---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In addition to English, at least one…"
description: "\"In addition to English, at least one ancient language, probably Greek or Hebrew, and two modern languages would be required.\" — W. H. Auden"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/w-h-auden-856_ancient_in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-anci_1484876.png"
---

#  In addition to English, at least one ancient language…

![“In addition to English, at least one ancient language, probably Greek or Hebrew, and two modern languages would be required.” quote by W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/w-h-auden-856_ancient_in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-anci_1484876.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/w-h-auden-856_ancient_in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-anci_1484876.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/w-h-auden-856_ancient_in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-anci_1484876.png)

> “In addition to English, at least one ancient language, probably Greek or Hebrew, and two modern languages would be required.”

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Mastery of multiple languages, including ancient and modern, enriches understanding and communication.

**In simple terms:** Knowing many languages broadens perspective.

Key Takeaway

Learn diverse languages.

Themes

education culture communication

Mood

intellectual curious

Type

educational inspirational

When to use this quote

- academic research
- travel
- translation work

Key Concepts

linguistics historical studies

Questions to Reflect On

- Which languages would most benefit your goals?
- How does language shape thought?

A Different Perspective

Time and resources limit feasibility.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Ancient Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-language-1963031/) [Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek/) [Hebrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrew/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-probably-2826202/) [Languages Required](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/languages-required-5420176/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-languages/) [Probably Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-greek-4031100/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/)

## Related quotes

> [“Thus, 'Proto-Semitic' is more a postulate or linguistic convention than an actual ancient language spoken by a recognizable group.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-s-enz-badillos/thus-proto-semitic-is-more-a-postulate-or-linguistic-convention-than/)

[Angel Sáenz-Badillos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-s-enz-badillos/)

> [From antiquity, Latin died but is still studied in seminaries and elite universities. So did Sanskrit in Asia. iI was replaced by Pali, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/from-antiquity-latin-died-but-is-still-studied-in-seminaries-and/)

[F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/)

> [Mathematics as a science, commenced when first someone, probably a Greek, proved propositions about "any" things or about "some" things, without specifications of definite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/mathematics-as-a-science-commenced-when-first-someone-probably-a/)

[Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/)

> [As for the French language, it's probably one of the most beautiful in the world. I speak a little bit and I can follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlene-princess-of-monaco/as-for-the-french-language-it-s-probably-one-of-the-most-beautiful-in/)

[Charlene, Princess of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlene-princess-of-monaco/)

> [Political chaos is connected with the decay of language... one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/political-chaos-is-connected-with-the-decay-of-language-one-can/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [All businessmen - how do they communicate? God knows. Sign language, probably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-nadar/all-businessmen-how-do-they-communicate-god-knows-sign-language/)

[Shiv Nadar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-nadar/)

> [If you're offended by any word in any language, it's probably because your parents were unfit to raise a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/if-you-re-offended-by-any-word-in-any-language-it-s-probably-because/)

[Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/)

> [Part of what we love about poetry is the fact that it seems ancient, that it has an authority of ancient language and ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/part-of-what-we-love-about-poetry-is-the-fact-that-it-seems-ancient/)

[Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/)

> [For most of my life, I have received messages - images and worded communications, sometimes even in an ancient language - that came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-arison/for-most-of-my-life-i-have-received-messages-images-and-worded/)

[Shari Arison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-arison/)

> [My husband and I speak an ancient language called grammatical English, and the kids speak a strange dialect which is difficult to decode because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-bloomingdale/my-husband-and-i-speak-an-ancient-language-called-grammatical-english/)

[Teresa Bloomingdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-bloomingdale/)

> [It is worth the expense of youthful days and costly hours, if you learn only some words of an ancient language, which are raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-worth-the-expense-of-youthful-days-and-costly-hours-if-you/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“THROUGHOUT THE FIRST decades of the century, scholars were following Evans’s few publications on Linear B with rapt interest. Like him, they could only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margalit-fox/throughout-the-first-decades-of-the-century-scholars-were-following/)

[Margalit Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margalit-fox/)

> [what are the objects of an useful American education? classical knowlege, modern languages &amp; chiefly French, Spanish, &amp; Italian; Mathematics; Natural philosophy; Natural History;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-are-the-objects-of-an-useful-american-education-classical/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [People remember Longfellow wrote Hiawatha, quite forget he was a Professor of Modern Languages!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/people-remember-longfellow-wrote-hiawatha-quite-forget-he-was-a/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

## More by W. H. Auden

> [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Why doesn't the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/why-doesn-t-the-united-states-take-over-the-monarchy-and-unite-with/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [The commonest ivory tower is that of the average man, the state of passivity towards experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-commonest-ivory-tower-is-that-of-the-average-man-the-state-of/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Harrow the house of the dead; look shining at New styles of architecture, a change of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/harrow-the-house-of-the-dead-look-shining-at-new-styles-of/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/men-will-pay-large-sums-to-whores-for-telling-them-they-are-not-bores/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [If age, which is certainly Just as wicked as youth, look any wiser, It is only that youth is still able to believe It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/if-age-which-is-certainly-just-as-wicked-as-youth-look-any-wiser-it/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [“Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/those-to-whom-evil-is-done-do-evil-in-return/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/i-and-the-public-know-what-all-schoolchildren-learn-those-to-whom/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [How happy the lot of the mathematician. He is judged solely by his peers, and the standard is so high that no colleague or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/how-happy-the-lot-of-the-mathematician-he-is-judged-solely-by-his/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/perhaps-there-is-only-one-cardinal-sin-impatience-because-of/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [The windiest militant trash Important Persons shout Is not so crude as our wish: What mad Nijinsky wrote About Diaghilev Is true of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-windiest-militant-trash-important-persons-shout-is-not-so-crude/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Time and fevers burn away Individual beauty from Thoughtful children, and the grave Proves the child ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/time-and-fevers-burn-away-individual-beauty-from-thoughtful-children/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [To hunt for symbols in a fairy tale is absolutely fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/to-hunt-for-symbols-in-a-fairy-tale-is-absolutely-fatal/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

[Explore all 344 W. H. Auden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

## More Ancient quotes

> [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/)

[Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/)

> [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/)

[Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/)

> [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/)

[Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/)

> [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/)

[Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/)

> [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/)

[Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/)

> [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/)

[Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/)

> [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

> [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/)

[Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/)

> [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/)

[Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/)

[Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In addition to English, at least one ancient language, probably Greek or Hebrew, and two modern languages would be required.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "W. H. Auden"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-ancient-language-probably-greek/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ancient"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-ancient-language-probably-greek/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/w-h-auden-856_ancient_in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-anci_1484876.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/w-h-auden-856_ancient_in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-anci_1484876.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9f/w-h-auden-856_ancient_in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-anci_1484876.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In addition to English, at least one ancient language, probably Greek or Hebrew, and two modern languages…” — W. H. Auden",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "W. H. Auden",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In addition to English, at least...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-ancient-language-probably-greek/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/in-addition-to-english-at-least-one-ancient-language-probably-greek/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
