We who must die demand a miracle. How could the Eternal do a temporal act, The Infinite become a finite fact? Nothing can save us that is possible: We who must die demand a miracle.
W.H. Auden
Mortality, Miracles, Eternity, Human Condition, Paradox
W.H. Auden’s Quotes On Topics
Human Priorities | Appearances | Focus | Inability | Literary Biography | Transactional | Hypocrisy | England | Political Idealism | Travel Writing | Learning | Personality | State | Cultural Criticism | Good | Malleability | Freedom | Cultural Heritage | Societal Expectations | Public Interest | More
More W.H. Auden Quotes
“Weep for the lives your wishes never led.” W.H. Auden
Regret, Unfulfilled Desires, Choices, Mourning, Self-reflection
W.H. Auden Regret, Unfulfilled Desires, Choices, Mourning, Self-reflection“Genealogies are admirable things, provided they do not encourage the curious delusion that some families are older than others.” W.H. Auden
Genealogy, Family, History, Delusion, Social Status
W.H. Auden Genealogy, Family, History, Delusion, Social Status“Hemingway is terribly limited. His technique is good for short stories, for people who meet once in a bar very late at night, but do not enter into relations. But not for the novel.” W.H. Auden
Literary Criticism, Hemingway, Writing Technique, Relationships, Novel Writing
W.H. Auden Literary Criticism, Hemingway, Writing Technique, Relationships, Novel Writing“There are good books which are only for adults. There are no good books which are only for children.” W.H. Auden
Literature, Age, Reading, Quality, Universal Appeal
W.H. Auden Literature, Age, Reading, Quality, Universal Appeal“Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition.” W.H. Auden
Routine, Intelligence, Ambition, Discipline, Productivity
W.H. Auden Routine, Intelligence, Ambition, Discipline, Productivity“Encased in talent like a uniform, The rank of every poet is well known; They can amaze us like a thunderstorm, Or die so young, or live for years alone.” W.H. Auden
Poetry, Talent, Fame, Isolation, Artistic Life
W.H. Auden Poetry, Talent, Fame, Isolation, Artistic Life“One rational voice is dumb: over a grave The household of Impulse mourns one dearly loved. Sad is Eros, builder of cities, And weeping anarchic Aphrodite.” W.H. Auden
Rationality, Grief, Love, Mythology, Human Emotion
W.H. Auden Rationality, Grief, Love, Mythology, Human Emotion“For love: a poet. For romance: a journalist.” W.H. Auden
Love, Romance, Professions, Writing, Stereotypes
W.H. Auden Love, Romance, Professions, Writing, Stereotypes“And make us as Newton was, who in his garden watching The apple falling towards England, became aware Between himself and her of an eternal tie.” W.H. Auden
Science, Discovery, Connection, Nature, Universal Laws
W.H. Auden Science, Discovery, Connection, Nature, Universal Laws“Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.” W.H. Auden
Fame, Writing, Vanity, Humility, Literary Critique
W.H. Auden Fame, Writing, Vanity, Humility, Literary Critique“What living occasion can, Be just to the absent?” W.H. Auden
Absence, Justice, Presence, Memory, Human Relationships
W.H. Auden Absence, Justice, Presence, Memory, Human Relationships“To hunt for symbols in a fairy tale is absolutely fatal.” W.H. Auden
Symbolism, Interpretation, Fairy Tales, Caution, Analysis
W.H. Auden Symbolism, Interpretation, Fairy Tales, Caution, Analysis“The true men of action in our time, those who transform the world, are not the politicians and statesmen, but the scientists.” W.H. Auden
Science, Progress, Politics, Action, Societal Change
W.H. Auden Science, Progress, Politics, Action, Societal Change“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“All works of art are commissioned in the sense that no artist can create one by a simple act of will but must wait until what he believes to be a good idea for a work comes to him.” W.H. Auden
Art, Creativity, Inspiration, Artistic Process, Commissioning
W.H. Auden Art, Creativity, Inspiration, Artistic Process, Commissioning“Language is the mother, not the handmaiden, of thought; words will tell you things you never thought or felt before.” W.H. Auden
Language, Thought, Expression, Creativity, Communication
W.H. Auden Language, Thought, Expression, Creativity, Communication