The Best that is Known and Thought

I might be stretching a point here (the exact quotation says only traditions), but this feels like an update of "The Function of Criticism's" the best that is known and thought for our times. By chance, another citation, opposite in sentiment, came to my attention in this morning's New York Times. August Strindberg is said to have exclaimed

Libraries should be burned every now and then, otherwise the baggage becomes too big to carry.