# Latin question - the fear of being exposed

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-question-the-fear-of-being-exposed/726924>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 3, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-question-the-fear-of-being-exposed/726924 "2015-08-03T22:10:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Scholar\_Beardpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-question-the-fear-of-being-exposed/726924/1 "2015-08-03T22:10:24Z")

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Dear all,

As part of my personal musing and dealing with my massive psychological problems, my mind searched to a very quotable maxim - _timor mortis conturbant me,_ or rather, the fear of death disturbs me.

How would I alter this phrase to be about the fear of being discovered, of having all of one’s shameful secrets exposed and revealed?

Thanks in advance.

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**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latin-question-the-fear-of-being-exposed/726924/2 "2015-08-03T22:57:04Z")

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Hm, possibly replace mortis (of death) with patendi (of being exposed, revealed). Not sure I’ve got the conjugation correct though.

–Mark