--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our universities should produce good…" description: "\"Our universities should produce good criticism; they do not or, at best, they do so only as federal prisons produce counterfeit money: a few hardened p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/randall-jarrell-3811_continuing_our-universities-should-produce-good-cri_723178.png" --- # Our universities should produce good criticism; they do… ![“Our universities should produce good criticism; they do not or, at best, they do so only as federal prisons produce counterfeit money: a few hardened prisoners are more or less surreptitiously continuing their real vocations.” quote by Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/randall-jarrell-3811_continuing_our-universities-should-produce-good-cri_723178.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/randall-jarrell-3811_continuing_our-universities-should-produce-good-cri_723178.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/randall-jarrell-3811_continuing_our-universities-should-produce-good-cri_723178.png) > “Our universities should produce good criticism; they do not or, at best, they do so only as federal prisons produce counterfeit money: a few hardened prisoners are more or less surreptitiously continuing their real vocations.” [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Universities often produce superficial criticism, resembling counterfeit money, while true scholars work covertly elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Universities produce shallow criticism, true scholars work elsewhere Key Takeaway Critique academic conformity Themes education authenticity institutional critique Mood skeptical analytical Type academic critical When to use this quote - faculty hiring - research funding Key Concepts Higher education reform academic freedom Questions to Reflect On - How can genuine scholarship thrive within institutions? - What reforms encourage authentic criticism? A Different Perspective Counterfeit criticism can still influence discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Counterfeit money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counterfeit-money/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation/) ## Related quotes > [“The idea of money is older than the idea of counterfeit money, but older, perhaps, by no more than a few minutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-clair-mckelway/the-idea-of-money-is-older-than-the-idea-of-counterfeit-money-but/) St. Clair McKelway > [Oaths are the counterfeit money with which we pay the sacrifice of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/oaths-are-the-counterfeit-money-with-which-we-pay-the-sacrifice-of/) [Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/) > [Flattery is counterfeit, and like counterfeit money, it will eventually get you into trouble if you pass it to someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/flattery-is-counterfeit-and-like-counterfeit-money-it-will-eventually/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Taking somebody's sacrifices is like taking counterfeit money. You're only the poorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-canfield-fisher/taking-somebody-s-sacrifices-is-like-taking-counterfeit-money-you-re/) [Dorothy Canfield Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-canfield-fisher/) > [If you want to get rid of counterfeit money, put it in the collection plate at church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/if-you-want-to-get-rid-of-counterfeit-money-put-it-in-the-collection/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Far graver is it to corrupt the faith that is the life of the soul than to counterfeit the money that sustains temporal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/far-graver-is-it-to-corrupt-the-faith-that-is-the-life-of-the-soul/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Someone like Jean-Luc Godard is for me intellectual counterfeit money when compared to a good kung fu film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/someone-like-jean-luc-godard-is-for-me-intellectual-counterfeit-money/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Men make counterfeit money; in many more cases, money makes counterfeit men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/men-make-counterfeit-money-in-many-more-cases-money-makes-counterfeit/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [“It's a shame, when I'm at the checkout line, and the cashier holds up my bill to the light, in search for a ghost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/it-s-a-shame-when-i-m-at-the-checkout-line-and-the-cashier-holds-up/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Calumny is like counterfeit money; many people who would not coin it circulate it without qualms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-de-poitiers/calumny-is-like-counterfeit-money-many-people-who-would-not-coin-it/) [Diane de Poitiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-de-poitiers/) > [When men do not have healthy notions of the Divinity, false ideas supplant them, just as in bad times one uses counterfeit money when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-men-do-not-have-healthy-notions-of-the-divinity-false-ideas/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I would gladly chastise those who represent things as different from what they are. Those who steal property or make counterfeit money are punished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-would-gladly-chastise-those-who-represent-things-as-different-from/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Flattery is a counterfeit money which, but for vanity, would have no circulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/flattery-is-a-counterfeit-money-which-but-for-vanity-would-have-no/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [While HBCUs may only represent 3% of the nation's colleges and universities, they produce 50% of black teachers and 80% of black judges and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laphonza-butler/while-hbcus-may-only-represent-3-of-the-nation-s-colleges-and/) [Laphonza Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laphonza-butler/) > [“There are an estimated 120,000 inmates in federal prisons who are grappling with being trapped behind bars, though they are not guilty of any crime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-warner/there-are-an-estimated-120-000-inmates-in-federal-prisons-who-are/) [Colin Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-warner/) ## More by Randall Jarrell > [“She helped the hunter with the cooking as a husband helps his wife: when he had gone out to hunt and left something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/she-helped-the-hunter-with-the-cooking-as-a-husband-helps-his-wife/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [We read our mail and counted up our missions In bombers named for girls, we burned The cities we had learned about in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/we-read-our-mail-and-counted-up-our-missions-in-bombers-named-for/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [One of the most obvious facts about grown-ups, to a child, is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-of-the-most-obvious-facts-about-grown-ups-to-a-child-is-that-they/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Goethe said that the worst thing in art is technical facility accompanied by triteness. Many an artist, like God, has never needed to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/goethe-said-that-the-worst-thing-in-art-is-technical-facility/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Age could not wither nor custom stale her infinite monotony: in fact, neither Age nor Custom could do anything (as they said, their voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/age-could-not-wither-nor-custom-stale-her-infinite-monotony-in-fact/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [A poet is a man who manages, in a lifetime of standing out in thunderstorms, to be struck by lightning five or six