We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and see our illusions die.
W.H. AudenIn the prison of his days
Teach the free man how to praise
Tags: poetry
So long as we think of it objectively, time is Fate or Chance, the factor in our lives for which we are not responsible, and about which we can do nothing; but when we begin to think of it subjectively, we feel responsible for our time, and the notion of punctuality arises.
W.H. AudenTags: time objective-and-subjective
The most exciting rhythms seem unexpected and complex, the most beautiful melodies simple and inevitable.
W.H. AudenTags: music
Drama is based on the Mistake.
W.H. AudenHappy the hare at morning, for she cannot read
The hunter's waking thoughts.
Tags: life happiness fate ignorance
And none will hear the postman’s knock
Without a quickening of the heart.
For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?
Tags: forgotten
The slogan of Hell: Eat or be eaten. The slogan of Heaven: Eat and be eaten.
W.H. AudenAs readers, we remain in the nursery stage so long as we cannot distinguish between taste and judgment, so long, that is, as the only possible verdicts we can pass on a book are two: this I like; this I don't like.
For an adult reader, the possible verdicts are five: I can see this is good and I like it; I can see this is good but I don't like it; I can see this is good and, though at present I don't like it, I believe that with perseverance I shall come to like it; I can see that this is trash but I like it; I can see that this is trash and I don't like it.
Tags: reading
Like everyone else, I have my black list of unfavorite authors and critics, and among intimate friends I sometimes say exactly what I think of them, but I have the feeling that to express my opinions publicly would be in bad taste, that, to people whom one does not know personally, one should speak only of the authors and critics one is fond of. I find reading savage reviews like reading pornography; though I often enjoy them, I feel a bit ashamed of myself for doing so. Still, I must admit that I find Nietzsche's list of his "impracticals" great fun.
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