You know there are no secrets in America. It's quite different in England, where people think of a secret as a shared relation between two people.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: W H Auden Quotes

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

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

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

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

The class distinctions proper to a democratic society are not those of rank or money,...

The class distinctions proper to a democratic society are not those of rank or money,...

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,...

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...

Choice of attention - to pay attention to this and ignore that - is to...

Choice of attention - to pay attention to this and ignore that - is to...

Art is born of humiliation.

Art is born of humiliation.

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.

No human being is innocent, but there is a class of innocent human actions called...

No human being is innocent, but there is a class of innocent human actions called...

A poet is a professional maker of verbal objects.

A poet is a professional maker of verbal objects.

We must love one another or die.

We must love one another or die.

When the Sex War ended with the slaughter of the Grandmothers, / They found a...

When the Sex War ended with the slaughter of the Grandmothers, / They found a...

Literary confessors are contemptible, like beggars who exhibit their sores for money, but not so...

Literary confessors are contemptible, like beggars who exhibit their sores for money, but not so...

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...

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

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

Geniuses are the luckiest of mortals because what they must do is the same as...

Geniuses are the luckiest of mortals because what they must do is the same as...

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...

All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.

All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation.

When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate...

When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate...

Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own...

Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own...