The Man in the Arena
--------------------
by Theodore Roosevelt

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man
stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit
belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust
and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and
again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does
actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great
devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the
end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those
cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.



See also, Anton Ego's speech:

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a
position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment.
We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the
bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the
average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism
designating it so.

But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the
discovery and defense of the *new*. The world is often unkind to new talent,
new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new:
an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the
meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a
gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made
no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto, "Anyone can cook." But
I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant.  Not everyone can
become a great artist; but a great artist *can* come from *anywhere*. It is
difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking
at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest
chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.