CRITIAS, one of the thirty tyrants set over Athens by the Spartans, B.C. 404, conspicuous for cruelty and rapacity above all his colleagues. He had been among the disciples of Socrates, and was distinguished as an orator. He also wrote poems, dramas, &c., and some fragments of his elegies are still extant. See Attica, vol. iv., p. 209.
CRITICISM (κρίνω, to judge), the art or act of judging with propriety of the beauties and faults of a literary performance, or of any production in the fine arts. Also the act
of judging on the merit of any performance; critical observation, &c.