Casper C. de Jonge (BMCR 2007.07.07) states that Denis Feeney “disagrees with Malcolm Heath, who has famously claimed that ancient literary criticism is the only tool that a modern scholar is allowed to use”.
Since I have no wish to bask in unearned fame, I must point out that I have never made the mind-bogglingly stupid claim which de Jonge (following Feeney) attributes to me. I have claimed, subject to various qualifications, that ancient literary criticism is an indispensable tool.
A concise explanation of my thoughts on this issue (including a response to Feeney’s critique) can be found in chapter 4 of my Interpreting Classical Texts (London: Duckworth, 2002).