Quotes About Criticism

Spoken like a Protestant.

That Wisedome is acquired, not by reading of Books, but of Men. Consequently whereunto, those persons, that for the most part can give no other proof of being wise, take great delight to shew what they think they have read in men, by uncharitable censures of one another behind their backs.

The majority either ignore their critics or use criticism as an inspiration to succeed.

Christianity is] the most ... perverted system that ever shone on man.

But re-reading Voss also demonstrates again that although White wasn't 'a nice man', and indeed was—perhaps rightly—scathingly dismissive of my and other Australian writers' work and origins unless they were his friends, he was a genius, and Voss one of the finest works of the modernist era and of the past century.

I hope that you have nothing against malice, my good engineer. In my eyes it is the brightest sword that reason has against the powers of darkness and ugliness. Malice, sir, is the spirit of criticism, and criticism marks the origin of progress and enlightenment.

But sometimes a person begins with opinions and judgments and valid criticisms, but then things creep in that have nothing to do with forming opinions, and then it's all over with strict logic, and what you end up with is an absurd world republic and beautiful style.

Malice, my dear sir, is the animating spirit of criticism; and criticism is the beginning of progress and enlightenment

My great complaint is that it is my fate to spend my malice upon such insignificant objects. I hope, Engineer, you have nothing against malice? In my eyes, it is reason's keenest dart against the powers of darkness and ugliness. Malice, my dear sir, is the animating spirit of criticism; and criticism is the beginning of progress and enlightenment." And

Nun, Neffe, was man da heut von dir hörte, darin hast du dich nicht zum ersten Male geübt.‹ ›Wie meinst du, Onkel Niko?‹ ›Wende nicht Unschuld vor! Du musizierst ja.‹ ›Was für ein Ausdruck!‹ ›Der hat schon für Dümmeres herhalten müssen [...].‹

Las palabras que designan un rasgo de carácter siempre tienen el alcance moral de un juicio, bien sea en forma de elogio, de censura o bajo ambos aspectos.

La maldad, señor, es el espíritu de la crítica, y la crítica es el origen del progreso y la ilustración.

a born objector, I saw that at once, down on the existing order; and that always gives me the impression that the person is spoilt—I can't help it.

If a writer is so cautious that he never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he will never be able to write anything that can be read. If you want to help other people you have got to make up your mind to write things that some men will condemn.

I need criticism the way a man dying of thirst needs water.

Any writer who puts his words and thoughts out into the public is going to be criticized.

Often it is those who are most critical of a "Eurocentric" view of the world who are most Eurocentric when it comes to the evils and failings of the human race.

If you have no right to disapprove, then your approval means nothing. It may indeed be distressing to someone to have you express your opinion that his lifestyle is disgusting and his art, music or writing is crude, shallow, or repugnant, but unless you are free to reach such conclusions, any praise you bestow is hollow and suspect.

To refer to Stuyvesant High School as a "privileged little ivory tower" may be clever, but cleverness is not wisdom.

The beauty of doing nothing is that you can do it perfectly. Only when you do something is it almost impossible to do it without mistakes. Therefore people who are contributing nothing to society, except their constant criticisms, can feel both intellectually and morally superior.

In dysfunctional families, people overfocus on problems—even very small ones—without allowing any focus on the innumerable ways a child does things well. This is one of the primary causes of low self-esteem. A child can do ten, fifty, a hundred things right in a day, but an overly critical parent will pick out the one thing that doesn't go well, and harp on it over and over.

The question to ask yourself is, Do you always or never do that? Or is it only once in a while? One of the favorite tricks of family bullies is to make criticisms global (blowing them out of proportion) so they seem much more important. Another favorite manipulation is to place a label on you, as in "Too bad you're not a better mother." How would someone know, since they don't see how you are with your kids day in and day out—only on special occasions?

Criticism is really nothing but one person's opinion raised to the level of "the way it is." It's designed to control, either through making the criticized person conform, or by making them feel guilty or ashamed.

pas bon, celui-là, maman. Du saumon d'élevage gueule contre cul à bouffer les crottes des autres ».