“I cannot quite agree that reading in itself is a virtuous and holy deed.”

Resisting the sentimental idea that reading is automatically beneficial. · Speech, The Uses of Reading, 1912

• Judgement
• Reading
• Wisdom

“The mere fact of a man’s being fond of reading proves nothing one way or the other.”

Rejecting the assumption that reading itself automatically makes someone virtuous or wise. · Speech, The Uses of Reading, 1912

• Judgement
• Learning
• Reading

“Nothing is easier than to make disadvantageous comparisons between ourselves and our neighbors.”

A useful warning against measuring one's life unfairly against other people · Letter to Phineas Barnes

• Comparison
• Judgement
• Self

“One should not make one's own opinion the measure of everything.”

Original: Man soll seine eigene Meinung nicht zum Maß aller Dinge machen. — Widely circulated under Goethe’s name, but the exact textual source is less secure than his better-attested maxims. · Maxims and Reflections, commonly attributed (German)

• Humility
• Judgement
• Opinions

“It is harder than one thinks to be just.”

Original: Es ist schwerer, als man denkt, gerecht zu sein. — Justice demands more discernment and self-command than abstract principles alone suggest. · Wilhelm Meister’s Theatrical Mission (German)

• Difficulty
• Judgement
• Justice

“Through constant conflict he distinguished the true from the false, held fast to the former and treated the latter without consideration.”

Original: Durch beständigen Konflikt unterschied er das Wahre vom Falschen, hielt am ersten fest und verhielt sich gegen das andere rücksichtslos. — Goethe portrays discernment as something formed through sustained confrontation with opposing ideas. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years (German)

• Conflict
• Judgement
• Truth

“Whoever praises someone places himself on an equal footing with that person.”

Original: Wen jemand lobt, dem stellt er sich gleich. — Praise is understood as a form of identification with the person being admired. · Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years, Makaria’s Archive (German)

• Equality
• Judgement
• Praise

“One is never deceived; one deceives oneself.”

Original: Man wird nie betrogen, man betrügt sich selbst. — The aphorism places self-deception at the heart of many experiences of being misled by others. · Maxims and Reflections (German)

• Judgement
• Self Deception
• Truth

“If you be not reasonably assured of your knowledge in this kind of poem, lay down the book, or read this, which I would wish had been the prologue.”

A characteristically direct invitation to readers to question their assumptions before judging a literary form · Preface, To the Reader

• Judgement
• Knowledge
• Reading

“Madness, in fact, is a medical expression to which a balanced critic should pay no more heed than he would to the accusation of heresy brought by the theologian.”

A defence of artistic judgement against simplistic labels. · Lecture, Realism and Idealism in English Literature, 1912

• Art
• Criticism
• Judgement

“To say that a great genius is half-mad, while recognizing his artistic prowess, is worth as much as saying that he was rheumatic, or that he suffered from diabetes.”

Joyce attacks the tendency to reduce artistic genius to a medical diagnosis. · Lecture, Realism and Idealism in English Literature, 1912

• Art
• Genius
• Judgement

“The more eminent the professor of English, the less apt he is to be able to write decent criticism.”

A deliberately provocative challenge to the assumption that scholarly eminence automatically produces good literary criticism. · Essay, Criticism, Inc.

• Criticism
• Education
• Judgement

“We know no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality.”

A sharp observation on public hypocrisy and fluctuating standards of moral judgement · Essay, review of Moore's Life of Byron

• Hypocrisy
• Judgement
• Society

“Note the outcome; result validates the deed.”

Original: Exitus acta probat. — Observed moral framing where consequences often dictate judgment. · Heroides (Latin)

• Action
• Judgement
• Truth

“Do not judge a man by his outer garments, but by the subtlety of his mind and speech.”

Original: لا تحكم على المرء بظاهر ثوبه، بل بلطافة عقله وكلامه — Praises intellect over outward appearance · Attributed court remark (Arabic)

• Character
• Judgement
• Mind

“If it were a question of their health or business, it would be different. I should say come at once.”

Weighing urgency against convenience for his sons' visit · Letter to Anna Harte, Glasgow, July 31, 1884

• Family
• Judgement

“We must not indulge in unfavourable views of mankind, since by doing it we make bad men believe that they are no worse than others, and we teach the good that they are good in vain.”

Cynicism as self-fulfilling prophecy · Imaginary Conversations

• Humanity
• Judgement
• Morality

“Little men in lofty places, who throw long shadows because our sun is setting.”

A sharp image of mediocrity inflated by the dimming light of an age · Imaginary Conversations

• Judgement
• Power
• Society

“Petulance is not wit, although a few grains of wit may be found in petulance; quartz is not gold, although a few grains of gold may be found in quartz.”

Distinguishing true wit from mere irritable cleverness · Imaginary Conversations

• Character
• Judgement
• Wit

“America's greatest lyric poet.”

Masters's striking assessment of Vachel Lindsay's achievement as a lyric poet · Whitman-era literary criticism

• Art
• Judgement
• Poetry

“I have always had the utmost contempt for public opinion.”

A characteristic declaration of independence from social judgement · The Autobiography of Lord Alfred Douglas, 1929

• Independence
• Judgement
• Society

“the reputation of a man generally depends upon the first steps he makes in the world, and people will establish their opinion of us, from what we do at that season when we have least judgment to direct us.”

Observing how early mistakes can shape a lasting reputation · Preface to The Works of Alexander Pope, 1717

• Fame
• Judgement
• Youth