--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Excessive fear is always powerless." description: "\"Excessive fear is always powerless.\" — Aeschylus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/aeschylus-749_excessive_excessive-fear-is-always-powerless-54573_545734.png" --- # Excessive fear is always powerless. ![“Excessive fear is always powerless.” quote by Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/aeschylus-749_excessive_excessive-fear-is-always-powerless-54573_545734.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/aeschylus-749_excessive_excessive-fear-is-always-powerless-54573_545734.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/aeschylus-749_excessive_excessive-fear-is-always-powerless-54573_545734.png) > “Excessive fear is always powerless.” [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He asserts that excessive fear lacks power, implying fear is self‑defeating when overblown. **In simple terms:** Too much fear is weak; it loses its effect. Key Takeaway Recognize and moderate fear. Themes fear power psychology Mood cautious motivational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - public speaking - high‑stakes decisions - personal challenges Key Concepts cognitive control self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - When does fear become useful? - How can you transform fear into motivation? A Different Perspective Fear can sometimes protect from danger. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excessive/) [Excessive Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excessive-fear-1342554/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Powerless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-powerless-782755/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Powerless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerless/) ## Related quotes > [I fear lots of things I fear the dark I fear the unknown I fear major exams I fear death But Most of all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-fear-lots-of-things-i-fear-the-dark-i-fear-the-unknown-i-fear-major/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [excessive fear and self-doubt that were the greatest detractors of personal genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/excessive-fear-and-self-doubt-that-were-the-greatest-detractors-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is well documented that humans are especially fearful of threats than can be easily pictured or imagined. For example, one study found that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/it-is-well-documented-that-humans-are-especially-fearful-of-threats/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Ask the gods nothing excessive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/ask-the-gods-nothing-excessive/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“For by this very fact, individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/for-by-this-very-fact-individuals-confirm-the-system-fulfill-the/) [Václav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [fear has always been a diminisher of life. Whether bred in the bogs of superstition or clothed in the brocades of dogma and ritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/fear-has-always-been-a-diminisher-of-life-whether-bred-in-the-bogs-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [“I had a really fat friend. The next time I saw him he looked like me! He said he lost the weight by eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-had-a-really-fat-friend-the-next-time-i-saw-him-he-looked-like-me/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The retouching is excessive. I do not look like that and more importantly, I don't desire to look like that,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/the-retouching-is-excessive-i-do-not-look-like-that-and-more/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Don't keep excessive amounts of anything. Those glass vases that come from florists. Those ketchup packets that come with take-out food. A house with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/don-t-keep-excessive-amounts-of-anything-those-glass-vases-that-come/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [We must never expect discretion in first love: it is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless the joy is allowed to overflow, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/we-must-never-expect-discretion-in-first-love-it-is-accompanied-by/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [I used to suffer from excessive pride. Well, I got over that one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-annis/i-used-to-suffer-from-excessive-pride-well-i-got-over-that-one/) [Francesca Annis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-annis/) > [When fear is excessive it can make many a man despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/when-fear-is-excessive-it-can-make-many-a-man-despair/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Spiritual infirmities such as tepidity are caused, not only by chills but also by fevers, that is, by excessive zeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/spiritual-infirmities-such-as-tepidity-are-caused-not-only-by-chills/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [I would absolutely recommend against excessive positivity and optimism. Any positive emotion that you're infusing into a workplace needs to be grounded in reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/i-would-absolutely-recommend-against-excessive-positivity-and/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) ## More by Aeschylus > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [May dawn, as the proverb goes, bring happy tidings coming from her mother night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/may-dawn-as-the-proverb-goes-bring-happy-tidings-coming-from-her/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [In visions of the night, like dropping rain, Descend the many memories of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/in-visions-of-the-night-like-dropping-rain-descend-the-many-memories/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [The tongue of slander is too prompt with wanton malice to wound the stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-tongue-of-slander-is-too-prompt-with-wanton-malice-to-wound-the/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [The holy heaven yearns to wound the earth, and yearning layeth hold on the earth to join in wedlock; the rain, fallen from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-holy-heaven-yearns-to-wound-the-earth-and-yearning-layeth-hold-on/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [God loves to help him who strives to help himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/god-loves-to-help-him-who-strives-to-help-himself/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Good fortune is a god among men, and more than a god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/good-fortune-is-a-god-among-men-and-more-than-a-god/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Zeus, first cause, prime mover; for what