--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the end, art is small beer. The really…" description: "\"In the end, art is small beer. The really serious things are earning one's living so as not to be a parasite and loving one's neighbor.\" — W. H. Auden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/w-h-auden-856_art_in-the-end-art-is-small-beer-the-really_2570845.png" --- # In the end, art is small beer. The really serious things… ![“In the end, art is small beer. The really serious things are earning one's living so as not to be a parasite and loving one's neighbor.” quote by W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/w-h-auden-856_art_in-the-end-art-is-small-beer-the-really_2570845.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/w-h-auden-856_art_in-the-end-art-is-small-beer-the-really_2570845.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/057/w-h-auden-856_art_in-the-end-art-is-small-beer-the-really_2570845.png) > “In the end, art is small beer. The really serious things are earning one's living so as not to be a parasite and loving one's neighbor.” [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. Art is trivial compared to earning a living and caring for others, which prevents parasitic dependence. **In simple terms:** Art is small; work and love matter more. Key Takeaway Prioritize livelihood and compassion over artistic vanity. Themes work compassion social responsibility art survival Mood reflective serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - job seeking - community service - family care - budgeting Key Concepts economics ethics humanism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance creative pursuits with practical responsibilities? - What does “not being a parasite” mean to you? A Different Perspective Art can inspire but does not replace basic needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beer/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Parasites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parasites/) ## Related quotes > [“The art of small talk is all about finding common ground.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-art-of-small-talk-is-all-about-finding-common-ground/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ When you go to a football game and someone offers you a beer \[...\], they're really saying hi, have a glass of extroversion. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/when-you-go-to-a-football-game-and-someone-offers-you-a-beer-they-re/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [And I will make it felony to drink small beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/and-i-will-make-it-felony-to-drink-small-beer/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“She would go away deep into the green and white and yellow countryside, and smell the may and lie in the grass and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-tey/she-would-go-away-deep-into-the-green-and-white-and-yellow/) [Josephine Tey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-tey/) > [Were I Diogenes, I would not move out of a kilderkin into a hogshead, though the first had had nothing but small beer in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/were-i-diogenes-i-would-not-move-out-of-a-kilderkin-into-a-hogshead/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [That questionable superfluity small beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/that-questionable-superfluity-small-beer/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [“...and above all, you should not think of writing as a way of earning your living. If you do, your work will smell of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/and-above-all-you-should-not-think-of-writing-as-a-way-of-earning/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [If you are considering earning your living from your Element, it's important to bear in mind that you not only have to love what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/if-you-are-considering-earning-your-living-from-your-element-it-s/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [There are so many ways of earning a living and most of them are failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/there-are-so-many-ways-of-earning-a-living-and-most-of-them-are/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I realized that most people waste their lives earning a living, and I wanted to live. I love painting, so I keep painting. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-soulages/i-realized-that-most-people-waste-their-lives-earning-a-living-and-i/) [Pierre Soulages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-soulages/) > [I ignore all the doomsaying nonsense. 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Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) ## 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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the end, art is small beer. 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