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To be in a world which is a hell, to be of that world and neither to believe in or guess at anything but that world is not merely hell but the only possible damnation: the act of a man damning himself. It may be

William Golding

If faces were different when lit from above or below — what was a face? What was anything?
WILLIAM GOLDING

Above Anything Below Face Facem Different When
A crowd of grade-three thinkers, all shouting the same thing, all warming their hands at the fire of their own prejudices, will not thank you for pointing out the contradictions in their beliefs. Man is a gregarious animal, and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all the same way on the side of a hill.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Crow Grade Hand Prejudice Same Shout Thing Thinker Warning
There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Claw Movement No Teeth Tera Word
Beethoven for listening; Liszt, Chopin, and Beethoven for playing as well as Bach and Prokofiev and so on. If I kept going, this list would spiral. It’s as wide as literature; in fact, it is probably wider.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Beethoven Country Listen People Person Play Well
The mask was a thing on it’s own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-conciousness.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Behind Consciousness Country Liberated Mask Own People Person Self Shame Think
It wasn’t until I was 37 that I grasped the great truth that you’ve got to write your own books and nobody else’s, and then everything followed from there.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Book Else Everything Follow Grasp Great Nobody Own Seven Thirty Truth Until
I am here; and here is nowhere in particular.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Here Nowhere Particular
The trouble was, if you were a chief you had to think, you had to be wise.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Chief Think Trouble Wise
We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Best English Everything Obey Rule Savage Them
As soon as Oliver Twist is serialized, people who would never dream of reading [Charles] Dickens, if they hadn’t seen him on their box, buy the paperback.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Box Country Dream never People Person Raed Seen Serialized Soon
It may be — I hope it is — redemption to guess and perhaps perceive that the universe, the hell which we see for all its beauty, vastness, majesty, is only part of a whole which is quite unimaginable.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Beauty Guess Hell Hope Majesty May Perhaps Redemption See Universe Vastness
Nothing is so impenetrable as laughter in a language you don’t understand.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Imperitable Language Laughter Nothing Understand
Life’s scientific, but we don’t know, do we? Not certainly, I mean.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Certainty Know Life Mean Scientific
Towards midnight the rain ceased and the clouds drifted away, so that the sky was scattered once more with the incredible lamps of stars.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Away Cease Cloud Drift Incredible Lamp Mighnight More Once Scatter Sky Star Towards
Together, joined in effort by the burden, they staggered up the last steep of the mountain. Together, they chanted One! Two! Three! and crashed the log on to the great pile. Then they stepped back, laughing with triumphant pleasure.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Burden Chant Effort Join Last Mountain Sleep Staggered Together Two
We have a disharmony in our natures. We cannot live together without injuring each other.
WILLIAM GOLDING

Disharmony Each Injury Nature Other Together

To be in a world which is a hell, to be of that world and neither to believe in or guess at anything but that world is not merely hell but the only possible damnation: the act of a man damning himself. It may be

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To be in a world which is a hell, to be of that world and neither to believe in or guess at anything but that world is not merely hell but the only possible damnation: the act of a man damning himself. It may be

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