Quotes by Critic | Beyond Motive 2/30

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Quotes by Critic

"The pious pretense that evil does not exist only makes it vague, enormous and menacing."

"The pious pretense that evil does not exist only makes it vague, enormous and menacing."

Aleister Crowley, English Critic

30

""Women's fashion" is a euphemism for fashion created by men for women."

""Women's fashion" is a euphemism for fashion created by men for women."

Andrea Dworkin, American Critic

Man, Men, Women, Fashion

30

"The discussion of ideas as opposed to the American narcissistic obsession with what's going on with the self, that's the general thing people are talking about."

"The discussion of ideas as opposed to the American narcissistic obsession with what's going on with the self, that's the general thing people are talking about."

Stanley Crouch, American Critic

People, Ideas, Obsession

29

"Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts."

"Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts."

William Hazlitt, English Critic

Thought, Thoughts, Practice

29

"You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world."

"You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world."

William Hazlitt, English Critic

29

"Memory is not an instrument for exploring the past but its theatre. It is the medium of past experience, as the ground is the medium in which dead cities lie interred."

"Memory is not an instrument for exploring the past but its theatre. It is the medium of past experience, as the ground is the medium in which dead cities lie interred."

Walter Benjamin, German Critic

Experience, Lie, Cities, Memory

29

"I think Freud is about contamination, but I think that is something he learned from Shakespeare, because Shakespeare is about nothing but contamination, you might say."

"I think Freud is about contamination, but I think that is something he learned from Shakespeare, because Shakespeare is about nothing but contamination, you might say."

Harold Bloom, American Critic

Nothing, Shakespeare

28

"Geography is about maps, but biography is about chaps."

"Geography is about maps, but biography is about chaps."

Eric Bentley, English Critic

Geography, Biography

28

"The industrial revolution has tended to produce everywhere great urban masses that seem to be increasingly careless of ethical standards."

"The industrial revolution has tended to produce everywhere great urban masses that seem to be increasingly careless of ethical standards."

Irving Babbitt, American Critic

28

"I AM a male chauvinist. Who's been saying otherwise?"

"I AM a male chauvinist. Who's been saying otherwise?"

Joe Bob Briggs, American Critic

28

"I have never believed that the critic is the rival of the poet, but I do believe that criticism is a genre of literature or it does not exist."

"I have never believed that the critic is the rival of the poet, but I do believe that criticism is a genre of literature or it does not exist."

Harold Bloom, American Critic

Criticism, Literature

28

"In the last couple of years, fashion's gotten a lot safer. People are really pulling back."

"In the last couple of years, fashion's gotten a lot safer. People are really pulling back."

Steven Cojocaru, Canadian Critic

People, Fashion, Years

27

"Never trust a man who speaks well of everybody."

"Never trust a man who speaks well of everybody."

John Churton Collins, English Critic

27

"Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people."

"Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people."

Aleister Crowley, English Critic

Morality, People

27

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire."

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire."

Pamela Hansford Johnson, English Critic

Fire, Sky, Sunset, Water

27

"His style has the desperate jauntiness of an orchestra fiddling away for dear life on a sinking ship."

"His style has the desperate jauntiness of an orchestra fiddling away for dear life on a sinking ship."

Edmund Wilson, American Critic

27

"What the public wants is the image of passion, not passion itself."

"What the public wants is the image of passion, not passion itself."

Roland Barthes, French Critic

Passion, Public

27

"I think Henry Miller has had huge influence not because he wrote about sex, but because the memoir or the nonfiction novel has become such a monumental force in American publishing, if not in literature."

"I think Henry Miller has had huge influence not because he wrote about sex, but because the memoir or the nonfiction novel has become such a monumental force in American publishing, if not in literature."

Leslie Fiedler, American Critic

Sex, Force, Influence

27

"The "Western" is the only genre whose origins are almost identical with those of the cinema itself."

"The "Western" is the only genre whose origins are almost identical with those of the cinema itself."

Andre Bazin, French Critic

26

"A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles."

