Now then we compare book with book as we compare building with building. But this act of comparison means that our attitude has changed; we are no longer the friends of the writer, but his judges; and just as we cannot be too sympathetic as friends, so as judges we cannot be too severe. Are they not criminals, books that have wasted our time and sympathy; are they not the most insidious enemies of society, corrupters, defilers, the writers of false books, faked books, books the fill the air with decay and disease? Let us then be severe in our judgments; let us compare each book with the greatest of its kind. … Even the latest and least of novels has a right to be judged with the best.
- "How Should One Read a Book?"
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