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.

Quote by Irving Babbitt

Topics: Irving Babbitt Quotes

If a man went simply by what he saw, he might be tempted to affirm...

If a man went simply by what he saw, he might be tempted to affirm...

If quantitatively the American achievement is impressive, qualitatively it is somewhat less satisfying.

If quantitatively the American achievement is impressive, qualitatively it is somewhat less satisfying.

The ultimate binding element in the medieval order was subordination to the divine will and...

The ultimate binding element in the medieval order was subordination to the divine will and...

If we are to have such a discipline we must have standards, and to get...

If we are to have such a discipline we must have standards, and to get...

Inasmuch as society cannot go on without discipline of some kind, men were constrained, in...

Inasmuch as society cannot go on without discipline of some kind, men were constrained, in...

The humanitarian would, of course, have us meddle in foreign affairs as part of his...

The humanitarian would, of course, have us meddle in foreign affairs as part of his...

The industrial revolution has tended to produce everywhere great urban masses that seem to be...

The industrial revolution has tended to produce everywhere great urban masses that seem to be...

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

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

We must not, however, be like the leaders of the great romantic revolt who, in...

We must not, however, be like the leaders of the great romantic revolt who, in...

The human mind, if it is to keep its sanity, must maintain the nicest balance...

The human mind, if it is to keep its sanity, must maintain the nicest balance...

To say that most of us today are purely expansive is only another way of...

To say that most of us today are purely expansive is only another way of...

The humanities need to be defended to-day against the encroachments of physical science, as they...

The humanities need to be defended to-day against the encroachments of physical science, as they...

Democracy is now going forth on a crusade against imperialism.

Democracy is now going forth on a crusade against imperialism.

Tell him, on the contrary, that he needs, in the interest of his own happiness,...

Tell him, on the contrary, that he needs, in the interest of his own happiness,...

An American of the present day reading his Sunday newspaper in a state of lazy...

An American of the present day reading his Sunday newspaper in a state of lazy...

To harmonize the One with the Many, this is indeed a difficult adjustment, perhaps the...

To harmonize the One with the Many, this is indeed a difficult adjustment, perhaps the...

Robespierre, however, was not the type of leader finally destined to emerge from the Revolution.

Robespierre, however, was not the type of leader finally destined to emerge from the Revolution.

Since every man desires happiness, it is evidently no small matter whether he conceives of...

Since every man desires happiness, it is evidently no small matter whether he conceives of...

The democratic idealist is prone to make light of the whole question of standards and...

The democratic idealist is prone to make light of the whole question of standards and...

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

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