--- title: "7 Young man Quotes By William Faulkner" description: "7 Young man quotes by William Faulkner. Plus more from William Faulkner and more Young man sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/william-faulkner-306_agony_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_83865.jpg" --- > [Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-universal-physical-fear-so-long/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/966/william-faulkner-306_agony_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_83865.jpg) > [“Ladies and gentlemen, I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/ladies-and-gentlemen-i-feel-that-this-award-was-not-made-to-me-as-a/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/william-faulkner-306_compassion_ladies-and-gentlemen-i-feel-that-this-aw_127798.jpg) > [“At one time I thought the most important thing was talent. I think now that — the young man or the young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/at-one-time-i-thought-the-most-important-thing-was-talent-i-think-now/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21a/william-faulkner-306_advice_at-one-time-i-thought-the-most-important_585556.png) > [ “\[T\]he young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/t-he-young-man-or-woman-writing-today-has-forgotten-the-problems-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/william-faulkner-306_compassion_t-he-young-man-or-woman-writing-today-ha_1217428.jpg) > [“Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-universal-physical-fear-so-long-2/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/william-faulkner-306_compassion_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_1533182.jpg) > [At one time I thought the most important thing was talent. I think now that the young man must possess or teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/at-one-time-i-thought-the-most-important-thing-was-talent-i-think-now-2/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/william-faulkner-306_curiosity_at-one-time-i-thought-the-most-important_1665951.jpg) > [The books I read are the ones I knew and loved when I was a young man and to which I return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-books-i-read-are-the-ones-i-knew-and-loved-when-i-was-a-young-man/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d6/william-faulkner-306_book_the-books-i-read-are-the-ones-i-knew-and_2179049.jpg) ## Other authors on Young man ## More by William Faulkner > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-quality-an-artist-must-have-is-objectivity-in-judging-his-work/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Luster returned, wearing a stiff new straw hat with a colored band and carrying a cloth cap. The hat seemed to isolate Luster's skull,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/luster-returned-wearing-a-stiff-new-straw-hat-with-a-colored-band-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What matters is at the end of life, when you're about to pass into oblivion, that you've at least scratched 'Kilroy was here,' on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-matters-is-at-the-end-of-life-when-you-re-about-to-pass-into/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I've got to feel the pencil and see the words at the end of the pencil,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-ve-got-to-feel-the-pencil-and-see-the-words-at-the-end-of-the-pencil/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [And sure enough, even waiting will end...if you can just wait long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/and-sure-enough-even-waiting-will-end-if-you-can-just-wait-long-enough/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-believe-that-man-will-not-merely-endure-he-will-prevail-he-is/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/never-be-afraid-to-raise-your-voice-for-honesty-and-truth-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/to-understand-the-world-you-must-first-understand-a-place-like/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What modren ideas?” pap said. “I didn’t know there was but one idea about work—until it is done, it ain’t done, and when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-modren-ideas-pap-said-i-didn-t-know-there-was-but-one-idea-about/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She has no mother because fatherblood hates with love and pride, but motherblood with hate loves and cohabits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/she-has-no-mother-because-fatherblood-hates-with-love-and-pride-but/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Byron listened quietly, thinking to himself how people everywhere are about the same, but that it did seem that in a small town, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/byron-listened-quietly-thinking-to-himself-how-people-everywhere-are/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was too late. Maybe yesterday, while I was still a child, but not now. I knew too much, had seen too much, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-too-late-maybe-yesterday-while-i-was-still-a-child-but-not-now/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/william-faulkner/#itemlist", "name": "7 Young man Quotes By William Faulkner", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? 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So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail, among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I am standing. Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat. He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed - love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without hope and, worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands. Until he relearns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last dingdong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. 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He writes not of the heart but of the glands.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Faulkner" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/t-he-young-man-or-woman-writing-today-has-forgotten-the-problems-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/william-faulkner-306_compassion_t-he-young-man-or-woman-writing-today-ha_1217428.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/william-faulkner-306_compassion_t-he-young-man-or-woman-writing-today-ha_1217428.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/william-faulkner-306_compassion_t-he-young-man-or-woman-writing-today-ha_1217428.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[T]he young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself…” — William Faulkner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only one question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat. He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid: and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed--love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, and victories without hope and worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands. Until he learns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Faulkner" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-universal-physical-fear-so-long-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/william-faulkner-306_compassion_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_1533182.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/william-faulkner-306_compassion_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_1533182.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/william-faulkner-306_compassion_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_1533182.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear…” — William Faulkner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At one time I thought the most important thing was talent. I think now that the young man must possess or teach himself, training himself, in infinite patience, which is to try and to try until it comes right. He must train himself in ruthless intolerance-that is to throw away anything that is false no matter how much he might love that page or that paragraph. The most important thing is insight, that is to be-curiosity-to wonder, to mull, and to muse why it is that man does what he does, and if you have that, then I don't think the talent makes much difference, whether you've got it or not.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Faulkner" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/at-one-time-i-thought-the-most-important-thing-was-talent-i-think-now-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/william-faulkner-306_curiosity_at-one-time-i-thought-the-most-important_1665951.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/william-faulkner-306_curiosity_at-one-time-i-thought-the-most-important_1665951.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2a/william-faulkner-306_curiosity_at-one-time-i-thought-the-most-important_1665951.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At one time I thought the most important thing was talent. 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