A man needs to look, not down, but up to standards set so much above … — 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.

Irving BabbittCritic · American · 1865 – 1933

More from Irving Babbitt

There are other measures of self-respect for a man, than the number of clean shirts he puts on every day. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect. — George Bernard Shaw
To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. — William Shakespeare
Act strenuously, would appear to be our faith, and right thinking will take care of itself. — Irving Babbitt
If quantitatively the American achievement is impressive, qualitatively it is somewhat less satisfying. — Irving Babbitt
If a man went simply by what he saw, he might be tempted to affirm that the essence of democracy is melodrama. — Irving Babbitt