Stefan Zweig, reader

Source Summary

Two are the unavoidable virtues a literary critic must possess. One is versatility of tastes and interests, because nothing is more mediocre, limiting, and impoverishing than intellectual and aesthetic sectarianism. The second virtue is the ability to approach literature without mummifying it, that is, understanding literature not only as an intellectual exercise and a deployment of rhetorical resources but also as an expression, an exploration, and an expansion of the world, society, life, and the human being, which requires, to be interpreted and explained with all its riches and complexities, a combination of technical knowledge and existential insight, analytical coolness and passionate, persuasive engagement.