A copy of the universe is not what is required of art; one of the damned things is ample. – Rebecca West
The trouble about man is twofold. He cannot learn truths which are too complicated; he forgets truths which are too simple. – Rebecca West
Before a war military science seems a real science, like astronomy; but after a war it seems more like astrology. – Rebecca West
I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute. – Rebecca West
But there are other things than dissipation that thicken the features. Tears, for example. – Rebecca West
Nobody likes having salt rubbed into their wounds, even if it is the salt of the earth. – Rebecca West
Did St. Francis preach to the birds? Whatever for? If he really liked birds he would have done better to preach to the cats. – Rebecca West
Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul. – Rebecca West
Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs. – Rebecca West
Everyone realizes that one can believe little of what people say about each other. But it is not so widely realized that even less can one trust what people say about themselves. – Rebecca West
God forbid that any book should be banned. The practice is as indefensible as infanticide. – Rebecca West
I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat. – Rebecca West
It is sometimes very hard to tell the difference between history and the smell of skunk. – Rebecca West
Writing has nothing to do with communication between person and person, only with communication between different parts of a person’s mind. – Rebecca West
It is the soul’s duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion. – Rebecca West
People call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute. – Rebecca West
The main difference between men and women is that men are lunatics and women are idiots. – Rebecca West
A strong hatred is the best lamp to bear in our hands as we go over the dark places of life, cutting away the dead things men tell us to revere. – Rebecca West
