"The Critic as Artist" is an essay by Oscar Wilde, containing the most extensive statements of his aesthetic philosophy.
A dialogue in two parts, it is by far the longest one included in his collection of essays titled Intentions published on 1 May 1891.
According to Gilbert, scientific principle of heredity shows we are never less free, never have more illusions than when we try to act with some conscious aim in mind.
The soul is wiser than we are, writes Wilde, it is the concentrated racial experience revealed by the imagination.
It is criticism rather than emotional sympathies, abstract ethics or commercial advantages that would make us cosmopolitan and serve as the basis of peace.