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.

Eveline Braniste

Mathew Arnold
 

The Function of Criticism at the Present Time

In mare masura, sensul activitatii creatoare apartine inca doar creatiei veritabile; in literatura nu trebuie sa uitam asta niciodata. Insa ce om de litere adevarat poate sa uite acest lucru vreodata? Nu este ceva obisnuit ca o persoana inzestrata sa intre in posesia unui curent de idei reale si pline de viata si sa creeze sub inspiratia acestora, lucru pe care probabil il subestimam. Epocile lui Eschil si Shakespeare ne fac sa simtim superioritatea acestora. In epoci ca acelea se afla, fara indoiala, adevarata viata literara ; acolo se afla taramul fagaduintei, spre care critica poate doar sa aspire. Pe acest taram al fagaduintei nu vom putea pasi si vom muri in salbaticie : dar pentru ca am dorit sa patrundem acolo, pentru ca l-am salutat de la departare, este poate deja cea mai mare distinctie printre contemporani ; va fi cu siguranta cel mai important titlu cu care sa ne mandrim in fata posteritatii.