しか before a clause


> 誰もが平等に死んで、自分では誰一人救えなかった。 人間なんてそんなものだと諦める **しか** 、目の前の恐怖を **抑えられなかった** 。

My TL:  
Everyone died equally, I could not save anyone.  
I could do nothing other than giving up thinking "Human beings are like that."  
I could not suppress the fear in front of me.

How does しか work in this sentence?  
I think I understand the general meaning of the sentence but I am lost
grammatically.




I would say this sentence is a bit awkward. This sentence is a lot easier to
understand if it's written like this:

> 人間なんてそんなものだと諦める **ことで** しか、目の前の恐怖を抑えられなかった。  
>  _It was only **by** giving up, thinking "That's how human beings are", that
> I could suppress the fear in front of me._

Compare with these simpler sentences:

  * 練習することで強くなれる。 By practicing, I can become stronger.
  * 練習することでしか強くなれない。 Only by practicing can I become stronger.
  * 練習するしか強くなれない。 (the same as above, but looks a bit weird to me)




I would say this sentence is a bit awkward. This sentence is a lot easier to
understand if it's written like this:

> 人間なんてそんなものだと諦める **ことで** しか、目の前の恐怖を抑えられなかった。  
>  _It was only **by** giving up, thinking "That's how human beings are", that
> I could suppress the fear in front of me._

Compare with these simpler sentences:

  * 練習することで強くなれる。 By practicing, I can become stronger.
  * 練習することでしか強くなれない。 Only by practicing can I become stronger.
  * 練習するしか強くなれない。 (the same as above, but looks a bit weird to me)

