Not drunk is he who from the floor - Can rise alone and still drink more; But drunk is They, who prostrate lies, Without the power to drink or rise.
Thomas Love PeacockRead
The critic does his utmost to blight genius in its infancy; that which rises in spite of him he will not see; and then he complains of the decline of literature.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Critics often stifle creativity and fail to recognize new talent, yet they lament the decline in art and literature.
In this quote, Thomas Love Peacock highlights the role of critics in shaping artistic expression. He suggests that critics, by discouraging new and innovative ideas, can hinder creative genius. However, even as they fail to acknowledge what emerges despite their negativity, they cast blame on the decline of literature and art, overlooking their own contributions to this decline. This reflects a common phenomenon where the voices criticizing the arts may inadvertently contribute to its stagnation.
Themes
CriticismCreativityLiteratureArtGenius
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be cited during a workshop on embracing creative risks.
More from Thomas Love Peacock
All quotes →Man yields to death; and man's sublimest works_x000D_ _x000D_ Must yield at length to Time.
Thomas Love PeacockRead
Similar quotes
I realized with Broadway everything written for black people is usually written in the past, and I'm kind of a contemporary guy. I don't think you want to see me in 'Raisin in the Sun'.
Chris RockRead
I write screenplays in the middle of the night.
Ray BradburyRead
If you're not ready to do a non-stop dialogue with fashion, you should do another job.
Karl LagerfeldRead
After all, the goal is not making art. It is living a life. Those who live their lives will leave the stuff that is really art.
Robert HenriRead
The first thing that an architect must do is to sense that every building you build is a world of its own, and that this world of its own serves an institution.
Louis KahnRead
I spend a lot of my time talking to the dead, but since I get paid for it, no one thinks I'm mad.
Hilary MantelRead