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Source identified
“The moral fear of shame had risen superior to the physical fear of harm.”

Mark Twain · Dialogue speaker · Old Man

Source
What Is Man?
Date
1906
Attribution
Source identified
Voice / speaker
Dialogue speaker · Old Man
Meaning

What does this quote mean?

The dialogue describes competing fears rather than fearlessness: social shame can become strong enough to override the immediate impulse to escape physical danger.

Source context

Where does it come from?

What Is Man?, Old Man describing the imagined timid soldier in battle; the example analyzes how one learned pressure may overpower another fear.

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Voice attribution

Who voices the line?

Dialogue speaker · Old Man. What Is Man?, Old Man describing the imagined timid soldier in battle; the example analyzes how one learned pressure may overpower another fear. v4.93 stores the local voice separately from the bibliographic work author.

The source author and the local speaker can be different, especially in fiction, drama, dialogue and poetry.

Attribution

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This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation