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Man must have light. He must live in the fierce full constant glare of light, where all shadow will be defined and sharp and unique and personal: the shadow of his own singular rectitude or baseness. All human evils have to come out of obscurity and darkness, where there is nothing to dog man constantly with the shape of his own deformity.

— William Faulkner The Mansion (1959)

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More quotes by William Faulkner

Clocks slay time. ... Time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.

The Sound and the Fury (1929)

Even a liar can be scared into telling the truth, same as an honest man can be tortured into telling a lie.

Light in August (1932)

The past is never dead. It's not even past.

Requiem for a Nun (1951)

When people act like niggers, no matter who they are, the only thing to do is treat them like a nigger.

The Sound and the Fury (1929)

People to whom sin is just a matter of words, to them salvation is just words too.

As I Lay Dying (1930)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Faulkner (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.