Citation

Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of King Lear." The Norton Shakespeare, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2015, act 2, sc. 4.