thing without Zeus is done among mortals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/zeus-first-cause-prime-mover-for-what-thing-without-zeus-is-done/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [God planteth in mortal men the cause of sin whensoever he wills utterly to destroy a house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/god-planteth-in-mortal-men-the-cause-of-sin-whensoever-he-wills/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Human prosperity never rests but always craves more, till blown up with pride it totters and falls. From the opulent mansions pointed at by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/human-prosperity-never-rests-but-always-craves-more-till-blown-up/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [To be free from evil thoughts is God's best gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/to-be-free-from-evil-thoughts-is-god-s-best-gift/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Hungry wailing standeth not aloof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hungry-wailing-standeth-not-aloof/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“If libations were proper to pour above the slain, this man deserved, more than deserved, such sacrament. He filled our cup with evil things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/if-libations-were-proper-to-pour-above-the-slain-this-man-deserved/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [For there is no defense for a man who, in the excess of his wealth, has kicked the great altar of Justice out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/for-there-is-no-defense-for-a-man-who-in-the-excess-of-his-wealth-has/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) [Explore all 382 Aeschylus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) ## More Excessive quotes > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [Spiritual infirmities such as tepidity are caused, not only by chills but also by fevers, that is, by excessive zeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/spiritual-infirmities-such-as-tepidity-are-caused-not-only-by-chills/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When fear is excessive it can make many a man despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/when-fear-is-excessive-it-can-make-many-a-man-despair/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [The retouching is excessive. I do not look like that and more importantly, I don't desire to look like that,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/the-retouching-is-excessive-i-do-not-look-like-that-and-more/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [“I had a really fat friend. The next time I saw him he looked like me! He said he lost the weight by eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-had-a-really-fat-friend-the-next-time-i-saw-him-he-looked-like-me/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I would absolutely recommend against excessive positivity and optimism. Any positive emotion that you're infusing into a workplace needs to be grounded in reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/i-would-absolutely-recommend-against-excessive-positivity-and/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [Don't keep excessive amounts of anything. Those glass vases that come from florists. Those ketchup packets that come with take-out food. A house with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/don-t-keep-excessive-amounts-of-anything-those-glass-vases-that-come/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [We must never expect discretion in first love: it is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless the joy is allowed to overflow, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/we-must-never-expect-discretion-in-first-love-it-is-accompanied-by/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [I used to suffer from excessive pride. Well, I got over that one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-annis/i-used-to-suffer-from-excessive-pride-well-i-got-over-that-one/) [Francesca Annis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-annis/) > [“Leaders don’t give excessive vocal orders. They humbly involve people and together cooperate with them to make a change happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-don-t-give-excessive-vocal-orders-they-humbly-involve-people/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I think it's true that the 1 Percent or the elite are living in a world of, maybe, excessive privilege, and they don't fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouriel-roubini/i-think-it-s-true-that-the-1-percent-or-the-elite-are-living-in-a/) [Nouriel Roubini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouriel-roubini/) > [Too often, governments are quick to use excessive force and even pervert the course of justice to keep oil and gas flowing, forests logged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/too-often-governments-are-quick-to-use-excessive-force-and-even/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [The idea of excessive diversification is madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-idea-of-excessive-diversification-is-madness/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“Fear is something akin to catching a mouse in a bear trap. We mistakenly thought that the thing that we were trying to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/fear-is-something-akin-to-catching-a-mouse-in-a-bear-trap-we/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [My biggest weakness is that I'm excessive. Fortunately for everyone concerned, I'm not as excessive as I used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/my-biggest-weakness-is-that-i-m-excessive-fortunately-for-everyone/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) [Browse all 108 Excessive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excessive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Excessive fear is always powerless.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aeschylus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/excessive-fear-is-always-powerless/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Excessive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/excessive-fear-is-always-powerless/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/aeschylus-749_excessive_excessive-fear-is-always-powerless-54573_545734.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/aeschylus-749_excessive_excessive-fear-is-always-powerless-54573_545734.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/aeschylus-749_excessive_excessive-fear-is-always-powerless-54573_545734.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Excessive fear is always powerless.” — Aeschylus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aeschylus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Excessive fear is always powerless.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/excessive-fear-is-always-powerless/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/excessive-fear-is-always-powerless/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```