"A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles."

William Hazlitt, English Critic

Work, Miracles, Smile, Wonders

26

"The new job of art is to sit on the wall and get more expensive."

"The new job of art is to sit on the wall and get more expensive."

Robert Hughes, Australian Critic

25

"All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music."

"All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music."

Walter Pater, English Critic

25

"The problem with being sure that God is on your side is that you can't change your mind, because God sure isn't going to change His."

"The problem with being sure that God is on your side is that you can't change your mind, because God sure isn't going to change His."

Roger Ebert, American Critic

Change, God, Being, Mind

25

"If you read quickly to get through a poem to what it means, you have missed the body of the poem."

"If you read quickly to get through a poem to what it means, you have missed the body of the poem."

M. H. Abrams, American Critic

25

"The criteria, for me, is movie star. It's Hollywood. Not Somalia."

"The criteria, for me, is movie star. It's Hollywood. Not Somalia."

Steven Cojocaru, Canadian Critic

25

"We read deeply for varied reasons, most of them familiar: that we cannot know enough people profoundly enough; that we need to know ourselves better; that we require knowledge, not just of self and others, but of the way things are."

"We read deeply for varied reasons, most of them familiar: that we cannot know enough people profoundly enough; that we need to know ourselves better; that we require knowledge, not just of self and others, but of the way things are."

Harold Bloom, American Critic

People, Knowledge, Self

25

"There is something supremely reassuring about television; the worst is always yet to come."

"There is something supremely reassuring about television; the worst is always yet to come."

Jack Gould, American Critic

24

"The common erotic project of destroying women makes it possible for men to unite into a brotherhood; this project is the only firm and trustworthy groundwork for cooperation among males and all male bonding is based on it."

"The common erotic project of destroying women makes it possible for men to unite into a brotherhood; this project is the only firm and trustworthy groundwork for cooperation among males and all male bonding is based on it."

Andrea Dworkin, American Critic

Man, Men, Women, Brotherhood, Cooperation

24

"For art comes to you proposing frankly to give nothing but the highest quality to your moments as they pass, and simply for those moments' sake."

"For art comes to you proposing frankly to give nothing but the highest quality to your moments as they pass, and simply for those moments' sake."

Walter Pater, English Critic

Art, Quality, Moments, Nothing

24

"Talent is what you possess; genius is what possesses you."

"Talent is what you possess; genius is what possesses you."

Malcolm Cowley, American Critic

24

"Death is the sanction of everything the story-teller can tell. He has borrowed his authority from death."

"Death is the sanction of everything the story-teller can tell. He has borrowed his authority from death."

Walter Benjamin, German Critic

Death, Authority

24

"Erotica is simply high-class pornography; better produced, better conceived, better executed, better packaged, designed for a better class of consumer."

"Erotica is simply high-class pornography; better produced, better conceived, better executed, better packaged, designed for a better class of consumer."

Andrea Dworkin, American Critic

Erotica, Class, Pornography

24

"Falsehood is invariably the child of fear in one form or another."

"Falsehood is invariably the child of fear in one form or another."

Aleister Crowley, English Critic

Fear, Falsehood

24

"For the will and not the gift makes the giver."

"For the will and not the gift makes the giver."

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German Critic

24

"We often choose a friend as we do a mistress - for no particular excellence in themselves, but merely from some circumstance that flatters our self-love."

"We often choose a friend as we do a mistress - for no particular excellence in themselves, but merely from some circumstance that flatters our self-love."

William Hazlitt, English Critic

Friendship, Friend, Circumstance, Excellence, Self

24

"Taste is more to do with manners than appearances. Taste is both myth and reality; it is not a style."

"Taste is more to do with manners than appearances. Taste is both myth and reality; it is not a style."

Stephen Bayley, British Critic

Manners, Myth, Reality, Style

24

"Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book."

"Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book."

Malcolm Cowley, American Critic

24

"We need to hear the excuses men make to themselves for their worthlessness."

"We need to hear the excuses men make to themselves for their worthlessness."

