--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This perpetual fear, always accompanying…" description: "\"“This perpetual fear, always accompanying mankind in the ignorance of causes, as it were in the dark, must needs have for object something. And therefo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/christopher-hitchens-117_fear_this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying_638086.jpg" --- # This perpetual fear, always accompanying mankind in the… ![“This perpetual fear, always accompanying mankind in the ignorance of causes, as it were in the dark, must needs have for object something. And therefore when there is nothing to be seen, there is nothing to accuse, either of their good, or evil fortune, but some power, or agent invisible: in which…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/christopher-hitchens-117_fear_this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying_638086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/christopher-hitchens-117_fear_this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying_638086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/christopher-hitchens-117_fear_this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying_638086.jpg) > ““This perpetual fear, always accompanying mankind in the ignorance of causes, as it were in the dark, must needs have for object something. And therefore when there is nothing to be seen, there is nothing to accuse, either of their good, or evil fortune, but some power, or agent invisible: in which sense perhaps it was, that some of the old poets said, that the gods were at first created by human fear: which spoken of the gods, that is to say, of the many gods of the Gentiles, is very true.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings create deities to explain unknown forces, projecting fear onto invisible agents when lacking evidence. **In simple terms:** People invent gods to fill gaps of knowledge. Key Takeaway Question unknown by naming unknown forces. Themes fear belief mythology Mood thoughtful critical inquisitive Type philosophical analytical skeptical When to use this quote - political discourse - religious debates - personal reflection - education - media analysis Key Concepts psychology anthropology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What fears drive your belief in unseen powers? - How does naming the unknown affect your worldview? A Different Perspective Attributing unknown phenomena to gods can hinder scientific inquiry. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest enemy of mankind is his ignorance of the inherent money power in all of us. When the realization of this comes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-c-riegel/the-greatest-enemy-of-mankind-is-his-ignorance-of-the-inherent-money/) [E.C. Riegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-c-riegel/) > [They live in perpetual fear of the time they call "The Coming of the Great White Handkerchief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/they-live-in-perpetual-fear-of-the-time-they-call-the-coming-of-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“I experience what it is to exist in perpetual fear, afraid, totally controlled, manipulated, ashamed at all times and many more things one can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/i-experience-what-it-is-to-exist-in-perpetual-fear-afraid-totally/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [Few revolutions succeed, and when they do, you often discover they did not gain what you hoped for, and you condemn yourself to perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-guicciardini/few-revolutions-succeed-and-when-they-do-you-often-discover-they-did/) [Francesco Guicciardini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-guicciardini/) > [“Temporary extreme fear while saying the truth is easy to overcome than the perpetual fear of the unspoken truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/temporary-extreme-fear-while-saying-the-truth-is-easy-to-overcome/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Weak people live in perpetual fear and foreboding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/weak-people-live-in-perpetual-fear-and-foreboding/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [“Of course. I am well aware that the streets of New York are not safe, but then there is no longer any place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-l-engle/of-course-i-am-well-aware-that-the-streets-of-new-york-are-not-safe/) [Madeline L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-l-engle/) > [Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear.Of course no childhood is without its terrors, yet I wonder if I would have been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/fear-presides-over-these-memories-a-perpetual-fear-of-course-no/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“For surely the gods would know better than she what to make of this hot, beautiful grief, the gods who had, after all, created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-harrison/for-surely-the-gods-would-know-better-than-she-what-to-make-of-this/) [Thea Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-harrison/) > [Ever wonder why the gods created man, Grom? I personally think that we're the original reality show. They were so effing bored that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/ever-wonder-why-the-gods-created-man-grom-i-personally-think-that-we/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Men create their own gods and thus have some slight understanding that they are self-fabricated. Women are much more susceptible, because they are completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/men-create-their-own-gods-and-thus-have-some-slight-understanding/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“The gods we ourselves have created ruled us for centuries! What a great comedy! And what a great tragedy!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-gods-we-ourselves-have-created-ruled-us-for-centuries-what-a/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The gods created certain kinds of beings to replenish our bodies... they are the trees and the plants and the seeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-gods-created-certain-kinds-of-beings-to-replenish-our-bodies-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“You will never find the life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorita-d-este/you-will-never-find-the-life-for-which-you-are-looking-when-the-gods/) [Sorita D'este](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorita-d-este/) > [“Good gods are scarce because the majority of gods are created by evil men”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/good-gods-are-scarce-because-the-majority-of-gods-are-created-by-evil/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This perpetual fear, always accompanying mankind in the ignorance of causes, as it were in the dark, must needs have for object something. And therefore when there is nothing to be seen, there is nothing to accuse, either of their good, or evil fortune, but some power, or agent invisible: in which sense perhaps it was, that some of the old poets said, that the gods were at first created by human fear: which spoken of the gods, that is to say, of the many gods of the Gentiles, is very true.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying-mankind-in-the-ignorance-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying-mankind-in-the-ignorance-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/christopher-hitchens-117_fear_this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying_638086.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/christopher-hitchens-117_fear_this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying_638086.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/christopher-hitchens-117_fear_this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying_638086.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This perpetual fear, always accompanying mankind in the ignorance of causes, as it were in the dark, must…” — Christopher Hitchens", "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": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This perpetual fear, always accompanying mankind...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying-mankind-in-the-ignorance-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/this-perpetual-fear-always-accompanying-mankind-in-the-ignorance-of/#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 } } ] } ```