The art of the critic in a nutshell: to coin slogans without betraying ideas. The slogans of an inadequate criticism peddle ideas to fashion.

Summary

This quote suggests that the role of a critic is to effectively communicate their ideas through memorable slogans or phrases, while ensuring that the essence of those ideas is not compromised or diluted. It implies that inadequate criticism tends to prioritize popular or trendy notions over substantive insights. In other words, a good critic is able to distill complex thoughts into catchy slogans without sacrificing the integrity of their analysis, whereas an inadequate critic resorts to shallow or fashionable ideas for the sake of following trends.

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