Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Impatience is a fundamental flaw that leads to significant consequences in life.
In this quote, W. H. Auden reflects on the concept of impatience as a core human failing that drives us away from peace and fulfillment, symbolized by 'Paradise.' The idea suggests that our inability to wait and endure can lead to regret and a perpetual longing for what we have lost, highlighting the importance of patience in finding true contentment.
Themes
ImpatiencePatienceConsequencesWisdomParadise
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about personal growth.
More from W. H. Auden
All quotes →That 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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