The surest sign that a man has a genuine taste of his own is that he is uncertain of it.
W.H. Auden
Taste, Uncertainty, Individuality, Self-doubt, Authenticity
W.H. Auden’s Quotes On Topics
Social Interactions | Learning | Hierarchy | Interaction | Guilt | Autumn | Violence | Clarity | Quality | Idleness | Martyrdom | Literary Appreciation | Humility | Precariousness | Illness | Work | Anticipation | Inability | State | Choice | More
More W.H. Auden Quotes
“Criticism should be a casual conversation.” W.H. Auden
Criticism, Conversation, Informality, Literary Discourse, Approachability
W.H. Auden Criticism, Conversation, Informality, Literary Discourse, Approachability“Art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead.” W.H. Auden
Art, Connection, History, Mortality, Cultural Continuity
W.H. Auden Art, Connection, History, Mortality, Cultural Continuity“You owe it to all of us to get on with what you’re good at.” W.H. Auden
Empowerment, Responsibility, Personal Growth, Talent, Encouragement
W.H. Auden Empowerment, Responsibility, Personal Growth, Talent, Encouragement“Choice of attention — to pay attention to this and ignore that — is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer.” W.H. Auden
Attention, Choice, Inner Life, Action, Consciousness
W.H. Auden Attention, Choice, Inner Life, Action, Consciousness“In life the loser's score is always zero.” W.H. Auden
Life, Competition, Failure, Perspective, Metaphor
W.H. Auden Life, Competition, Failure, Perspective, Metaphor“There is no love; There are only the various envies, all of them sad.” W.H. Auden
Love, Envy, Cynicism, Human Emotion, Disillusionment
W.H. Auden Love, Envy, Cynicism, Human Emotion, Disillusionment“The law cannot forgive, for the law has not been wronged, only broken; only persons can be wronged. The law can pardon, but it can only pardon what it has the power to punish.” W.H. Auden
Law, Forgiveness, Justice, Power, Human Nature
W.H. Auden Law, Forgiveness, Justice, Power, Human Nature“My deepest feeling about politicians is that they are dangerous lunatics to be avoided when possible and carefully humored; people, above all, to whom one must never tell the truth.” W.H. Auden
Politics, Distrust, Caution, Honesty, Cynicism
W.H. Auden Politics, Distrust, Caution, Honesty, Cynicism“Money cannot buy the fuel of love but is excellent kindling.” W.H. Auden
Love, Money, Relationships, Metaphor, Materialism
W.H. Auden Love, Money, Relationships, Metaphor, Materialism“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“When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate who has strayed by mistake into a room full of dukes.” W.H. Auden
Self-deprecation, Science, Social Status, Insecurity, Comparison
W.H. Auden Self-deprecation, Science, Social Status, Insecurity, Comparison“A shilling life will give you all the facts.” W.H. Auden
Biography, Facts, Simplicity, Life Story, Monetary Metaphor
W.H. Auden Biography, Facts, Simplicity, Life Story, Monetary Metaphor“Ideally, government is the means by which all the individual wills are assured complete freedom of moral choice and at the same time prevented from ever clashing.” W.H. Auden
Government, Freedom, Morality, Social Harmony, Political Idealism
W.H. Auden Government, Freedom, Morality, Social Harmony, Political Idealism“A man has his distinctive personal scent which his wife, his children and his dog can recognize. A crowd has a generalized stink. The public is odorless.” W.H. Auden
Individuality, Crowds, Perception, Human Senses, Social Commentary
W.H. Auden Individuality, Crowds, Perception, Human Senses, Social Commentary“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