The class distinctions proper to a democratic society are not those of rank or money, still less, as is apt to happen when these are abandoned, of race, but of age.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: Age Quotes

One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.

One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among...

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among...

We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are...

We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are...

You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.

You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.

Now is the age of anxiety.

Now is the age of anxiety.

When I am in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate who...

When I am in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate who...

A verbal art like poetry is reflective; it stops to think. Music is immediate, it...

A verbal art like poetry is reflective; it stops to think. Music is immediate, it...

All works of art are commissioned in the sense that no artist can create one...

All works of art are commissioned in the sense that no artist can create one...

Music can be made anywhere, is invisible and does not smell.

Music can be made anywhere, is invisible and does not smell.

Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.

Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.

The words of a dead man are modified in the guts of the living.

The words of a dead man are modified in the guts of the living.

If time were the wicked sheriff in a horse opera, I'd pay for riding lessons...

If time were the wicked sheriff in a horse opera, I'd pay for riding lessons...

Almost all of our relationships begin and most of them continue as forms of mutual...

Almost all of our relationships begin and most of them continue as forms of mutual...

Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.

Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.

Healing, Papa would tell me, is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing...

Healing, Papa would tell me, is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing...

You know there are no secrets in America. It's quite different in England, where people...

You know there are no secrets in America. It's quite different in England, where people...

Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.

Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.

Of all possible subjects, travel is the most difficult for an artist, as it is...

Of all possible subjects, travel is the most difficult for an artist, as it is...

A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us.

A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us.

We all have these places where shy humiliations gambol on sunny afternoons.

We all have these places where shy humiliations gambol on sunny afternoons.