Commentary for Bava Kamma 181:24

אמר רבא לא קשיא כאן בחבלה כאן בבושת והא מתניתין בבושת הוא

in the name of R. Jose b. Abin that this could indeed prove that where the insult was merely in words, there would be exemption from any liability whatsoever. ALL DEPENDS UPON THE DIGNITY … The question was raised: Did the first Tanna mean by this to mitigate or to aggravate the penalty? Did he mean to mitigate the penalty, so that a poor man would not have to be paid so much, or did he perhaps mean to aggravate the penalty, so that a rich man would have to be paid more? — Come and hear: Since R. Akiba<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [And yet R. Akiba does not impose more than four hundred zuz, the same amount as mentioned by the first Tanna.] ');">²⁰</span> stated THAT EVEN THE POOR IN ISRAEL HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED AS IF THEY ARE FREEMEN WHO HAVE BEEN REDUCED IN CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR IN FACT THEY ALL ARE THE DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB, does this not show that the first Tanna meant to mitigate the penalty?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [The figure 400 mentioned by him being a maximum whereas R. Akiba would award this amount to all alike.] ');">²¹</span> — It does indeed. IT ONCE HAPPENED THAT A CERTAIN PERSON UNCOVERED THE HEAD OF A WOMAN [IN THE MARKET PLACE&nbsp;… FIXED A TIME FOR HIM]. But is time allowed<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For the execution of a judgment. ');">²²</span> [in such a case]? Did R. Hanina not say that no time is granted in cases of injury? — No time is granted in the case of injury where there is an actual loss of money,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Sustained by the plaintiff. ');">²³</span> but in the case of Degradation, where there is no actual loss of money, time<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For the execution of a judgment. ');">²²</span> to pay may be granted. HE WATCHED UNTIL HE SAW HER STANDING OUTSIDE THE DOOR OF HER COURTYARD [… FOR IF ONE INJURES ONESELF, THOUGH IT IS FORBIDDEN TO DO SO&nbsp;…] But was it not taught: R. Akiba said to him, 'You have dived into the depths and have brought up a potsherd in your hand,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., you have gone to a great amount of trouble which could however be of no practical avail. ');">²⁴</span> for a man may injure himself'? — Raba said: There is no difficulty, as the Mishnaic statement deals with actual injury, whereas the other text referred to Degradation. But surely the Mishnah deals with Degradation,

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