Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
When I am in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate who has strayed by mistake into a drawing room full of dukes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses a feeling of inadequacy when in the presence of highly knowledgeable individuals.
W. H. Auden uses a metaphor to convey his sense of inferiority and discomfort when surrounded by scientists, who represent intellectual elites akin to dukes. The comparison highlights the psychological gap between his self-perception and the esteemed company he finds himself in, suggesting a feeling of being out of place or unworthy among those with vast knowledge and expertise.
Themes
InadequacyKnowledgeIntellectComparisonCompany
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a speech about humility in the presence of great minds.
More from W. H. Auden
All quotes βThat the speech of self-disclosure should be translatable seems to me very odd, but I am convinced that it is. The conclusion that I draw is that the only quality which all human being without exception possess is uniqueness: any characteristic, on the other hand, which one individual can be recognized as having in common with another, like red hair or the English language, implies the existence of other individual qualities which this classification excludes.
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Nobody knows what the cause is, though some pretend they do; it like some hidden assassin waiting to strike at you. Childless women get it, and men when they retire; it as if there had to be some outlet for their foiled creative fire.
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History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
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'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'
W. H. AudenRead
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