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Friday, February 08, 2008

Thought for the day: Goodness vs. greatness

From To the Source:

Nietzsche desired greatness more than anything. Indeed, greatness was so much better than goodness, that the truly great should never hesitate to go “beyond” notions of good and evil. Beyond Good and Evil was, in fact, the title of one of his most famous books.

To go far beyond and above the crowd; to squeeze the life from oneself and others for the sake of producing a great political state, great art, great literature; to be as pitiless as Pharaoh in using human slaves to build one’s glorious tomb—that was life. If this demanded cruelty, then let it be magnificent cruelty. “Almost everything we call ‘higher culture’” declared Nietzsche, “is based on the spiritualization of cruelty, on its becoming more profound: this is my proposition.”

Spiritualization of cruelty? Thankfully, Nietsche's innovation didn't work, but read more here.