I cannot think that espionage can be recommended as a technique for building an impressive civilization. It's a lout's game.
Rebecca Westdomestic work is the most elementary form of labor. It is suitable for those with the intelligence of rabbits. All it requires is cleanlines, tidiness and quickness - not moral or intellectual qualities at all, but merely the outward and visible signs of health.
Rebecca WestThere is, of course, no reason for the existence of the male sex except that one sometimes needs help with moving the piano.
Rebecca WestGod forbid that any book should be banned. The practice is as indefensible as infanticide.
Rebecca WestCharity is an ugly trick. It is a virtue grown by the rich on the graves of the poor. Unless it is accompanied by sincere revolt against the present social system, it is a cheap moral swagger. In former times it was used as fire insurance by the rich, but now that the fear of Hell has gone along with the rest of revealed religion, it is used either to gild mean lives with nobility or as a political instrument.
Rebecca West