Skip to content

Sometimes I think it ain’t none of us pure crazy and ain’t none of us pure sane until the balance of us talks him that-a-way. It’s like it ain’t so much what a fellow does, but it’s the way the majority of folks is looking at him when he does it.

— William Faulkner As I Lay Dying (1930)

Another quote →

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)

All William Faulkner quotes →

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.