MATHEW ARNOLD

The Function of Criticism at the Present Time


Still, in full measure, the sense of creative activity belongs only to genuine creation; in literature we must never forget that. But what true man of letters ever can forget it? It is no such common matter for a gifted nature to come into possession of a current of true and living ideas, and to produce amidst the inspiration of them, that we are likely to underrate it. The epochs of Æschylus and Shakespeare make us feel their preëminence. In an epoch like those is, no doubt, the true life of literature; there is the promised land, towards which criticism can only beckon. That promised land it will not be ours to enter, and we shall die in the wilderness: but to have desired to enter it, to have saluted it from afar, is already, perhaps, the best distinction among contemporaries; it will certainly be the best title to esteem with posterity.

Alina Olimpia Gaci (Miron)

Mathew Arnold
 

Functia criticii in prezent

Totusi, in deplinatatea lui, sensul activitatii creative apartine doar creatiei originale;in literatura nu trebuie niciodata uitat acest lucru.Dar oare ce om de litere adevarat poate uita? Nu este un lucru banal ca cineva talentat sa intre in posesia unui curent de idei adevarate si contemporane, si sa produca din inspiratia lor, incat e posibil sa-l subestimam.Vremurile lui Eschil si Shakespeare ne fac sa le simtim superioritatea. In asemenea epoci se afla adevarata viata a literaturii, acolo este pamantul promis, catre care critica poate numai sa faca cu mana. Noi nu putem intra in acel pamant promis, si vom muri in salbaticie; dar sa fi dorit a intra, a-l fi salutat de departe, este déjà, poate, cea mai inalta distinctive printre contemporani; cu siguranta va fi cel mai mare titlu pentru posteritate.