I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.

W.H. Auden

Read September 1, 1939 at poets.org

More information about this quote

Topic

Cycle of violence Eye for an eye Human nature

Author

W.H. Auden

Source

September 1, 1939 Another Time

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1939 1930s 20th century

Occupation

Poet Writer

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Auden, W. H. "September 1, 1939." Another Time. Faber and Faber/Random House, 1940. Originally published in The New Republic, 18 Oct. 1939.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by W.H. Auden about cycle of violence: “I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is…”
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A quote by W.H. Auden about cycle of violence: “I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is…”
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A quote by W.H. Auden about cycle of violence: “I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by W.H. Auden

Evil is unspectacular and always human,
And shares our bed and eats at our table.

W.H. Auden

More information about this quote
Topic
Nature of evil Evil

Author

W.H. Auden
Source
Herman Melville
Medium
Poem
Language
English
Time
1940 1940s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Auden, W. H. "Herman Melville." Another Time. Faber and Faber/Random House, 1940.

Another quote from the 1930s

Who built the Thebes of the seven gates?
In the books you will find the names of kings.
Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock?...
Where, the evening that the wall of China was finished
Did the masons go?

Bertolt Brecht

Questions from a Worker Who Reads

Read Questions From a Worker Who Reads at marxists.org
More information about this quote
Topic
Great man theory of history Seven wonders of the world Workers History

Author

Bertolt Brecht
Source
Questions from a Worker Who Reads
Medium
Poem
Genre
Political literature
Statement Type
Question
Language
German
Time
1936 1930s 20th century
Authentication Score 2
Citation

Brecht, Bertolt. "Fragen eines lesenden Arbeiters [Questions of a Reading Worker]." Das Wort, 1936.

Another quote about Human nature

Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind.

Gordon Gekko

Wall Street

Watch Wall Street at Amazon Watch Wall Street at Amazon
More information about this quote
Topic
Greed Capitalism Progress Human nature
Speaker
Gordon Gekko
Actor
Michael Douglas
Source
Wall Street
Medium
Film
Genre
Drama (film) Drama
Language
English
Time
1987 1980s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Wall Street. Directed by Oliver Stone, American Entertainment Partners/American Films, 1987.

Another quote from 1939

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Dorothy Gale

The Wizard of Oz

Listen to Over the Rainbow at Amazon Listen to Over the Rainbow at Amazon
More information about this quote
Topic
Adventure
Speaker
Dorothy Gale
Actor
Judy Garland
Source
Over the Rainbow The Wizard of Oz
Medium
Song Film
Language
English
Time
1939 1930s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

"Over the Rainbow." The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming, performed by Judy Garland, composed by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Harburg, Edgar Yipsel "Yip." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939.