--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A final caution to students: in making…" description: "\"“A final caution to students: in making judgments on literature, always be honest. Do not pretend to like what you really do not like. Do not be afraid..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/laurence-perrine-99741_books_a-final-caution-to-students-in-making-ju_1730748.jpg" --- # A final caution to students: in making judgments on… ![“A final caution to students: in making judgments on literature, always be honest. Do not pretend to like what you really do not like. Do not be afraid to admit a liking for what you do like. A genuine enthusiasm for the second-rate is much better than false enthusiasm or no enthusiasm at all. Be…” quote by Laurence Perrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/laurence-perrine-99741_books_a-final-caution-to-students-in-making-ju_1730748.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/laurence-perrine-99741_books_a-final-caution-to-students-in-making-ju_1730748.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/laurence-perrine-99741_books_a-final-caution-to-students-in-making-ju_1730748.jpg) > ““A final caution to students: in making judgments on literature, always be honest. Do not pretend to like what you really do not like. Do not be afraid to admit a liking for what you do like. A genuine enthusiasm for the second-rate is much better than false enthusiasm or no enthusiasm at all. Be neither hasty nor timorous in making your judgments. When you have attentively read a poem and thoroughly considered it, decide what you think. Do not hedge, equivocate, or try to find out others' opinions before forming your own. But having formed an opinion and expressed it, do not allow it to petrify. Compare your opinion then with the opinions of others; allow yourself to change it when convinced of its error: in this way you learn. Honestly, courage, and humility are the necessary moral foundations for all genuine literary judgment.”” [Laurence Perrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-perrine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Honest, courageous, and humble judgment is essential for genuine literary criticism. **In simple terms:** Honesty, courage, humility needed for literary judgment. Key Takeaway Practice sincere, open-minded literary analysis. Themes literature criticism honesty humility courage Mood thoughtful encouraging Type books:0 poetry:0 others opinions:0 opinions of others:0 literary judgment:1 literature honest:0 making judgments:0 judgments attentively:0 try opinions:0 When to use this quote - book clubs - academic seminars - writing workshops - personal reading - peer review Key Concepts ethics aesthetics critical theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal taste with objective critique? - What role does humility play in interpreting literature? A Different Perspective Subjectivity can cloud judgment; overconfidence may hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Judgments Attentively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgments-attentively-1428604/) [Literary Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-judgment-722461/) [Literature Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-honest-1428602/) [Making Judgments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-judgments-1428603/) [Opinions Of Others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinions-of-others/) [Others' Opinions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/others-opinions/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Try Opinions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try-opinions-1428605/) ## Related quotes > [I try not to have too many opinions; I just marvel at the world we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-patton/i-try-not-to-have-too-many-opinions-i-just-marvel-at-the-world-we/) [Paula Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-patton/) > [Women excel more in literary judgment than in literary production,--they are better critics than authors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-gardiner-countess-of-blessington/women-excel-more-in-literary-judgment-than-in-literary-production/) [Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-gardiner-countess-of-blessington/) > [The nearest approach to the infallible in literary judgment is represented in the colossal work of the teacher of all these three \[Edmund Gosse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/the-nearest-approach-to-the-infallible-in-literary-judgment-is/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [I always hate to sound like I know everything and make judgments about people and systems. I avoid making judgments, but I know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-always-hate-to-sound-like-i-know-everything-and-make-judgments/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [Corruption requires looking into someone's soul and making judgments about their intent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/corruption-requires-looking-into-someone-s-soul-and-making-judgments/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [Any lazy or biased fool can have opinions; making judgments is the hard work of responsible and compassionate people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/any-lazy-or-biased-fool-can-have-opinions-making-judgments-is-the/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [“It’s recognizing that we’re making judgments about someone without yet loving them, forgetting that it is love in the end that makes all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shasta-nelson/it-s-recognizing-that-we-re-making-judgments-about-someone-without/) [Shasta Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shasta-nelson/) > [Making judgments on films is in many ways so peculiarly vaporous an occupation that the only question is why, beyond the obvious opportunities for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/making-judgments-on-films-is-in-many-ways-so-peculiarly-vaporous-an/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [First and foremost, effective leaders must continuously strive to make themselves smarter and better at making judgments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/first-and-foremost-effective-leaders-must-continuously-strive-to-make/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [Not one of our mortal gauges is suitable for evaluating non-existence, for making judgments about that which is not a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-one-of-our-mortal-gauges-is-suitable-for-evaluating-non-existence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are constantly making judgments based on superficial affiliations, your world gets to be pretty small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-brilliant/if-you-are-constantly-making-judgments-based-on-superficial/) [Larry Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-brilliant/) > [“In making these judgments, the team is guided by Facebook’s standards for acceptable expression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-making-these-judgments-the-team-is-guided-by-facebook-s-standards/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If I've never stepped outside the role that's been assigned to me since birth, I've never tested myself. I've been too afraid of others'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/if-i-ve-never-stepped-outside-the-role-that-s-been-assigned-to-me/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [No, that dress doesn't make you seem fat...but your dependence on others' opinions definitely makes you seem shallow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-that-dress-doesn-t-make-you-seem-fat-but-your-dependence-on-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Whatever has been said about you by others, simply drop it. It is absolutely crap. They don’t know about themselves; what can they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/whatever-has-been-said-about-you-by-others-simply-drop-it-it-is/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) ## More by Laurence Perrine > [“The inexperienced reader wants the essentially familiar combined with superficial novelty. Each story must have a slightly new setting or twist or "gimmick," though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-perrine/the-inexperienced-reader-wants-the-essentially-familiar-combined-with/) [Laurence Perrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-perrine/) [Explore all 2 Laurence Perrine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-perrine/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A final caution to students: in making judgments on literature, always be honest. Do not pretend to like what you really do not like. Do not be afraid to admit a liking for what you do like. A genuine enthusiasm for the second-rate is much better than false enthusiasm or no enthusiasm at all. Be neither hasty nor timorous in making your judgments. When you have attentively read a poem and thoroughly considered it, decide what you think. Do not hedge, equivocate, or try to find out others' opinions before forming your own. But having formed an opinion and expressed it, do not allow it to petrify. Compare your opinion then with the opinions of others; allow yourself to change it when convinced of its error: in this way you learn. 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