I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Alternative versions: I will not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. I will face my fear. I will let it pass through me. When the fear has gone, there shall be nothing. Only I will remain.
I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once.
Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Courage… is fear holding on just a bit longer.
It’s just me and Old Cags, Toby thought to himself. No, he corrected with a sudden burst of inspiration. It’s not just me and Old Cags. It’s me, Old Cags, and fear. Fear was as much a part of their small company as anything. Fear was alive, with a heartbeat of its own. There were three living things brought together in this stone prison, and one of them had to die. Toby decided to kill fear.
Kathryn Laskey, Watch Wolf