--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thence it is possible to arrive by easy…" description: "\"“Thence it is possible to arrive by easy stages at the happy notion, not uncommon among 'intellectuals', that taste consists of distaste, and that the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/f-l-lucas-2-85804_criticism_thence-it-is-possible-to-arrive-by-easy_1530364.jpg" --- # Thence it is possible to arrive by easy stages at the… ![“Thence it is possible to arrive by easy stages at the happy notion, not uncommon among 'intellectuals', that taste consists of distaste, and that the loftiest of pleasures is that of feeling displeased; and thus to end by enjoying almost nothing in literature but one's own opinions, while oneself…” quote by F.L. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/f-l-lucas-2-85804_criticism_thence-it-is-possible-to-arrive-by-easy_1530364.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/f-l-lucas-2-85804_criticism_thence-it-is-possible-to-arrive-by-easy_1530364.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/f-l-lucas-2-85804_criticism_thence-it-is-possible-to-arrive-by-easy_1530364.jpg) > ““Thence it is possible to arrive by easy stages at the happy notion, not uncommon among 'intellectuals', that taste consists of distaste, and that the loftiest of pleasures is that of feeling displeased; and thus to end by enjoying almost nothing in literature but one's own opinions, while oneself incapable of writing a living sentence.”” [F.L. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-l-lucas-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectuals may find pleasure in disliking common tastes, valuing critical judgment over popular enjoyment. **In simple terms:** Critics enjoy feeling displeased with mainstream taste. Key Takeaway Embrace critical perspective while staying open. Themes criticism taste intellectualism Mood contemplative skeptical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - book clubs - academic seminars - art reviews - creative writing Key Concepts aesthetic theory subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - What balance between critique and appreciation? - When does criticism hinder creativity? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can alienate enjoyment of art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Enjoying Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoying-literature-5676248/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Intellectuals Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals-taste-303471/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literary criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-criticism/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Opinions Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinions-oneself-5676249/) [Pleasures Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasures-feeling-2864599/) [Stages Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stages-happy-5676250/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) ## Related quotes > [You increase your self-respect when you feel you've done everything you ought to have done, and if there is nothing else to enjoy, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-delacroix/you-increase-your-self-respect-when-you-feel-you-ve-done-everything/) [Eugene Delacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-delacroix/) > [“Unlike the masses, intellectuals have a taste for rationality and interest in facts. Their critical habit of mind makes them resistant to the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unlike-the-masses-intellectuals-have-a-taste-for-rationality-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Unlike the masses, intellectuals have a taste for rationality and an interest in facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unlike-the-masses-intellectuals-have-a-taste-for-rationality-and-an/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Modernism and feminism are two broad axes on which Woolf criticism turns, and there are many other categories that reflect the range of positions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/modernism-and-feminism-are-two-broad-axes-on-which-woolf-criticism/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“In 1925 Woolf began an affair with Sackville-West, who was married to Harold Nicolson, the diplomat and writer, and the development of their close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/in-1925-woolf-began-an-affair-with-sackville-west-who-was-married-to/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“It is already the fashion to diminish Eliot by calling him derivative, the mouthpiece of Pound, and so forth; and yet if one wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/it-is-already-the-fashion-to-diminish-eliot-by-calling-him-derivative/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [“Bloomsbury lost Fry, in 1934, and Lytton Strachey before him, in January 1932, to early deaths. The loss of Strachey was compounded by Carrington’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/bloomsbury-lost-fry-in-1934-and-lytton-strachey-before-him-in-january/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“By the close of the nineteenth century her studies with her father were being supplemented by tuition in the classics from Dr Warr of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/by-the-close-of-the-nineteenth-century-her-studies-with-her-father/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“Because it is written by a nineteenth-century American, and because of its closeness to the twentieth century, The Portrait of a Lady foregoes Victorian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gregor/because-it-is-written-by-a-nineteenth-century-american-and-because-of/) [Ian Gregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gregor/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Historical investigation and literary criticism have taken the magic out of the Bible and have made it a composite human book, written by many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/historical-investigation-and-literary-criticism-have-taken-the-magic/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“If you were to stare at this box of matches, you could extract entire worlds out of it. If you search for tastes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/if-you-were-to-stare-at-this-box-of-matches-you-could-extract-entire/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [“Milton argued, in 1649, after the execution of Charles I, that a people 'free by nature' had a right to overthrow a tyrant; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/milton-argued-in-1649-after-the-execution-of-charles-i-that-a-people/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [“The first phase of modernism, which so far as the English language goes we associate with Pound and Yeats, Wyndham Lewis and Eliot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/the-first-phase-of-modernism-which-so-far-as-the-english-language/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) ## More by F.L. Lucas > [“A writer should remember that about his muse there is a great deal of the Siren. He should view his mental offspring as relentlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-l-lucas-2/a-writer-should-remember-that-about-his-muse-there-is-a-great-deal-of/) [F.L. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-l-lucas-2/) > [“It is useless to go to bed to save the light, if the result is twins. (Chinese proverb.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-l-lucas-2/it-is-useless-to-go-to-bed-to-save-the-light-if-the-result-is-twins/) [F.L. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-l-lucas-2/) [Explore all 3 F.L. Lucas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-l-lucas-2/) ## More Criticism quotes > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [I'm more comfortable modelling as a man because I don't get any criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/i-m-more-comfortable-modelling-as-a-man-because-i-don-t-get-any/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [I don't mind positive criticism, but when it is negative and personal, it is quite hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/i-don-t-mind-positive-criticism-but-when-it-is-negative-and-personal/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Lots of relationships fail because we spend more time pointing out each other's mistakes and not enough time enjoying each other's company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lots-of-relationships-fail-because-we-spend-more-time-pointing-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People believe that criticism should be objective, whatever that means, but I really don't understand what people mean by that. I guess if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/people-believe-that-criticism-should-be-objective-whatever-that-means/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I welcome criticism. I come from a - I wouldn't say mean, but you've got to have tough skin to be in my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saweetie/i-welcome-criticism-i-come-from-a-i-wouldn-t-say-mean-but-you-ve-got/) [Saweetie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saweetie/) > [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/) [Browse all 3,954 Criticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Thence it is possible to arrive by easy stages at the happy notion, not uncommon among 'intellectuals', that taste consists of distaste, and that the loftiest of pleasures is that of feeling displeased; and thus to end by enjoying almost nothing in literature but one's own opinions, while oneself incapable of writing a living sentence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "F.L. 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