In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted or adventurous can leave to seek his fortune elsewhere. In America, on the other hand, to move on and make a fresh start somewhere else is still the normal reaction to dissatisfaction and failure.


The Criterion Book of Modern American Verse (ed. 1956)

W. H. Auden Quotes

In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted...

In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted...

In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted...

In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted...