--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I could scarcely summon courage to rise…" description: "\"“I could scarcely summon courage to rise. But even those large, venomous snakes were less dreadful to my imagination than the white men in that communi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/harriet-ann-jacobs-11125_civilization_i-could-scarcely-summon-courage-to-rise_2886015.png" --- # I could scarcely summon courage to rise. But even those… ![“I could scarcely summon courage to rise. But even those large, venomous snakes were less dreadful to my imagination than the white men in that community called civilized.” quote by Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/harriet-ann-jacobs-11125_civilization_i-could-scarcely-summon-courage-to-rise_2886015.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/harriet-ann-jacobs-11125_civilization_i-could-scarcely-summon-courage-to-rise_2886015.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ef/harriet-ann-jacobs-11125_civilization_i-could-scarcely-summon-courage-to-rise_2886015.png) > ““I could scarcely summon courage to rise. But even those large, venomous snakes were less dreadful to my imagination than the white men in that community called civilized.”” [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even terrifying snakes seemed less frightening than the white people who claimed civilization. **In simple terms:** White "civilized" people felt more threatening than snakes. Key Takeaway Question the true nature of so. Themes racism colonialism fear Mood anguished defiant Type historical reflective When to use this quote - civil rights education - anti‑racism training - personal narratives Key Concepts social critique historical perspective Questions to Reflect On - How do we define true civility? - What histories challenge our assumptions? A Different Perspective Civilization can mask cruelty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Whiteness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whiteness/) ## Related quotes > [“Let your courage rise with danger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/let-your-courage-rise-with-danger/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [John Barleycorn was a hero bold, Of noble enterprise, For if you do but taste his blood, 'Twill make your courage rise, Twill make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/john-barleycorn-was-a-hero-bold-of-noble-enterprise-for-if-you-do-but/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [Be calm and strong and patient. Meet failure and disappointment with courage. 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It is the only weapon of the weak and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/who-can-blame-slaves-for-being-cunning-they-are-constantly-compelled/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [“It was a grand opportunity for the low whites, who had no negroes of their own to scourge. They exulted in such a chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/it-was-a-grand-opportunity-for-the-low-whites-who-had-no-negroes-of/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [“I remained abroad ten months, which was much longer than I had anticipated. During all that time, I never saw the slightest symptom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/i-remained-abroad-ten-months-which-was-much-longer-than-i-had/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [But I now entered on my fifteenth year - a sad epoch in the life of a slave girl. My master began to whisper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/but-i-now-entered-on-my-fifteenth-year-a-sad-epoch-in-the-life-of-a/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [For years, my master had done his utmost to pollute my mind with foul images, and to destroy the pure principles inculcated by my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/for-years-my-master-had-done-his-utmost-to-pollute-my-mind-with-foul/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [“Several years after, he passed through our town and preached to his former congregation. In his afternoon sermon he addressed the colored people. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/i-can-testify-from-my-own-experience-and-observation-that-slavery-is/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [I was ordered to go for flowers, that my mistress's house might be decorated for an evening party. I spent the day gathering flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/i-was-ordered-to-go-for-flowers-that-my-mistress-s-house-might-be/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [Notwithstanding my grandmother's long and faithful service to her owners, not one of her children escaped the auction block. These God-breathing machines are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/notwithstanding-my-grandmother-s-long-and-faithful-service-to-her/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) > [Hot weather brings out snakes and slaveholders, and I like one class of the venomous creatures as little as I do the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-ann-jacobs/hot-weather-brings-out-snakes-and-slaveholders-and-i-like-one-class/) [Harriet Ann Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) [Explore all 51 Harriet Ann Jacobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-ann-jacobs/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. 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