Margaret Fuller, American Critic

Man, Men, Excuses

23

"White women and black men have it both ways. They can act as oppressor or be oppressed. Black men may be victimized by racism, but sexism allows them to act as exploiters and oppressors of women. White women may be victimized by sexism, but racism enables them to act as exploiters and oppressors of black people. Both groups have led liberation movements that favor their interests and support the continued oppression of other groups. Black male sexism has undermined struggles to eradicate racism just as white female racism undermines feminist struggle. As long as these two groups or any group defines liberation as gaining social equality with ruling class white men, they have a vested interest in the continued exploitation and oppression of others."

"White women and black men have it both ways. They can act as oppressor or be oppressed. Black men may be victimized by racism, but sexism allows them to act as exploiters and oppressors of women. White women may be victimized by sexism, but racism enables them to act as exploiters and oppressors of black people. Both groups have led liberation movements that favor their interests and support the continued oppression of other groups. Black male sexism has undermined struggles to eradicate racism just as white female racism undermines feminist struggle. As long as these two groups or any group defines liberation as gaining social equality with ruling class white men, they have a vested interest in the continued exploitation and oppression of others."

bell hooks, American Critic

Social, Racism, Oppression, Equality, Power

23

"We may affirm, then, that the main drift of the later Renaissance was away from a humanism that favored a free expansion toward a humanism that was in the highest degree disciplinary and selective."

"We may affirm, then, that the main drift of the later Renaissance was away from a humanism that favored a free expansion toward a humanism that was in the highest degree disciplinary and selective."

Irving Babbitt, American Critic

Humanity, Humanism, May

23

"When we only name the problem, when we state complaint without a constructive focus or resolution, we take hope away. In this way critique can become merely an expression of profound cynicism, which then works to sustain dominator culture."

"When we only name the problem, when we state complaint without a constructive focus or resolution, we take hope away. In this way critique can become merely an expression of profound cynicism, which then works to sustain dominator culture."

bell hooks, American Critic

Culture, Critique, Cynicism, Hope

23

"We all get swept up in the hype machine. Nobody is immune to that."

"We all get swept up in the hype machine. Nobody is immune to that."

Steven Cojocaru, Canadian Critic

23

"Aphorisms are bad for novels. They stick in the reader's teeth."

"Aphorisms are bad for novels. They stick in the reader's teeth."

Anatole Broyard, American Critic

23

"The human mind, if it is to keep its sanity, must maintain the nicest balance between unity and plurality."

"The human mind, if it is to keep its sanity, must maintain the nicest balance between unity and plurality."

Irving Babbitt, American Critic

Balance, Mind, Sanity, Unity

23

"The argument between wives and whores is an old one; each one thinking that whatever she is, at least she is not the other."

"The argument between wives and whores is an old one; each one thinking that whatever she is, at least she is not the other."

Andrea Dworkin, American Critic

Argument, Old, Thinking, Wives

23

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."

George Edward Woodberry, American Critic

Failure, Defeat

22

"I do my best not to have any expectations when I go into a movie because it's not fair."

"I do my best not to have any expectations when I go into a movie because it's not fair."

Joel Siegel, American Critic

Expectation, Expectations

22

"If quantitatively the American achievement is impressive, qualitatively it is somewhat less satisfying."

"If quantitatively the American achievement is impressive, qualitatively it is somewhat less satisfying."

Irving Babbitt, American Critic

22

"By the end of the seventies the feared yet desired black male body had become as objectified as it was during slavery, only a seemingly positive twist had been added to the racist sexist objectification: the black male body had become the site for the personification of everyone's desire."

"By the end of the seventies the feared yet desired black male body had become as objectified as it was during slavery, only a seemingly positive twist had been added to the racist sexist objectification: the black male body had become the site for the personification of everyone's desire."

bell hooks, American Critic

Sociology, Race, Desire, Body, Social

22

"The studio should not have released this film."

"The studio should not have released this film."

Joel Siegel, American Critic

22

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