Macmillan

138 BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL
too readilybe transformed into equalityin wrong: I mean to
say into generalwar againsteverythingrare, strange, and
privileged, againsthe higherman, the highersoul țhe higher
duty,the higherresponsibility, the creative plenipotence and
lordliness" at present it belongsto the conception of "greatness"
to be noble,to wish to be apart, to be capable of
beingdifferent, to stand alone,to have to live by personal
initiative; and the philosopherwill betraysomethingof his
own ideal when he asserts: "He shall be the greatest who
can be the most solitary, the most concealedțhe most divergent,
the man beyond good and evilțhe master of his
virtues,and of superabundanceof will;precisely this shall
be called greatness:as diversified as can be entire, as ample
as can be full." And to ask once more the question:Is
"
greatnesspossiblenowadays?
213
It is difficultto learn what a philosopheris,because it
cannot be taught:one must "know" it "
by experienceor
one should have the pridenot to know it. The fact that at
present peopleall talk of thingsof which they cannot have
any experience, is true more especially and unfortunately cis
concerns the philosopherand philosophical matters: " the
very few know them, are permittedto know them, and all
necessitywhich makes no false step, is unknown to most
thinkers and scholars from their own experience, and
combination of a bold,exuberant spirit-
popularideas about them are false. Thus, for instancețhe
trulyphilosophical
uality
which runs at prestopace, and a dialectic rigourand
therefore,
to them. They conceive of every necessity as
i
should any one speak of it in their presence, it is incredible
troublesome,
as a painfulcompulsoryobedience and state of con-