Choice of attention - to pay attention to this and ignore that - is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the…

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: W H Auden Quotes

A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man...

A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man...

A false enchantment can all too easily last a lifetime.

A false enchantment can all too easily last a lifetime.

No hero is mortal till he dies.

No hero is mortal till he dies.

I know nothing, except what everyone knows if there when Graces dances, I should dance.

I know nothing, except what everyone knows if there when Graces dances, I should dance.

Even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot...

Even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot...

Sob, heavy world Sob as you spin, Mantled in mist Remote from the happy.

Sob, heavy world Sob as you spin, Mantled in mist Remote from the happy.

If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me

If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me

Now is the age of anxiety.

Now is the age of anxiety.

For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?

For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?

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...

It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more...

It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more...

I know nothing, except what everyone knows if there when Graces dances, I should dance.

I know nothing, except what everyone knows if there when Graces dances, I should dance.

We must love one another or die.

We must love one another or die.

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...

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...

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...

The belief that politics can be scientific must inevitably produce tyrannies. Politics cannot be a...

The belief that politics can be scientific must inevitably produce tyrannies. Politics cannot be a...

And to answer the question that people have about this conspiracy theory that he has...

And to answer the question that people have about this conspiracy theory that he has...

In politics it is necessary either to betray one's country of the electorate. I prefer...

In politics it is necessary either to betray one's country of the electorate. I prefer...

For a woman to get half as much credit as a man, she has to...

For a woman to get half as much credit as a man, she has to...