--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fear is a relative term and so I can only…" description: "\"“Fear is a relative term and so I can only measure my feelings at that time by what I had experienced in previous positions of danger and by those that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/edgar-rice-burroughs-2892_cowardice_fear-is-a-relative-term-and-so-i-can-onl_2620192.jpg" --- # Fear is a relative term and so I can only measure my… ![“Fear is a relative term and so I can only measure my feelings at that time by what I had experienced in previous positions of danger and by those that I have passed through since; but I can say without shame that if the sensations I endured during the next few minutes were fear, then may God help…” quote by Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/edgar-rice-burroughs-2892_cowardice_fear-is-a-relative-term-and-so-i-can-onl_2620192.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/edgar-rice-burroughs-2892_cowardice_fear-is-a-relative-term-and-so-i-can-onl_2620192.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/edgar-rice-burroughs-2892_cowardice_fear-is-a-relative-term-and-so-i-can-onl_2620192.jpg) > ““Fear is a relative term and so I can only measure my feelings at that time by what I had experienced in previous positions of danger and by those that I have passed through since; but I can say without shame that if the sensations I endured during the next few minutes were fear, then may God help the coward, for cowardice is of a surety its own punishment.”” [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear is measured against past dangers; acknowledging fear admits weakness, but cowardice invites punishment. **In simple terms:** Fear compares to past danger; cowardice is punished. Key Takeaway Recognize fear, avoid cowardice. Themes courage self‑reflection morality Mood anxious reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - battlefield - dangerous jobs - personal crises - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts psychology ethics personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How do you gauge fear against past experiences? - What does cowardice cost you? A Different Perspective Fear may paralyze action if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coward Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward-cowardice-2104223/) [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Cowardice Surety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice-surety-2104222/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Relative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-relative-2104221/) [God help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-help/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“may God help the coward, for cowardice is of a surety its own punishment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/may-god-help-the-coward-for-cowardice-is-of-a-surety-its-own/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“I am a coward. 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Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson-2/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) ## More by Edgar Rice Burroughs > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“If man spoke only when he had something worth while to say and said that as quickly as possible, ninety-eight per cent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/if-man-spoke-only-when-he-had-something-worth-while-to-say-and-said/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [For a time Jack was angry; but when he had been without the jacket for a short while he began to realize that being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/for-a-time-jack-was-angry-but-when-he-had-been-without-the-jacket-for/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [Even brave men, and D'Arnot was a brave man, are sometimes frightened by solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/even-brave-men-and-d-arnot-was-a-brave-man-are-sometimes-frightened/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“I am a very old man. 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Civilization held nothing like this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/this-was-life-ah-how-he-loved-it-civilization-held-nothing-like-this/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“The path of the mighty beast was guided telepathically by the two people who sat in a huge saddle that was cinched to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/the-path-of-the-mighty-beast-was-guided-telepathically-by-the-two/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“The whole fabric of our religion is based on superstitious belief in lies that have been foisted upon us for ages by those directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/the-whole-fabric-of-our-religion-is-based-on-superstitious-belief-in/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“There was but a single forlorn hope, and I took it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/there-was-but-a-single-forlorn-hope-and-i-took-it/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“A thousand times rather face the wild hordes of the dead sea bottoms than meet the eyes of this beautiful young girl and tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/a-thousand-times-rather-face-the-wild-hordes-of-the-dead-sea-bottoms/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“P33- the wail of the living had answered the call of universal motherhood within her wild beast which the dead could not still.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/p33-the-wail-of-the-living-had-answered-the-call-of-universal/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [It never seems to occur to some people, that, like beauty, a sense of humor may sometimes be fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-never-seems-to-occur-to-some-people-that-like-beauty-a-sense-of/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“He was a splendid specimen of manhood, standing a good two inches over six feet, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/he-was-a-splendid-specimen-of-manhood-standing-a-good-two-inches-over/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) [Explore all 140 Edgar Rice Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) ## More Cowardice quotes > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of the people, their laziness, and, let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-unpreparedness-of-the-educated-classes-the-lack-of-practical/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [Heckling is an act of cowardice. If you want to speak, get up in front of the microphone and speak, don't sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/heckling-is-an-act-of-cowardice-if-you-want-to-speak-get-up-in-front/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [“To stand at the very moment when all seems lost is the point of insanity for the coward, but it is the home of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-stand-at-the-very-moment-when-all-seems-lost-is-the-point-of/) [Craig D. 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And because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-alone-mesures-time-and-because-of-this-man-alone-suffers-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-how-many-things-are-we-on-the-brink-of-becoming-acquainted-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. 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