Uncle Fred: A Random FNORD
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At the risk of annoying innocent ears, I propose the following: egoism belongs to the nature of the noble soul—I mean that unshakeable faith that to a being such as “we are” other beings must be subordinate by nature and have to sacrifice themselves. The noble soul takes this fact of its egoism without any question mark and without the feeling that there is harsh compulsion or arbitrary power in it, much more as something that may be established in the fundamental law of things. If he sought out a name for this, he would say “It is justice itself.”
In some circumstances which make him hesitate at first, he admits that there are those with rights equal to his own. As soon as he has cleared up this question of rank, he moves among these equals who have the same rights as his with the same confident modesty and sophisticated reverence which he has in his dealings with himself, in accordance with an inborn heavenly mechanism which all the stars understand. It is one more part of his egoism, this sophistication and self-restraint in his relations with his equals—every star is such an egoist: he honours himself in them and in the rights which he concedes to them. He has no doubt that the exchange of respect and rights, as the essential quality of all interactions, belongs as well to the natural condition of things.
The noble soul gives as it takes, out of the passionate and sensitive instinct for repayment, which lies deep within it. The idea “favour” has no sense and agreeable fragrance inter pares (6); there may be a sublime manner of allowing presents from above to wash over one, as it were, and drinking them up thirstily like water drops, but for this art and gesture the noble soul has no skill. Here its egoism hinders it: in general, it is not happy to look “up above”; it looks either directly forward, horizontally and slowly, or down—it knows that it is on a height.
At the risk of annoying innocent ears, I propose the following: egoism belongs to the nature of the noble soul—I mean that unshakeable faith that to a being such as “we are” other beings must be subordinate by nature and have to sacrifice themselves. The noble soul takes this fact of its egoism without any question mark and without the feeling that there is harsh compulsion or arbitrary power in it, much more as something that may be established in the fundamental law of things. If he sought out a name for this, he would say “It is justice itself.”
In some circumstances which make him hesitate at first, he admits that there are those with rights equal to his own. As soon as he has cleared up this question of rank, he moves among these equals who have the same rights as his with the same confident modesty and sophisticated reverence which he has in his dealings with himself, in accordance with an inborn heavenly mechanism which all the stars understand. It is one more part of his egoism, this sophistication and self-restraint in his relations with his equals—every star is such an egoist: he honours himself in them and in the rights which he concedes to them. He has no doubt that the exchange of respect and rights, as the essential quality of all interactions, belongs as well to the natural condition of things.
The noble soul gives as it takes, out of the passionate and sensitive instinct for repayment, which lies deep within it. The idea “favour” has no sense and agreeable fragrance inter pares (6); there may be a sublime manner of allowing presents from above to wash over one, as it were, and drinking them up thirstily like water drops, but for this art and gesture the noble soul has no skill. Here its egoism hinders it: in general, it is not happy to look “up above”; it looks either directly forward, horizontally and slowly, or down—it knows that it is on a height.
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