The famous phrase "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" was said by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural address in 1933. He used it to convey the idea that fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror—is the greatest obstacle to overcoming difficulties, especially during the Great Depression. Although Roosevelt popularized the phrase, the sentiment had existed long before him. It originated with the French writer Michel de Montaigne in the 16th century, was echoed by Francis Bacon in the 17th century, and was also expressed by Henry David Thoreau in the 19th century as "Nothing is so much to be feared as fear".
