This really needs to be read after Ego I to get the effect. But who am I to get knit-picky?

Nietzsche's Ego II

I believe that great men are created perhaps a few times in a generation. It is rare. I would go so far as to say that their Genius is Holy. that through it we are able to gaze momentarily at the grand theory that is at work in our universe. Nature, in her abhorance of conformity, continually creates new blends and versions of souls, and every once in a while she hits upon a combination with the ability to unlock her abyss. A child who understands his mother. This soul sees his world with a clarity that the rest of us can only imagine through his imagery, and though we know the truths he tells immediately when they are conveyed to us, they are but water in our hands, and we can only hope to grasp them for a moment, before they siphon through the cracks between our fingers and palms. But that moment that he creates, that clarity that he allows us to glimpse, is like a transport to a cloud, if only for a moment, that leaves an impression upon our beings, allows us to live our life more honestly and more true to ourselves, and effects the decisions that we will make forthcoming. That we have risen to the clouds means that we shall never return completely to the earth, and we should walk, after such an event, a bit higher then we had walked before it.

It has been said by some philosophers that man's goal should be to cultivate and develop these minds, that it is these minds who will be able to take hold of the collective soul of mankind and drag it to new heights that may have not otherwise been reached. I don't pretend to believe that this is true, I've learned in my life that to judge one individual from another is a dangerous game of dice, and like most games of chance, the outcome is as uncertain as the stakes are high.

And now My Ego

Whether the world should be run by great men is a question of little consequence, because it is inevitable that even if such a great man were to be found, that he would be undoubtably manipulated or removed by lesser but more cunning sorts. The only true legitimacy is in the masses, who hold the most hope for some truth and honesty to prevail.
- posted by Sigurd5/08/2004 12:39:00 AM