QuoteProject
Whatever you do, good or bad, people will always have something negative to say
W. H. Auden
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

People will always judge your actions, regardless of their outcomes.

This quote by W. H. Auden highlights the inevitability of judgment from others, no matter the nature of your actions. It suggests that regardless of whether you achieve success or encounter failure, external opinions will persist, often leaning towards the negative. This reflects a broader truth about human nature and societal expectations, urging individuals to focus on their own values and intentions rather than seeking approval from others.

Themes

JudgmentCriticismOpinionActionsSociety

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about resilience, one might quote Auden to emphasize the importance of staying true to oneself despite external criticism.

More from W. H. Auden

Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
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

Similar quotes

Often, to be free means the ability to deal with the realities of one's own situation so as not to be overcome by them.
Howard ThurmanRead
Justice is the loveliest and health is the best. but the sweetest to obtain is the heart's desire.
AristotleRead
There is no connection between the political ideas of our educated class and the deep places of the imagination.
Lionel TrillingRead
I think that my darkest moment was the Iraq war and the fact that we could not stop it.
Kofi AnnanRead
Power was my weakness and my temptation.
J. K. RowlingRead
Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, and don't have any kids yourself.
Philip LarkinRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.