"All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation"

W. H. Auden's observation, “All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation,” weaves together concepts from morality, psychology, and spiritual fate. The statement suggests that transgressions—whether traditionally religious or broadly moral failures—are not isolated slips, but often become patterns. Humans, once yielding to temptation, frequently find recurring pleasure, relief, or thrill in their actions, and these experiences can reinforce the behavior until it grows compulsive. Sin thus does not remain a simple error; it becomes a repetitive habit, more difficult to escape with time.

Addiction, in this context, extends beyond substances or physical dependencies. It encompasses the repeated turning toward behaviors known to be destructive, such as pride, envy, lust, or deceit. Auden’s use of “tend” emphasizes a dangerous trajectory—sin, unresisted, has a natural propensity to gain control over individuals, eroding autonomy and damaging one’s sense of self. Over time, a person may lose the power to choose rightly, caught in cycles that become ever harder to break.

The concept of damnation functions here as the ultimate consequence. It encapsulates not only theological condemnation but also a profound alienation from one’s better nature and from others. As addiction to sin deepens, it isolates individuals, leads to spiritual numbness, and erodes relationships. One no longer simply commits wrongs, but is changed by them, until redemption seems unreachable. Damnation, then, is the state in which the possibility of change, growth, or reconciliation is lost, and one is trapped permanently by destructive patterns. Auden thus frames sin as a journey with cumulative costs, a process by which momentary errors, if unexamined and unchecked, spiral into permanent loss of freedom, integrity, and hope.