Why did Matthew Arnold believe critics should know European literature?

Matthew Arnold believed that English literary critics needed to be familiar with European literature to escape the "note of provinciality" and complacency that he felt characterized English intellectual life.1

He argued that by remaining isolated from a "centre" of correct knowledge and taste, English critics and writers were trapped in a backwater, lacking the broader perspective necessary for true critical insight. Arnold viewed criticism as a "disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world," which required an awakened intelligence that looked beyond national borders. By engaging with European standards and applying modern ideas to life and letters, he believed critics could foster a more informed culture and help the nation move beyond its "stock notions and habits".1