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Many critics are like woodpeckers, who, instead of enjoying the fruit and shadow of a tree, hop incessantly around the trunk, pecking holes in the bark to discover some little worm or other.

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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More quotes by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.

Kavanagh: A Tale (1849)

They are dead; but they live in each Patriot's breast,
And their names are engraven on honor's bright crest.

Thy fate is the common fate of all;
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Ballads and Other Poems (1842)

Music is the universal language of mankind — poetry their universal pastime and delight.

Outre-Mer (1835)

Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.

Kavanagh: A Tale (1849)

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A man must serve his time to every trade
Save censure — critics are ready-made.

Lord Byron English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809)

The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Parodies and caricatures are the most penetrating of criticisms.

Aldous Huxley Point Counter Point (1928)

Let no man value at a little price
A virtuous woman's counsel; her wing'd spirit
Is feather'd oftentimes with heavenly words.

George Chapman The Gentleman Usher (1606)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.