In Guide for the Perplexed 1:59 Rambam cites a Talmudic passage and introduces it with the following statement:
You must surely know the following celebrated passage in the Talmud – would that all passages in the Talmud were like that! – although it is known to you, I quote it literally, as I wish to point out to you the ideas contained in it: (Friedlander translation, my emphasis)
What is the meaning of the bolded line? At first glance it seems like a criticism of the Talmud, i.e. Rambam is lamenting that the rest of the Talmud is not like this passage, but inferior to it. However, it might instead mean that Rambam is lamenting that the rest of the Talmud is not as celebrated as this passage, i.e. he wishes the whole Talmud was as famous as this one famous passage. In that case it is not a criticism of the Talmud, but perhaps a criticism of the people who don't study the Talmud.
The other renderings of this into Hebrew or English don't provide much more detail. The Pines translation has it as:
You also know their famous dictum – would that all dicta were like it. I shall quote it to you textually, even though it is well-remembered, so as to draw your attention to the various significations it expresses.
The Ibn Tibbon translation has it as:
וכבר ידעת אמרתם המפרסמת אשר מי יתן והיו כל המאמרים כמותה ואני אזכרה בלשונה ואף על פי שהיא ידועה להעירך על עניניה
The Kafih translation has it as:
וכבר ידעת אמרתם המפורסמת אשר מי יתן והיו כל האמרות כמוה והנני מזכירה לך כלשונה ואף על פי שהיא אמרה ידועה כדי להעירך על עניניה
The Schwartz translation has it as:
וכבר ידעת אמרתם המפורסמת אשר מי ייתן והיו כל האמרות כמותה אני אציין לך אותה כלשונה אף על פי שהיא אמרה שזוכרים אותה על מנת להסב את תשומת לבך אל משמעויותיה
In each of these translations the statement can presumably be read in either of the aforementioned two ways.
I know that Professor Marc Shapiro cited this passage as a criticism of the Sages:
The Limits of Orthodox Theology p. 37
Occasionally, one even finds him subtly criticizing the talmudic sages: 'You also know their [the talmudic sages'] famous dictum – would that all [their] dicta were like it.'
So is there any evidence as to whether this statement was meant as a criticism of the Sages or not? The evidence could be linguistic, contextual, based on how later sources understood it, etc.
In case the context may help answer the question, the dictum under discussion is from Berachot 33b:
A certain [reader] went down in the presence of R. Hanina and said, O God, the great, mighty, terrible, majestic, powerful, awful, strong, fearless, sure and honoured. He waited till he had finished, and when he had finished he said to him, Have you concluded all the praise of your Master? Why do we want all this? Even with these three that we do say, had not Moses our Master mentioned them in the Law and had not the Men of the Great Synagogue come and inserted them in the Tefillah, we should not have been able to mention them, and you say all these and still go on! It is as if an earthly king had a million denarii of gold, and someone praised him as possessing silver ones. Would it not be an insult to him?