German "man of letters, aesthetician".
He is now considered to have been the most important German literary critic in the first half of the 20th century.
The power of a text is different when it is read from when it is copied out. . . . Only the copied text thus commands the soul of him who is occupied with it, whereas the mere reader never discovers the new aspects of his inner self . . ."
All human knowledge takes the form of interpretation.
"Nothing is poorer than a truth expressed as it was thought. Committed to writing in such cases, it is not even a bad photograph. . . ."
"The art of storytelling is reaching its end because the epic side of truth, wisdom, is dying out."
The art of the critic in a nutshell: to coin slogans without betraying ideas. The slogans of an inadequate criticism peddle ideas to fashion.
