A true critic ought to dwell upon excellencies rather than imperfections, to discover the concealed beauties of a writer, and communicate to the world such things as are worth their observation

Criticism, as it was first instituted by Aristotle, was meant as a standard of judging well the chiefest part of which is to observe those excellencies which delight a reasonable reader

Court not the critic's smile nor dread his frown

The difference between critics and audiences is that one is a group of humans and one is not

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much

The pleasure of criticizing robs us of the pleasure of being moved by some very fine things

A critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste

Criticism is a misconception: we must read not to understand others but to understand ourselves

When the shallow critics denounce the profit motive inherent in our system of private enterprise, they ignore the fact that it is an economic support of every human right we possess and without it, all rights would soon disappear

One should never criticize his own work except in a fresh and hopeful mood. The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide