Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate who has strayed by mistake into a room full of dukes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker feels inadequate and out of place among accomplished scientists.
In this quote, W. H. Auden expresses a sense of inferiority when he is with scientists, likening himself to a shabby curate among nobility. This comparison highlights feelings of self-doubt and the pressure of being surrounded by highly knowledgeable individuals, emphasizing the awe and respect he feels towards their intellect and status.
Themes
InadequacyScienceSelf-DoubtIntellectHumility
In practice
Example use cases
During a conference, one might share this quote to express feelings of being overwhelmed by experts in the field.
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.
W. H. AudenRead
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.
W. H. AudenRead
History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
W. H. AudenRead
Music is the best means we have of digesting time.
W. H. AudenRead
'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'
W. H. AudenRead
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