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Babbitt, Irving (băb`ĭt), 1865–1933, American scholar, b. Dayton, Ohio. At Harvard as professor of French literature from 1912 until his death, he was a vigorous critic of romanticism, deprecating especially the influence of Rousseau on modern thought and art. He and Paul Elmer More More, Paul Elmer, 1864–1937, American critic, educator, and philosopher, b. St. Louis. More taught Sanskrit and classical literature and then was a newspaper editor until 1914, after which he wrote and lectured.
..... Click the link for more information. initiated a movement, called New Humanism, that advocated a forceful doctrine of moderation and restraint, looking to classical traditions and literature for inspiration. His works include Literature and the American College (1908), The New Laokoön (1910), The Masters of Modern French Criticism (1912), and On Being Creative (1932).

Bibliography

See F. E. McMahon, The Humanism of Irving Babbitt (1931); Irving Babbitt (ed. by F. Manchester and O. Shepard, 1941, repr. 1969).

Babbitt, Irving (1865–1933) scholar, humanist; born in Dayton, Ohio. This Harvard professor (1894–1933) and scholar of French literature espoused the New Humanism, a conservative creed that called politically for self-discipline and restraint, and literarily for a traditional canon of classic authors; it provoked sharp liberal opposition.