--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mediocrity is more dangerous in a critic…" description: "\"Mediocrity is more dangerous in a critic than in a writer.\" — Eugene Ionesco" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_critic_mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic_351803.jpg" --- # Mediocrity is more dangerous in a critic than in a writer. ![“Mediocrity is more dangerous in a critic than in a writer.” quote by Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_critic_mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic_351803.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_critic_mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic_351803.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_critic_mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic_351803.jpg) > “Mediocrity is more dangerous in a critic than in a writer.” [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics who are mediocre pose more danger than mediocre writers themselves. **In simple terms:** Mediocre critics are more harmful than mediocre writers. Key Takeaway Cultivate critical standards. Themes criticism mediocrity art Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - book reviews - art exhibitions - creative writing Key Concepts literary theory self‑assessment Questions to Reflect On - How can you discern constructive criticism? - What standards should critics uphold? A Different Perspective Critics may lack expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic/) [Critic Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic-writer-2789931/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-critic-3246591/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) [Mediocrity Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity-dangerous-540957/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I can be accused of being acerbic as a critic and writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-lurie/i-can-be-accused-of-being-acerbic-as-a-critic-and-writer/) [Rod Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-lurie/) > [Mediocrity is now, as formerly, dangerous, commonly fatal, to the poet; but among even the successful writers of prose, those who rise sensibly above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/mediocrity-is-now-as-formerly-dangerous-commonly-fatal-to-the-poet/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [Criticism ultimately at some degree is about the writer and not the subject. It's very easy if everybody else says, "He's a genius," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/criticism-ultimately-at-some-degree-is-about-the-writer-and-not-the/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [When he looks back, the critic sees a eunuch's shadow. Who would be a critic if he could be a writer? Who would hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/when-he-looks-back-the-critic-sees-a-eunuch-s-shadow-who-would-be-a/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Love your material. Nothing frightens the inner critic more than the writer who loves her work. The writer who is enamored of her material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/love-your-material-nothing-frightens-the-inner-critic-more-than-the/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [The critic should describe, and not prescribe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/the-critic-should-describe-and-not-prescribe/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [At first, I wasn't sure whether I'd be a critic or a filmmaker, but I knew it would be something like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-truffaut/at-first-i-wasn-t-sure-whether-i-d-be-a-critic-or-a-filmmaker-but-i/) [Francois Truffaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-truffaut/) > [A writer writes a book. People read it. You don't know what they're reading, really. You read a review and think, "That is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/a-writer-writes-a-book-people-read-it-you-don-t-know-what-they-re/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [An American critic wrote that she would rather be forced to read the New York telephone directory three times than watch the film A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/an-american-critic-wrote-that-she-would-rather-be-forced-to-read-the/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [My mother and my grandmother are pioneers of Mexican cuisine in this country, so I grew up in the kitchen. My mom, Zarela Martinez,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sanchez/my-mother-and-my-grandmother-are-pioneers-of-mexican-cuisine-in-this/) [Aaron Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sanchez/) > [A critic who uses new quotations is making important changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/a-critic-who-uses-new-quotations-is-making-important-changes/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [To be a critic, you have to have maybe three percent education, five percent intelligence, two percent style, and 90 percent gall and egomania…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-crist/to-be-a-critic-you-have-to-have-maybe-three-percent-education-five/) [Judith Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-crist/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) [Whitney Balliett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-balliett/) ## More by Eugene Ionesco > [I am, it seems, an avant-garde dramatist. It would even seem obvious since I am present here at discussions on the avant-garde theatre. