Art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead.
W.H. Auden
Art, Connection, History, Mortality, Cultural Continuity
W.H. Auden’s Quotes On Topics
Relevance | Envy | Ego | Significance | Everyday Objects | Absence | Competition | Dance | Philosophical Insight | Personal Growth | Subjectivity | Hypocrisy | Mundanity | Serendipity | Delusion | Emotional Complexity | Hemingway | Craft | Exhaustion | Modern Skills | More
More W.H. Auden Quotes
“In headaches and in worry Vaguely life leaks away, And Time will have his fancy To-morrow or today.” W.H. Auden
Life, Worry, Time, Futility, Human Experience
W.H. Auden Life, Worry, Time, Futility, Human Experience“The way to read a fairy tale is to throw yourself in.” W.H. Auden
Reading, Immersion, Fairy Tales, Imagination, Literary Advice
W.H. Auden Reading, Immersion, Fairy Tales, Imagination, Literary Advice“To have a sense of sin means to feel guilty at there being an ethical choice to make, a guilt which, however "good" I may become, remains unchanged.” W.H. Auden
Sin, Guilt, Ethics, Morality, Human Nature
W.H. Auden Sin, Guilt, Ethics, Morality, Human Nature“The wolves will get you if the moths won't.” W.H. Auden
Danger, Inevitability, Metaphor, Predation, Vulnerability
W.H. Auden Danger, Inevitability, Metaphor, Predation, Vulnerability“If there are any souls in hell, it is because that is where they insist on being.” W.H. Auden
Hell, Free Will, Damnation, Choice, Theological Insight
W.H. Auden Hell, Free Will, Damnation, Choice, Theological Insight“Most people call something profound, not because it is near some important truth but because it is distant from ordinary life. Thus, darkness is profound to the eye, silence to the ear; what-is-not is the profundity of what-is.” W.H. Auden
Profundity, Perception, Truth, Ordinary Life, Philosophical Insight
W.H. Auden Profundity, Perception, Truth, Ordinary Life, Philosophical Insight“Marriage is rarely bliss But, surely it would be worse As particles to pelt At thousands of miles per sec About a universe In which a lover's kiss Would either not be felt Or break the loved one's neck.” W.H. Auden
Marriage, Love, Physics, Cosmic Perspective, Human Relationships
W.H. Auden Marriage, Love, Physics, Cosmic Perspective, Human Relationships“A tremendous number of people in America work very hard at something that bores them. Even a rich man thinks he has to go down to the office everyday. Not because he likes it but because he can't think of anything else to do.” W.H. Auden
Work, Boredom, Wealth, Purpose, American Culture
W.H. Auden Work, Boredom, Wealth, Purpose, American Culture“It is nonsense to speak of 'higher' and 'lower' pleasures. To a hungry man it is, rightly, more important that he eat than that he philosophize.” W.H. Auden
Pleasure, Hierarchy, Hunger, Philosophy, Human Needs
W.H. Auden Pleasure, Hierarchy, Hunger, Philosophy, Human Needs“As a poet, there is only one political duty, and that is to defend one's language from corruption.” W.H. Auden
Poetry, Language, Politics, Integrity, Responsibility
W.H. Auden Poetry, Language, Politics, Integrity, Responsibility“Thou shalt not answer questionnaires Or quizzes upon world affairs, Nor with compliance Take any test. Thou shalt not sit with statisticians nor commit A social science.” W.H. Auden
Individuality, Non-conformity, Social Criticism, Academic Skepticism, Personal Freedom
W.H. Auden Individuality, Non-conformity, Social Criticism, Academic Skepticism, Personal Freedom“The image of myself which I try to create in my own mind in order that I may love myself is very different from the image which I try to create in the minds of others in order that they may love me.” W.H. Auden
Self-image, Love, Perception, Duality, Human Psychology
W.H. Auden Self-image, Love, Perception, Duality, Human Psychology“I don't think the mystical experience can be verbalized. When the ego disappears, so does power over language.” W.H. Auden
Mysticism, Language, Ego, Ineffability, Spiritual Experience
W.H. Auden Mysticism, Language, Ego, Ineffability, Spiritual Experience“All time spent reading is time well-spent.” W.H. Auden
Reading, Value, Time, Knowledge, Personal Growth
W.H. Auden Reading, Value, Time, Knowledge, Personal Growth“There are three cardinal rules – don't take somebody else's boyfriend unless you've been specifically invited to do so, don't take a drink without being asked, and keep a scrupulous accounting in financial matters.” W.H. Auden
Etiquette, Relationships, Alcohol, Finance, Social Rules
W.H. Auden Etiquette, Relationships, Alcohol, Finance, Social Rules“But once in a while the odd thing happens Once in a while the dream comes true And the whole pattern of life is altered Once in a while, the moon turns blue.” W.H. Auden
Unexpected Events, Dreams, Change, Serendipity, Life Experiences
W.H. Auden Unexpected Events, Dreams, Change, Serendipity, Life Experiences