We are all here on earth to help others; I don't know what others are here because I don't know.

W. H. Auden

History, strictly speaking, is the study of questions; The study of the answers is related to anthropology and sociology.

W. H. Auden

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

W. H. Auden

What the mass media provide is not popular art, but entertainment that is intended to be consumed like food, forgotten, and replaced by a new dish.

W. H. Auden

I'll love you, darling, I'll love you until China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street.

W. H. Auden

Some writers confuse authenticity, which they should always aim for, with originality, which they should never worry about.

W. H. Auden

Among those I like or admire, I can't find a common denominator, but among those I love, I can: They all make me laugh.

W. H. Auden

It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can make far more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practicing it.

W. H. Auden

No good opera plot can be sensible, because people don't sing when they're feeling sensible.

W. H. Auden

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

W. H. Auden