ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the influence of Irving Babbitt on Liang’s professional habitus as a literary critic and translator, his selection of the translation materials, and how Liang actively advocated Babbitt’s New Humanism through his writings and translations. The issues related to professionals and translation within the “literary translation system” will be discussed first as both Babbitt and Liang were important literary critics, or what Lefevere calls “professionals”. With the influence from Babbitt, who emphasizes the abiding human nature and moral restraint, one of the criteria of Liang’s selection of works for translation is that the works should contain “moral seriousness” or reflect the universal and permanent human nature. The works he selected like The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Silas Marner, The Weaver of Raveloe, Mr. Gilfil’s Love Story, the Anthology of Cicero, The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise and Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations well meet such a requirement. Through Liang’s translations, together with his writings, his literary poetics has been further elaborated.
