Most people enjoy the sight of their own handwriting as they enjoy the smell of their own farts.
W.H. Auden
Self-appreciation, Vanity, Human Nature, Humor, Personal Bias
W.H. Auden’s Quotes On Topics
Money | Alcohol | Defeat | Perfection | Reader Interaction | Appearance | Philosophical Inquiry | Fairy Tales | Musical Theater | Forgiveness | Academia | Life Cycle | Ritual | Essence | Caution | Career Choices | Emotional Release | Artistic Relevance | Daily Life | Mutual Respect | More
More W.H. Auden Quotes
“Just as a good man forgets his deed the moment he has done it, a genuine writer forgets a work as soon as he has completed it and starts to think about the next one; if he thinks about his past work at all, he is more likely to remember its faults than its virtues. Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.” W.H. Auden
Writing, Humility, Creativity, Fame, Self-criticism
W.H. Auden Writing, Humility, Creativity, Fame, Self-criticism“Civilizations should be measured by the degree of diversity attained and the degree of unity retained.” W.H. Auden
Civilization, Diversity, Unity, Social Values, Cultural Assessment
W.H. Auden Civilization, Diversity, Unity, Social Values, Cultural Assessment“A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten. Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, absent-mindedly and with little relish.” W.H. Auden
Daydreams, Imagination, Consumption, Individuality, Mental Processes
W.H. Auden Daydreams, Imagination, Consumption, Individuality, Mental Processes“Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable.” W.H. Auden
Names, Poetry, Language, Translation, Uniqueness
W.H. Auden Names, Poetry, Language, Translation, Uniqueness“Without art, we should have no notion of the sacred; without science, we should always worship false gods.” W.H. Auden
Art, Science, Spirituality, Culture, Duality
W.H. Auden Art, Science, Spirituality, Culture, Duality“All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.” W.H. Auden
Sin, Addiction, Damnation, Human Nature, Moral Decay
W.H. Auden Sin, Addiction, Damnation, Human Nature, Moral Decay“It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too much. I can see myself doing it. In England, one feels all the social restraints holding one back. But here, anything can happen.” W.H. Auden
Violence, America, Cultural Differences, Social Restraints, Potential For Evil
W.H. Auden Violence, America, Cultural Differences, Social Restraints, Potential For Evil“No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine joy in the successes of those under him.” W.H. Auden
Leadership, Joy, Success, Empowerment, Selflessness
W.H. Auden Leadership, Joy, Success, Empowerment, Selflessness“In a tragic contradiction between the normal and the exceptional, there is suffering, in a comic contradiction, none.” W.H. Auden
Tragedy, Comedy, Contradiction, Suffering, Normality
W.H. Auden Tragedy, Comedy, Contradiction, Suffering, Normality“What answer to the meaning of existence should one require beyond the right to exercise one’s gifts?” W.H. Auden
Meaning Of Life, Creativity, Self-expression, Purpose, Individual Potential
W.H. Auden Meaning Of Life, Creativity, Self-expression, Purpose, Individual Potential“Look if you like, but you will have to leap.” W.H. Auden
Decision-making, Risk, Action, Courage, Life Choices
W.H. Auden Decision-making, Risk, Action, Courage, Life Choices“Geniuses are the luckiest of mortals because what they must do is the same as what they most want to do.” W.H. Auden
Genius, Passion, Vocation, Fulfillment, Talent
W.H. Auden Genius, Passion, Vocation, Fulfillment, Talent“There are not many English novels which deserve to be called great: Parade's End is one of them.” W.H. Auden
Literature, Greatness, English Novels, Criticism, Praise
W.H. Auden Literature, Greatness, English Novels, Criticism, Praise“Money is the necessity that frees us from necessity. Of all novelists in any country, Trollope best understands the role of money. Compared with him even Balzac is a romantic.” W.H. Auden
Money, Freedom, Literature, Realism, Financial Insight
W.H. Auden Money, Freedom, Literature, Realism, Financial Insight“God may reduce you on Judgment Day to tears of shame, reciting by heart the poems you would have written, had your life been good.” W.H. Auden
Judgment, Poetry, Morality, Potential, Divine Perspective
W.H. Auden Judgment, Poetry, Morality, Potential, Divine Perspective“All the literati keep An imaginary friend.” W.H. Auden
Writers, Imagination, Companionship, Creativity, Solitude
W.H. Auden Writers, Imagination, Companionship, Creativity, Solitude“Money is the necessity that frees us from necessity.” W.H. Auden
Money, Freedom, Paradox, Necessity, Economics
W.H. Auden Money, Freedom, Paradox, Necessity, Economics“Almost all of our relationships begin and most of them continue as forms of mutual exploitation, a mental or physical barter, to be terminated when one or both parties run out of goods.” W.H. Auden
Relationships, Exploitation, Human Nature, Transactional, Cynicism
W.H. Auden Relationships, Exploitation, Human Nature, Transactional, Cynicism