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.

Reliana Craciun

Mathew Arnold
 

Functia criticii in prezent

Totusi, in mare masura, sensul de activitate artistica apartine doar creatiei veritabile; nu trebuie niciodata sa uităm acest fapt in literatura. Dar ce carturar adevarat ar putea oare uita? Nu este un lucru prea obisnuit ca o natura inzestrata sa intre in posesia unui curent de idei reale si vibrante din care sa-si extraga inspiratia creatoare, astfel incat suntem tentati sa-i diminuam importanaa. Epoca lui Eschil şi cea a lui Shakespeare ne fac sa le simţim preeminenta. Intr-o epoca precum acelea se afla, fara indoiala, adevarata viaţa a literaturii; acolo se afla taramul fagaduintei spre care critica nu poate decat privi. Acel taram al fagaduintei nu ne va permite niciodata sa-l patrundem, intrucat nu ne apartine, aaa ca vom muri in salbaticie. Dar a fi dorit sa intri, a-l fi salutat de la distanta este, probabil, cea mai de seama distinctie printre contemporani. Va fi, cu siguranta, cel mai de pret titlu pentru a da mana cu posteritatea.