What is greatness? Nietzsche answers.

Introduction. Nietzsche believed that the singular task of mankind is "the production of individual great men." In his paper Nietzsche on Human Greatness, Patrick Hassan asks and answers an important question: What, exactly, is greatness for Nietzsche? The intriguing answer👇

Greatness is solitary. Greatness requires a set of psychological traits. The great man, Nietzsche writes, "strives instinctively for a citadel and a secrecy where he is saved from the crowd." The great man does not take any comfort in conforming to the masses.

Greatness seeks battle. A great person "courts opposition, and provokes it." A higher type of man does not crave to be in ideological agreement with the times; he in fact relishes being different and enjoys the sensation of being at odds with the age.

Greatness is proud. Nietzsche writes: "The noble soul has reverence for itself." True greatness is not crippled by anxiety or doubt, but has great self-assurance. The imposter syndrome mostly strikes actual imposters.

Greatness has the will to power. Nietzsche writes that with noble people, "the consciousness of power is constantly playing its charming game in their limbs." Great people pursue daring and great goals. In their body they always experience a "power which seeks to overflow…"

The great are masters of themselves and grow a singular personality. Nietzsche writes that the greats like Julius Caesar and Da Vince experience "powerful and irreconcilable drives," but they're masters of unifying their abilities and ambitions under a "a single taste."

Great actions alone aren't sufficient. The slave revolt in values has been incredibly influential, and created a morality that almost every human lives by. And while Nietzsche acknowledges its cunning, he doesn't consider the creators of the slave morality great in any way.

True greatness takes time to be recognized as such. The greatest actions and ideas are "comprehended last." Since the great men stand apart from their time, centuries can pass before the common people get enough perspective to recognize their greatness.

The importance of timing. There is latent greatness in many people that never receives the outside spark to come alive. Sometimes the spark comes after the "best part of youth and the strength to act has already been used up in sitting still" - it is of no use then.

Bottomline. Finally, Nietzsche notes a difference between greatness to be, and actualized greatness. A man "striving for greatness" considers everyone he meets "a delay and hindrance—or a temporary resting-place." In contrast, actually great people are "generous and courteous."