Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition. W. H. Auden More Quotes by W. H. Auden More Quotes From W. H. Auden The lights must never go out, W. H. Auden light play 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 holes soul cities Criticism should be a casual conversation. W. H. Auden criticism should conversation To hunt for symbols in a fairy tale is absolutely fatal. W. H. Auden hunts tales fairy-tale A craftsman knows in advance what the finished result will be, while the artist knows only what it will be when he has finished it. W. H. Auden craftsman results artist The element of craftsmanship in poetry is obscured by the fact that all men are taught to speak and most to read and write, while very few men are taught to draw or paint or write music. W. H. Auden taught writing men How happy 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. W. H. Auden math happiness science Few people take an interest in Iceland, but in those few the interest is passionate. W. H. Auden iceland passionate people Art is born of humiliation. W. H. Auden humiliation born art 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 holiday new-year funny We are lived by powers we pretend to understand. W. H. Auden Thank God for books as an alternative to conversation. W. H. Auden alternatives thank-god book Health is the state about which medicine has nothing to say. W. H. Auden medical medicine states See without looking, hear without listening, breathe without asking. W. H. Auden philosophical asking listening Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own table. W. H. Auden bed tables evil To make one, there must be two. W. H. Auden marriage two Love each other or perish. W. H. Auden love-each-other helping-others Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return. W. H. Auden work success patience Desire, even in its wildest tantrums, can neither persuade me it is love nor stop me from wishing it were. W. H. Auden sensual wish desire 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 simple believe art
