Mediocrity is the most effective mask a superior spirit can wear, because to the great majority, which is to say, to the mediocre,it will not suggest a disguise:--and yet it is precisely for their sake that he puts it on--so as not to arouse them, and, indeed, not infrequently to avoid this out of pity and benevolence.
Friedrich NietzscheFoolish is my happiness, and foolish things will it speak: it is still too youngโso have patience with it!
Friedrich NietzscheWe laugh at a man who, stepping out of his room at the very minute when the sun is rising, says, โIt is my will that the sun shall riseโ; or at him who, unable to stop a wheel, says, โI wish it to rollโ; or, again, at him who, thrown in a wrestling match, says, โHere I lie, but here I wish to lie.โ But, joking apart, do we not act like one of these three persons whenever we use the expression โI wishโ?
Friedrich Nietzsche