One of the fundamental and primary decisions in an intellectual’s trajectory is to decide which guides he will use to elaborate his route and help him apprehend what he will see along the way. Deprived of the support, the long journey presents him with almost insurmountable obstacles. For this reason, before traveling along it, it is necessary to study it, to define the best route, or the route that best fits his objectives. What does he want to see on the way? Here is another important question: the possibilities are immense… That’s why the role of literary critics is so important. They are the ones who walk alternative paths—often extremely unpleasant—and give the summary of their wanderings. Where is the light? Where the darkness? Without them, we find ourselves in closed woods, lost and helpless. But how do we choose our guides? Another very difficult question. The good guide must deliver security and arouse admiration. Then one must have more confidence in him than in oneself. Thus, a great critic must gather, besides a vast knowledge, very rare personal qualities, otherwise, he will be worse in his function. Like the artist, the critic must be observant, detailed, curious; he must intentionally seek what is different, take precisely the routes that appear to be the most frightening; he must be fair, receptive to the contradictory, willing to abandon each of his convictions; he must be able to see merits where they seem not to exist and, above all, he must be able to make the very difficult distinction between the best and the most pleasant. Only in this way will he be able to say, with a clear conscience and in fair words, which is the best route, or which routes lead to which places; otherwise he will be a disloyal conductor, a manipulator, and not infrequently he will show in his work the defects of his character. Thus, as walkers we must answer the question: “By whom do we wish to be influenced?”—and the answer, despite appearances, will also say much about us.
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