--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our researchers into Public Opinion are…" description: "\"Our researchers into Public Opinion are content That he held the proper opinions for the time of year; When there was peace, he was for peace: when the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/w-h-auden-856_absurd_our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are_3149215.jpg" --- # Our researchers into Public Opinion are content That he… ![“Our researchers into Public Opinion are content That he held the proper opinions for the time of year; When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went. He was married and added five children to the population, Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his…” quote by W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/w-h-auden-856_absurd_our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are_3149215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/w-h-auden-856_absurd_our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are_3149215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/w-h-auden-856_absurd_our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are_3149215.jpg) > “Our researchers into Public Opinion are content That he held the proper opinions for the time of year; When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went. He was married and added five children to the population, Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation, And our teachers report that he never interfered with their education. Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had everything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.” [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. The passage questions whether a man who conformed to societal expectations truly experienced freedom or happiness, suggesting such judgments are absurd. **In simple terms:** Conformity doesn’t guarantee true freedom or joy. Key Takeaway Critique blind acceptance of norms. Themes conformity freedom happiness Mood thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education policy - family planning - public opinion research - personal fulfillment Key Concepts sociology ethics Questions to Reflect On - Do you measure success by external standards? - What defines genuine happiness for you? A Different Perspective Societal standards can mask individual suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Public opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-opinion/) [Reports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reports/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“The Unknown Citizen by W. H. Auden (To JS/07 M 378 This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State) He was found by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden-2/the-unknown-citizen-by-w-h-auden-to-js-07-m-378-this-marble-monument/) [W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) > [Humanity should question itself, once more, about the absurd and always unfair phenomenon of war...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/humanity-should-question-itself-once-more-about-the-absurd-and-always-2/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Yes; poor Bunbury is a dreadful invalid. Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/yes-poor-bunbury-is-a-dreadful-invalid-well-i-must-say-algernon-that/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/well-i-must-say-algernon-that-i-think-it-is-high-time-that-mr-bunbury/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“To know what questions may reasonably be asked is already a great and necessary proof of sagacity and insight. For if a question is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/to-know-what-questions-may-reasonably-be-asked-is-already-a-great-and/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“Humanity should question itself, once more, about the absurd and always unfair phenomenon of war, on whose stage of death and pain only remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/humanity-should-question-itself-once-more-about-the-absurd-and-always/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [I keep moving through time and time keeps moving through me. And through that process, life takes shape. The question is what shape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/i-keep-moving-through-time-and-time-keeps-moving-through-me-and/) [Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/) > [The question is absurd: when you ask, 'If God is both all good and all powerful, why then does He allow suffering?', what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/the-question-is-absurd-when-you-ask-if-god-is-both-all-good-and-all/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [You don't just wake up one day with dementia or Alzheimer's; these conditions are developmental. Even when a problem triggers the need to collect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-le/you-don-t-just-wake-up-one-day-with-dementia-or-alzheimer-s-these/) [Tan Le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-le/) > [I see my job as being to facilitate the life of clinical researchers so that they can be more productive, and trying to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-wood/i-see-my-job-as-being-to-facilitate-the-life-of-clinical-researchers/) [Alastair Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-wood/) > [According to leading researchers, however, only about 10 to 15 percent of cancers are genetic in origin; the rest are caused by a combination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharma-singh-khalsa/according-to-leading-researchers-however-only-about-10-to-15-percent/) Dharma Singh Khalsa > [ It is self-evident that any and all paths must be open to a researcher during the actual course of his \[or her\] investigations. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/it-is-self-evident-that-any-and-all-paths-must-be-open-to-a/) Karl Weierstrass > [The public relies on the advice of doctors and leading researchers. The public has a right to know about financial relationships between those doctors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/the-public-relies-on-the-advice-of-doctors-and-leading-researchers/) [Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/) > [We climate researchers can only offer possible scenarios. In other words, things could end up being completely different. But there are undoubtedly parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-von-storch/we-climate-researchers-can-only-offer-possible-scenarios-in-other/) [Hans von Storch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-von-storch/) > [Regarding lack of vision or disabilities of the organ of sight, it has long been known among researchers that it is the effect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/regarding-lack-of-vision-or-disabilities-of-the-organ-of-sight-it-has/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) ## 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 Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our researchers into Public Opinion are content That he held the proper opinions for the time of year; When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went. He was married and added five children to the population, Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation, And our teachers report that he never interfered with their education. Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had everything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. H. Auden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are-content-that-he-held-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are-content-that-he-held-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/w-h-auden-856_absurd_our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are_3149215.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/w-h-auden-856_absurd_our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are_3149215.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/w-h-auden-856_absurd_our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are_3149215.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our researchers into Public Opinion are content That he held the proper opinions for the time of year; When…” — 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": "Our researchers into Public Opinion are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are-content-that-he-held-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/our-researchers-into-public-opinion-are-content-that-he-held-the/#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 } } ] } ```