The only way to spend New Year's Eve is either quietly with friends or in a brothel. Otherwise when the evening ends and people pair off, someone is bound to be left in tears.
W.H. Auden
New Year’s Eve, Friendship, Loneliness, Social Gatherings, Human Nature
W.H. Auden’s Quotes On Topics
Moral Complexity | Stereotypes | Friendship | Bravery | Clergy | Dilemma | Significance | Self-deprecation | Cooks | Endurance | Non-conformity | Retribution | Entertainment | Boundaries | Intellectual Honesty | Social Interactions | Morality | Alcohol | Perseverance | Social Responsibility | More
More W.H. Auden Quotes
“Though one cannot always Remember exactly why one has been happy, There is no forgetting that one was.” W.H. Auden
Happiness, Memory, Emotions, Human Experience, Past Joy
W.H. Auden Happiness, Memory, Emotions, Human Experience, Past Joy“The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have not yet developed a significant profile of their own.” W.H. Auden
Childhood, Identity, Development, Masks, Human Nature
W.H. Auden Childhood, Identity, Development, Masks, Human Nature“Say this city has ten million souls, Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes: Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us.” W.H. Auden
Inequality, Urban Life, Displacement, Love, Social Commentary
W.H. Auden Inequality, Urban Life, Displacement, Love, Social Commentary“To discover how to be human now is the reason we follow this star.” W.H. Auden
Humanity, Self-discovery, Purpose, Aspiration, Navigation
W.H. Auden Humanity, Self-discovery, Purpose, Aspiration, Navigation“Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.” W.H. Auden
Death, Metaphor, Tranquility Disrupted, Mortality, Poetic Imagery
W.H. Auden Death, Metaphor, Tranquility Disrupted, Mortality, Poetic Imagery“Recipe for the upbringing of a poet: 'As much neurosis as the child can bear.” W.H. Auden
Poetry, Childhood, Neurosis, Creativity, Upbringing
W.H. Auden Poetry, Childhood, Neurosis, Creativity, Upbringing“Life remains a blessing, even if we are incapable of recognizing it.” W.H. Auden
Life, Blessing, Perception, Gratitude, Human Limitation
W.H. Auden Life, Blessing, Perception, Gratitude, Human Limitation“We must love one another or die.” W.H. Auden
Love, Survival, Human Connection, Necessity, Ultimatum
W.H. Auden Love, Survival, Human Connection, Necessity, Ultimatum“The habit-forming pain, Mismanagement and grief: We must suffer them all again.” W.H. Auden
Suffering, Repetition, Pain, Mismanagement, Inevitability
W.H. Auden Suffering, Repetition, Pain, Mismanagement, Inevitability“But if a stranger in the train asks me my occupation, I never answer “writer” for fear that he may go on to ask me what I write, and to answer “poetry” would embarrass us both, for we both know that nobody can earn a living simply by writing poetry.” W.H. Auden
Writing, Identity, Poetry, Embarrassment, Livelihood
W.H. Auden Writing, Identity, Poetry, Embarrassment, Livelihood“The older lives like not to be stood in rows or at right angles.” W.H. Auden
Aging, Conformity, Individuality, Rebellion, Metaphor
W.H. Auden Aging, Conformity, Individuality, Rebellion, Metaphor“A god who is both self-sufficient and content to remain so could not interest us enough to raise the question of his existence.” W.H. Auden
Theology, Divine Nature, Human Interest, Existence, Philosophical Inquiry
W.H. Auden Theology, Divine Nature, Human Interest, Existence, Philosophical Inquiry“Music can be made anywhere, is invisible and does not smell.” W.H. Auden
Music, Creativity, Accessibility, Art, Sensory Experience
W.H. Auden Music, Creativity, Accessibility, Art, Sensory Experience“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“Each in the cell of himself is almost convinced of his freedom.” W.H. Auden
Individuality, Freedom, Self-deception, Isolation, Human Condition
W.H. Auden Individuality, Freedom, Self-deception, Isolation, Human Condition“Our sufferings and weaknesses, in so far as they are personal, are of no literary interest whatsoever. They are only interesting in so far as we can see them as typical of the human condition.” W.H. Auden
Literature, Suffering, Human Condition, Universality, Artistic Relevance
W.H. Auden Literature, Suffering, Human Condition, Universality, Artistic Relevance“Literary confessors are contemptible, like beggars who exhibit their sores for money, but not so contemptible as the public that buys their books.” W.H. Auden
Literary Criticism, Confessional Writing, Public Consumption, Contempt, Hypocrisy
W.H. Auden Literary Criticism, Confessional Writing, Public Consumption, Contempt, Hypocrisy“How happy is the lot of the mathematician! He is judged solely by his peers, and the standard is so high that no colleague or rival can ever win a reputation he does not deserve. No cashier writes a letter to the press complaining about the incomprehensibility of Modern Mathematics and comparing it unfavorably with the good old days when mathematicians were content to paper irregularly shaped rooms and fill bathtubs without closing the waste pipe.” W.H. Auden
Mathematics, Judgment, Professionalism, Comparison, Societal Expectations
W.H. Auden Mathematics, Judgment, Professionalism, Comparison, Societal Expectations