In relation to a writer, most readers believe in the Double Standard: they may be unfaithful to him as often as they like, but he must never, never be unfaithful to them.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: W H Auden Quotes

We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here...

We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here...

All that we are not stares back at what we are.

All that we are not stares back at what we are.

It takes little talent to see what lies under one's nose, a good deal to...

It takes little talent to see what lies under one's nose, a good deal to...

Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.

Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.

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...

Music is the best means we have of digesting time.

Music is the best means we have of digesting time.

In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag.

In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag.

A tremendous number of people in America work very hard at something that bores them....

A tremendous number of people in America work very hard at something that bores them....

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...

Men make the mistake of thinking that because women can't see the sense in violence,...

Men make the mistake of thinking that because women can't see the sense in violence,...

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-Second Street Uncertain and afraid As the...

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-Second Street Uncertain and afraid As the...

Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.

Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.

My face looks like a wedding-cake left out in the rain.

My face looks like a wedding-cake left out in the rain.

Murder is commoner among cooks than among members of any other profession.

Murder is commoner among cooks than among members of any other profession.

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too...

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too...

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...

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...

To save your world you asked this man to die; would this man, could he...

To save your world you asked this man to die; would this man, could he...

A poet is a professional maker of verbal objects.

A poet is a professional maker of verbal objects.

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

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