"There is no hope unmingled with fear, and no fear unmingled with hope"
- Baruch Spinoza
About this Quote
In this quote, thinker Baruch Spinoza recommends that hope and fear are intertwined and inseparable. He argues that hope can not exist without some level of fear, and worry can not exist without some level of hope. This can be interpreted in numerous ways. One interpretation is that hope and fear are 2 sides of the very same coin, and they both come from unpredictability about the future. Another analysis is that hope and worry are both necessary for human survival and inspiration. Without hope, we might succumb to fear and quit, and without fear, we may become careless and lose sight of our objectives. Ultimately, Spinoza's quote highlights the complex and linked nature of human feelings.
"Poets have said that the reason to have children is to give yourself immortality. Immortality? Now that I have five children, my only hope is that they are all out of the house before I die"
"Courage is sometimes frail as hope is frail: a fragile shoot between two stones that grows brave toward the sun though warmth and brightness fail, striving and faith the only strength it knows"
