Author

Irving Babbitt

18 quotations

About Irving Babbitt

Irving Babbitt was an American academic and literary critic, noted for his founding role in a movement that became known as the New Humanism, a significant influence on literary discussion and conservative thought in the period between 1910 and 1930. He was a cultural critic in the tradition of Matthew Arnold and a consistent opponent of romanticism, as represented by the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Politically he can, without serious distortion, be called a follower of Aristotle and Edm…

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Topics: Sympathy Faith Happiness Knowledge Leadership Peace

The true humanist maintains a just balance between sympathy and selection.

The humanitarian lays stress almost solely upon breadth of knowledge and sympathy.

A person who has sympathy for mankind in the lump, faith in its future progress, and desire to serve the great cause of this progress, should be called not a humanist, but a humanitarian, and his cre…

Inasmuch as society cannot go on without discipline of some kind, men were constrained, in the absence of any other form of discipline, to turn to discipline of the military type.

The humanities need to be defended today against the encroachments of physical science, as they once needed to be against the encroachment of theology.

We must not, however, be like the leaders of the great romantic revolt who, in their eagerness to get rid of the husk of convention, disregarded also the humane aspiration.

Perhaps as good a classification as any of the main types is that of the three lusts distinguished by traditional Christianity - the lust of knowledge, the lust of sensation, and the lust of power.

For behind all imperialism is ultimately the imperialistic individual, just as behind all peace is ultimately the peaceful individual.

The democratic idealist is prone to make light of the whole question of standards and leadership because of his unbounded faith in the plain people.

Perhaps as good a classification as any of the main types is that of the three lusts distinguished by traditional Christianity - the lust of knowledge, the lust of sensation, and the lust of power.

The humanitarian lays stress almost solely upon breadth of knowledge and sympathy.

Since every man desires happiness, it is evidently no small matter whether he conceives of happiness in terms of work or of enjoyment.

Tell him, on the contrary, that he needs, in the interest of his own happiness, to walk in the path of humility and self-control, and he will be indifferent, or even actively resentful.

The democratic idealist is prone to make light of the whole question of standards and leadership because of his unbounded faith in the plain people.

Act strenuously, would appear to be our faith, and right thinking will take care of itself.

To harmonize the One with the Many, this is indeed a difficult adjustment, perhaps the most difficult of all, and so important, withal, that nations have perished from their failure to achieve it.