Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: Impatience Quotes, Sin Quotes

Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they...

Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they...

A poet is a professional maker of verbal objects.

A poet is a professional maker of verbal objects.

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...

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...

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,...

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

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

For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?

For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?

Art is born of humiliation.

Art is born of humiliation.

Let mortals beware of words For with words we lie Can speak peace When we...

Let mortals beware of words For with words we lie Can speak peace When we...

In relation to a writer, most readers believe in the Double Standard: they may be...

In relation to a writer, most readers believe in the Double Standard: they may be...

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.

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.

The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have...

The countenances of children, like those of animals, are masks, not faces, for they have...

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...

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.

You must go to bed with friends or whores, where money makes up the difference...

You must go to bed with friends or whores, where money makes up the difference...

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...

Let us honor if we can the vertical man, though we value none but the...

Let us honor if we can the vertical man, though we value none but the...

A man has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it...

A man has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it...

Honor is like an island, rugged and without shores; once we have left it, we...

Honor is like an island, rugged and without shores; once we have left it, we...