times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/a-poet-is-a-man-who-manages-in-a-lifetime-of-standing-out-in/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [More and more people think of the critic as an indispensable middle man between writer and reader, and would no more read a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/more-and-more-people-think-of-the-critic-as-an-indispensable-middle/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“The tags' chain stirs with the wind; and I sleep Paid, dead, and a soldier. Who fights for his own life Loses, loses: I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/the-tags-chain-stirs-with-the-wind-and-i-sleep-paid-dead-and-a/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [First one gets works of art, then criticism of them, then criticism of the criticism, and, finally, a book on The Literary Situation ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/first-one-gets-works-of-art-then-criticism-of-them-then-criticism-of/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [ Early in his life Mr. \[Ezra\] Pound met with strong, continued, and unintelligent opposition. If people keep opposing you when you are right, you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/early-in-his-life-mr-ezra-pound-met-with-strong-continued-and/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Some of Mr. Gregory's poems have merely appeared in The New Yorker ; others are New Yorker poems: the inclusive topicality, the informed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/some-of-mr-gregory-s-poems-have-merely-appeared-in-the-new-yorker/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [A successful poem says what a poet wants to say, and more, with particular finality. The remarks he makes about his poems are incidental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/a-successful-poem-says-what-a-poet-wants-to-say-and-more-with/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [One Whitman is miracle enough, and when he comes again it will be the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-whitman-is-miracle-enough-and-when-he-comes-again-it-will-be-the/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Robert Frost says in a piece of homely doggerel that he has hoped wisdom could be not only Attic but Laconic, Boeotian even -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/robert-frost-says-in-a-piece-of-homely-doggerel-that-he-has-hoped/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Most people don't listen to classical music at all, but to rock-and-roll or hillbilly songs or some album named Music To Listen To Music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/most-people-don-t-listen-to-classical-music-at-all-but-to-rock-and/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) [Explore all 121 Randall Jarrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) ## More Continuing quotes > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [It's important to recognize that expanding the circle of opportunity and increasing the democratic potential of our own society, as well as those across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-s-important-to-recognize-that-expanding-the-circle-of-opportunity/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Further conceive, I beg, that a stone, while continuing in motion, should be capable of thinking and knowing, that it is endeavoring, as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/further-conceive-i-beg-that-a-stone-while-continuing-in-motion-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I dream of continuing to dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/i-dream-of-continuing-to-dream/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [I describe family values as responsibility towards others, increase of tolerance, compromise, support, flexibility. And essentially the things I call the silent song of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-minuchin/i-describe-family-values-as-responsibility-towards-others-increase-of/) [Salvador Minuchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-minuchin/) > [You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on the continuing vitality of FORTRAN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/you-can-measure-a-programmer-s-perspective-by-noting-his-attitude-on/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [What business needs now is exactly what women are able to provide, and at the very time when women are surging into the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/what-business-needs-now-is-exactly-what-women-are-able-to-provide-and/) [Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/) > [The deepest courage we can exercise is continuing to believe in our dreams until we make them come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/the-deepest-courage-we-can-exercise-is-continuing-to-believe-in-our/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [It's very easy for me to say what success is. I think success is connecting with an audience who understands you and having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-s-very-easy-for-me-to-say-what-success-is-i-think-success-is/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/people-often-say-that-humans-have-always-eaten-animals-as-if-this-is/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-child-like-man-is-not-a-man-whose-development-has-been-arrested-on/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Put simply, the Bush administration policy in the Middle East is continuing to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-corsi/put-simply-the-bush-administration-policy-in-the-middle-east-is/) [Jerome Corsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-corsi/) > [Faith implies a continuing search, not necessarily a final answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/faith-implies-a-continuing-search-not-necessarily-a-final-answer/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [It is evident, indeed, that such a doctrine, taken by itself in a literal manner, had no future. The world, in continuing to exist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/it-is-evident-indeed-that-such-a-doctrine-taken-by-itself-in-a/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [For women who do not love us, as for the "disappeared", knowing that we no longer have any hope does not prevent us form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-women-who-do-not-love-us-as-for-the-disappeared-knowing-that-we/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) Browse all 782 Continuing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our universities should produce good criticism; they do not or, at best, they do so only as federal prisons produce counterfeit money: a few hardened prisoners are more or less surreptitiously continuing their real vocations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Randall Jarrell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/our-universities-should-produce-good-criticism-they-do-not-or-at-best/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Continuing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/our-universities-should-produce-good-criticism-they-do-not-or-at-best/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/randall-jarrell-3811_continuing_our-universities-should-produce-good-cri_723178.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/randall-jarrell-3811_continuing_our-universities-should-produce-good-cri_723178.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d30/randall-jarrell-3811_continuing_our-universities-should-produce-good-cri_723178.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our universities should produce good criticism; they do not or, at best, they do so only as federal prisons…” — Randall Jarrell", "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": "Randall Jarrell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our universities should produce good criticism;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/our-universities-should-produce-good-criticism-they-do-not-or-at-best/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/our-universities-should-produce-good-criticism-they-do-not-or-at-best/#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 } } ] } ```