--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When he thought of the old man he could…" description: "\"“When he thought of the old man he could see him suddenly in a field in the spring, trying to move a gray boulder. He always knew instinctively the one..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/michael-shaara-13044_honest-man_when-he-thought-of-the-old-man-he-could_1650791.jpg" --- # When he thought of the old man he could see him suddenly… ![“When he thought of the old man he could see him suddenly in a field in the spring, trying to move a gray boulder. He always knew instinctively the ones you could move, even though the greater part was buried in the earth, and he expected you to move the rock and not discuss it. A hard and silent…” quote by Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/michael-shaara-13044_honest-man_when-he-thought-of-the-old-man-he-could_1650791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/michael-shaara-13044_honest-man_when-he-thought-of-the-old-man-he-could_1650791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/michael-shaara-13044_honest-man_when-he-thought-of-the-old-man-he-could_1650791.jpg) > ““When he thought of the old man he could see him suddenly in a field in the spring, trying to move a gray boulder. He always knew instinctively the ones you could move, even though the greater part was buried in the earth, and he expected you to move the rock and not discuss it. A hard and silent man, an honest man, a noble man. Little humor but sometimes the door opened and you saw the warmth within a long way off, a certain sadness, a slow, remote, unfathomable quality as if the man wanted to be closer to the world but did not know how. Once Chamberlain had a speech memorized from Shakespeare and gave it proudly, the old man listening but not looking, and Chamberlain remembered it still: 'What a piece of work is man...in action how like an angel!' And the old man, grinning, had scratched his head and then said stiffly, 'Well, boy, if he's an angel, he's sure a murderin' angel.' And Chamberlain had gone on to school to make an oration on the subject: Man, the Killer Angel. And when the old man heard about it he was very proud, and Chamberlain felt very good remembering it. The old man was proud of his son, the colonel.”” [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on an old man's stoic, honest nature, his subtle humor, and his complex view of humanity as both noble and violent. **In simple terms:** An old man is honest, noble, and sees humanity as both angelic and murderous. Key Takeaway Recognize the duality in people. Themes human nature honesty duality Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family relationships - historical reflection - personal mentorship - moral contemplation Key Concepts existentialism literary analysis character study Questions to Reflect On - What does the “angel” metaphor reveal about his worldview? - How do we reconcile noble and violent aspects of humanity? A Different Perspective The old man's perspective may oversimplify human complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel-chamberlain-652533/) [Chamberlain Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chamberlain-felt-652532/) [Chamberlain Remembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chamberlain-remembered-652531/) [Chamberlain Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chamberlain-speech-652530/) [Honest man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-man/) [Long way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-way/) [Noble man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble-man/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Silent man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent-man/) ## Related quotes > [“I've heard two ways of looking at it. 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A silent woman is an angry one …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/a-silent-man-is-a-thinking-man-a-silent-woman-is-an-angry-one/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [There is a master way with words that cannot be learned but instead developed: a deaf man develops exceptional vision, a blind man exceptional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/there-is-a-master-way-with-words-that-cannot-be-learned-but-instead/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [I fear a Man of frugal speech - I fear a Silent Man - Haranguer - I can overtake - Or Babbler - entertain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-fear-a-man-of-frugal-speech-i-fear-a-silent-man-haranguer-i-can/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## More by Michael Shaara > [“The great white joker in the sky dooms us all to stupidity or poverty from birth. 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But to be a good officer you must be willing to order the death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/to-be-a-good-soldier-you-must-love-the-army-but-to-be-a-good-officer/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“I don't really understand it. Never have. The more I think on it the more it horrifies me. How can they look in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/i-don-t-really-understand-it-never-have-the-more-i-think-on-it-the/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“He was one of those, like Stuart, who looked on war as God's greatest game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/he-was-one-of-those-like-stuart-who-looked-on-war-as-god-s-greatest/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“There is one thing you can do. You can resign now. You can refuse to lead it. But I cannot even do that. Cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/there-is-one-thing-you-can-do-you-can-resign-now-you-can-refuse-to/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“Then after that I asked this fella what rights he had that we were offendin’, and he said, well, he didn't know, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/then-after-that-i-asked-this-fella-what-rights-he-had-that-we-were/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [“There ought to be more than just that metallic end, and then silence, then the worms, and sometimes he believed, but just this moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/there-ought-to-be-more-than-just-that-metallic-end-and-then-silence/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [I've been a soldier all my life. I've fought from the ranks on up, you know my service. 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Regard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/daughter-get-you-an-honest-man-for-a-husband-and-keep-him-honest-no/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Humanity is not perfect in any fashion; no more in the case of evil than in that of good. 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Golden Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-golden-kimball/) [Browse all 405 Honest man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When he thought of the old man he could see him suddenly in a field in the spring, trying to move a gray boulder. He always knew instinctively the ones you could move, even though the greater part was buried in the earth, and he expected you to move the rock and not discuss it. A hard and silent man, an honest man, a noble man. Little humor but sometimes the door opened and you saw the warmth within a long way off, a certain sadness, a slow, remote, unfathomable quality as if the man wanted to be closer to the world but did not know how. Once Chamberlain had a speech memorized from Shakespeare and gave it proudly, the old man listening but not looking, and Chamberlain remembered it still: 'What a piece of work is man...in action how like an angel!' And the old man, grinning, had scratched his head and then said stiffly, 'Well, boy, if he's an angel, he's sure a murderin' angel.' And Chamberlain had gone on to school to make an oration on the subject: Man, the Killer Angel. And when the old man heard about it he was very proud, and Chamberlain felt very good remembering it. 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