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Quote#Work

Doubtless criticism was originally benignant, pointing out the…

Quote byHenry Wadsworth Longfellow · 1807–1882

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Table-Talk (1857).

English (original)

Doubtless criticism was originally benignant, pointing out the beauties of a work, rather than its defects. The passions of men have made it malignant, as the bad heart of Procrustes turned the bed, the symbol of repose, into an instrument of torture.

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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