--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our tragedy today is a general and…" description: "\"“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 spir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/william-faulkner-306_compassion_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_1533182.jpg" --- # Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear… ![“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…” quote by William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/william-faulkner-306_compassion_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_1533182.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/william-faulkner-306_compassion_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_1533182.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/william-faulkner-306_compassion_our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-unive_1533182.jpg) > ““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”” [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer must confront fundamental human emotions—love, honor, compassion—rather than superficial fears, to create lasting, meaningful work. **In simple terms:** Writers should focus on deep human truths, not fleeting anxieties. Key Takeaway Write with heart, not just intellect. Themes humanity emotion purpose literature Mood reflective determined inspirational Type philosophical literary motivational When to use this quote - novel writing - journalism - creative workshops - teaching literature Key Concepts existentialism authenticity moral responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What core emotions drive your creative work? - How can you balance confronting fear with celebrating hope? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on fear can lead to shallow, transient stories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Without hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-hope/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Ladies and gentlemen, I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work - a life's work…](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/) > [ “\[T\]he young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good… ](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/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-poet-s-the-writer-s-duty-is-to-write-about-these-things-it-is-his/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [ “\[A writer\] must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/a-writer-must-teach-himself-that-the-basest-of-all-things-is-to-be/) [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/) > [“I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-decline-to-accept-the-end-of-man-it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Worry is a waste of the imagination,” Oakly tells Owen in The Ground Between Us, reminding him that courage grows where fear once lived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-sven/worry-is-a-waste-of-the-imagination-oakly-tells-owen-in-the-ground/) Donna Sven > [All we will ever know and share about love, humility, compassion, and sacrifice - the secrets that will reveal and then resolve old sorrows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/all-we-will-ever-know-and-share-about-love-humility-compassion-and/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [Nas is an artist who writes from his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stoute/nas-is-an-artist-who-writes-from-his-heart/) [Steve Stoute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-stoute/) > [No one can write a best seller by trying to. He must write with complete sincerity; the clichés that make you laugh, the hackneyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/no-one-can-write-a-best-seller-by-trying-to-he-must-write-with/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Life is but one continual course of instruction. The hand of the parent writes on the heart of the child the first faint characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-hill/life-is-but-one-continual-course-of-instruction-the-hand-of-the/) Paul R. Hill > [“Poetry is no rocket science, a good poet writes from his heart!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saru-singhal/poetry-is-no-rocket-science-a-good-poet-writes-from-his-heart/) [Saru Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saru-singhal/) > [Others may write from the head, but he writes from the heart, and the heart will always understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/others-may-write-from-the-head-but-he-writes-from-the-heart-and-the/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [When we call something unfair or indecent or unconscionable or evil, when we speak of mercy and pity and compassion, those words have meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/when-we-call-something-unfair-or-indecent-or-unconscionable-or-evil/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise. Become a stranger to need of pity. Or if compassion be freely given out, take only enough. Stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/expect-nothing-live-frugally-on-surprise-become-a-stranger-to-need-of/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) ## 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/) [Explore all 673 William Faulkner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) Segun Magbagbeola > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) Talib al Habib > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@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" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-universal-physical-fear-so-long-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-universal-physical-fear-so-long-2/#quotation", "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": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Faulkner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Our tragedy today is a general...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-universal-physical-fear-so-long-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/our-tragedy-today-is-a-general-and-universal-physical-fear-so-long-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```