“Man is a history-making creature who can neither repeat his past nor leave it behind.”

— W. H. Auden, The Dyer's Hand, and Other Essays (1962)

About W. H. Auden

1907 – 1973

Anglo-American poet, author of "September 1, 1939".

“We must love one another or die.”

“O let not Time deceive you, you cannot conquer Time.”

“The basic stimulus to the intelligence is doubt, a feeling that the meaning of an experience is not self-evident.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”