All Quiet on the Western Front

“I soon found out this much:--terror can be endured so long as a man simply ducks;--but it kills, if a man thinks about it.”

What does this quote from chapter 7 mean?

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Paul is referring to the unrelenting violence and chaos of war. Dodging bullets is instinctual and Paul is fine with it. Thinking about the violence and chaos of war will destroy a man's spirits and grind him down just as effectively as a bullet will.