schizoid

Abstract symbol systems, such as mathematics, are especially valuable for object-seeking for schizoid personalities. By means of such symbolizations, object contact may be sought and obtained, while at the same time a psychological distance may be maintained between self and other; it is virtually impossible to have a personal relationship and at the same time to maintain such distance.

Babits himself never fully lived up to this program; indeed, the declaration itself shows his schizoid attitude toward poetry: he wants to say out loud that he does not want to be heard.