Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“the first step towards seeing one's object as it really is, is to know one's own impression as it really is, to discriminate it, to realise it distinctly.”
- Date
- 1873
Meaning of “the first step towards seeing one's object as…”
Critical judgment begins with accurately noticing one’s own response before turning that response into a claim about the work, making self-observation part of disciplined interpretation.
Where does it come from?
The Renaissance, Preface; Project Gutenberg #2398. Pater is describing aesthetic criticism, not claiming that personal impression alone settles every factual question.
