Quotes by Irving Babbitt

"Equality as it is currently pursued is incompatible with true liberty; for liberty involves an inner working with reference to standards, the right subordination, in other words, of man's ordinary will to a higher will. There is an inevitable clash, in short, between equality and humility."
Irving Babbitt
"A man needs to look, not down, but up to standards set so much above his ordinary self as to make him feel that he is himself “spiritually” the underdog. Anyone who thus looks up has some chance of becoming worthy to be looked up to in turn."
Irving Babbitt
Irving Babbitt

Irving Babbitt (August 2, 1865 – July 15, 1933) 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 o...