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-am-it-seems-an-avant-garde-dramatist-it-would-even-seem-obvious/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [ “My boy! It's really true, you really love hashed brown potatoes? You make me so happy. JACK \[without conviction\]: Yes, I like them, I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/my-boy-it-s-really-true-you-really-love-hashed-brown-potatoes-you/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Everything that has been will be, everything that will be is, everything that will be has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/everything-that-has-been-will-be-everything-that-will-be-is/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“Rhinoceros The Leader The Future is in Eggs or It Takes all Sorts to Make a World”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/rhinoceros-the-leader-the-future-is-in-eggs-or-it-takes-all-sorts-to/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Every message of despair is the statement of a situation from which everybody must freely try to find a way out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/every-message-of-despair-is-the-statement-of-a-situation-from-which/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I've always been suspicious of collective truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-ve-always-been-suspicious-of-collective-truths/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Shakespeare was the great one before us. His place was between God and despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/shakespeare-was-the-great-one-before-us-his-place-was-between-god-and/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [I'll never waste my dreams by falling asleep. Never again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-ll-never-waste-my-dreams-by-falling-asleep-never-again/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“All doctors are quacks. And all patients too. Only the Royal Navy is honest in England.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/all-doctors-are-quacks-and-all-patients-too-only-the-royal-navy-is/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [That's how we stay young these days: murder and suicide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/that-s-how-we-stay-young-these-days-murder-and-suicide/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“I read a page of Plato's great work. I can no longer understand anything, because behind the words on the page, which have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-read-a-page-of-plato-s-great-work-i-can-no-longer-understand/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“MRS. SMITH: Well, this is how it was. It is difficult for me to speak openly to you, but a fireman is also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/mrs-smith-well-this-is-how-it-was-it-is-difficult-for-me-to-speak/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Childhood is over the moment things are no longer astonishing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/childhood-is-over-the-moment-things-are-no-longer-astonishing/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [Realism falls short of reality. It shrinks it, attenuates it, falsifies it; it does not take into account our basic truths and our fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/realism-falls-short-of-reality-it-shrinks-it-attenuates-it-falsifies/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [A nose that can see is worth two that sniff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/a-nose-that-can-see-is-worth-two-that-sniff/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) [Explore all 169 Eugene Ionesco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) ## More Critic quotes > [I am absolutely my own biggest critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lando-norris/i-am-absolutely-my-own-biggest-critic/) [Lando Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lando-norris/) > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) [Whitney Balliett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-balliett/) > [I am my biggest critic. Even in films where people said they liked me, I have disliked myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-akkineni/i-am-my-biggest-critic-even-in-films-where-people-said-they-liked-me/) [Samantha Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-akkineni/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [If I weren't an actor, I'd either be a teacher or a critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/if-i-weren-t-an-actor-i-d-either-be-a-teacher-or-a-critic/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) > [The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/the-television-critic-whatever-his-pretensions-does-not-labour-in-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [To be a critic, you have to have maybe three percent education, five percent intelligence, two percent style, and 90 percent gall and egomania…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-crist/to-be-a-critic-you-have-to-have-maybe-three-percent-education-five/) [Judith Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-crist/) > [The critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-critic-is-the-only-independent-source-of-information-the-rest-is/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [“A good judge is not one who is impartial, but one who has prejudice for good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/a-good-judge-is-not-one-who-is-impartial-but-one-who-has-prejudice/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [A critic who uses new quotations is making important changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/a-critic-who-uses-new-quotations-is-making-important-changes/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My mother and my grandmother are pioneers of Mexican cuisine in this country, so I grew up in the kitchen. My mom, Zarela Martinez,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sanchez/my-mother-and-my-grandmother-are-pioneers-of-mexican-cuisine-in-this/) [Aaron Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sanchez/) [Browse all 758 Critic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mediocrity is more dangerous in a critic than in a writer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eugene Ionesco" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic-than-in-a-writer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Critic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic-than-in-a-writer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_critic_mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic_351803.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_critic_mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic_351803.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/eug-ne-ionesco-1878_critic_mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic_351803.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mediocrity is more dangerous in a critic than in a writer.” — Eugene Ionesco", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eugene Ionesco", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mediocrity is more dangerous in a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic-than-in-a-writer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/mediocrity-is-more-dangerous-in-a-critic-than-in-a-writer/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```