timorous - full of fear
palpable - obvious/perceptible by touch
surreptitious - the act of doing something clandestinely
languor - dreamy lazy mood
impassive - without emotion
filial piety - Confucian thought encompassing love for ones parents/ancestry
catechism - summary/exposition of a religious doctrine (catholic)
banal - lacking originality/freshness
lassitude - weariness of mind/body from strain

- Got from The life and times of Michael K - J.M Coetzee.

"Find the cost of freedom ... buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down."
-CSNY