Critias Quotes on Knowledge
Critias (c. 460–403 BC), an Athenian aristocrat, kinsman of Plato, and one of the Thirty Tyrants, is preserved chiefly in fragments that situate him at the radical edge of late-fifth-century sophistic naturalism. The Sisyphus fragment — variously attributed to Critias or to Euripides — presents the gods as a political invention contrived to extend the deterrent power of law into the private sphere where laws cannot reach, and the surviving political fragments display the corresponding scepticism about traditional authority. Plato's portrayal of him in the Charmides and the dialogue named after him assigns him a sophistic theory of self-knowledge that the Socratic elenchus dismantles.
Quotes
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Attributed to Critias:
“What lies beyond evidence is the proper realm of doubt.”
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Attributed to Critias:
“The wise person measures custom by reason, not the reverse.”
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“I am bound by my own definition of criticism: a disinterested endeavour to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world.”
Matthew Arnold , Essays in Criticism, 1st Series, The Function of Criticism at the Present Time. -
“We should never let support blind us, or become a substitute for continuing to be both self-critical, and dedicated to our goals. We should not be dissuaded by our critics, but we should be able to honestly ask ourselves if there is anything to learn from them. Hopefully, the fact that sympathizers and critics are taking notice means that we are actually doing something.”
Arik Ascherman , Pursue Justice Whether You Are Praised, or Vilified (September 6, 2019), The Times of Israel . -
“Whatever else he may do, a critic reveals and criticises himself.”
Alfred Austin , In Veronica's Garden (London: Macmillan and Co., 1895), p. 91. -
“CRITIC, n. A person who boasts himself hard to please because nobody tries to please him.”
Ambrose Bierce , The Cynic's Dictionary (1906); republished as The Devil's Dictionary (1911). -
“Ambrose Bierce , The Cynic's Dictionary (1906); republished as The Devil's Dictionary (1911).”
CRITIC, n. A person who boasts himself hard to please because nobody tries to please him. -
“Great art is a religious function...great criticism is, therefore—since it is necessary for great art—a religious function. Even when you're saying something negative, it might be in the service of the Lord”
Wayne C. Booth , "Art and the Church," Literature and Belief , 1981 -
“Wayne C. Booth , "Art and the Church," Literature and Belief , 1981”
Great art is a religious function...great criticism is, therefore—since it is necessary for great art—a religious function. Even when you're saying something negative, it might be in the service of the Lord