A Quote by Brendan Behan

Critics are like eunuchs; they can tell you what to do, but they can't do it themselves!

Brendan Behan

Quote Topics

Critics Eunuchs Like Tell Themselves

Quote Author

Brendan Behan
Irish - Novelist
February 9, 1923 - March 20, 1964

Critics of art are like eunuchs in harem. They see how it's done when the men come to see the women, but they can't do it themselves.

Gary Busey

Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it's done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves.

Brendan Behan

Critics are like eunuchs: they know how, but they can't do it.

Paul Bocuse

Critics are eunuchs at a gang bang.

George Burns

Critics are the eunuchs of literature. They stand by in envious awe while the whole man and his partner demonstrate the art of living.

John Steinbeck

God knows, people who are paid to have attitudes toward things, professional critics, make me sick; camp-following eunuchs of literature.

Ernest Hemingway

I am aware that many critics consider the conditions in the stars not sufficiently extreme . . . the stars are not hot enough. The critics lay themselves open to an obvious retort: we tell them to go and find a hotter place.

Arthur Eddington

Who are critics? Do they know about music? Have they proved themselves in the field? I remember, when we came up with the music of 'Dil Chahta Hai,' some of the critics said that the songs sounded like jingles.

Shankar Mahadevan

There are television critics, movie critics, and theater critics too who I like and who I follow and I get genuinely bummed when they don't like something that I've written because I usually agree with them.

Aaron Sorkin

When critics ask you if you feel vindicated by other critics - I didn't like critics then, and I don't like them now. There you go. I've always been outside the mainstream, and it stayed that way.

Lou Reed

Have you ever noticed how most critics disagree with the public? That should tell you a lot about critics.

Shia LaBeouf

There are many out there who proudly call themselves critics, but I have come to see that many of those critics have never tested their own skill.

Allison Mackie

Point out the problems, as long as you have a solution. I don't like critics who aren't doers themselves.

Natalie Massenet

People think I'm against critics because they are negative to my work. That's not what bothers me. What bothers me is they didn't see the work. I have seen critics print stuff about stuff I cut out of the film before we ran it. So don't tell me about critics.

Jerry Lewis

I read reviews of critics I respect and feel I can learn something from. Right now there are a lot of bottom-feeder critics who just have access to a computer and don't necessarily have an academic or cinema background that I can detect, so I tend to ignore that and stay with the same top-tier critics that I've come to respect. I like reading a good review - it doesn't have to be favorable, but a well-thought-out one - because I very much appreciate the relationship of directors and critics.