H. Auden
H. Auden
confusion confusing funny-basketball
Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.
water soul earth
Water is the soul of the Earth.
book beer quality
Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.
love inspirational life
Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.
stars passion return
How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me.
children book adults
There are good books which are only for adults. There are no good books which are only for children.
real book reading
A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us.
prayer attention definitions
The definition of prayer is paying careful and concentrated attention to something other than your own constructions.
math winning peers
How happy the lot of the mathematician. He is judged solely by his peers, and the standard is so high that no colleague or rival can ever win a reputation he does not deserve.
inspirational want genius
Geniuses are the luckiest of mortals because what they must do is the same as what they most want to do.
iceland people passionate
Few people take an interest in Iceland, but in those few the interest is passionate.
smell blood eras
I smell blood and an era of prominent madmen.
art taste twenties
When someone between twenty and forty says, apropos of a work of art, 'I know what I like,' he is really saying 'I have no taste of my own but accept the taste of my cultural milieu.
men action life-is
A writer is a maker, not a man of action: his private life is of no concern to anybody but himself, his family and his friends.