Friedrich Nietzsche
Undesirable Disciples
"What shall I do with these two youths! ” called out a philosopher dejectedly, who "corrupted" youths, as Socrates had once corrupted them; they were unwelcome students. One of them cannot say "Nay," and the other says "Half and half" to everything. Provided they grasped my doctrine, the former would suffer too much, for my mode of thinking requires a mareial soul, willingness to cause pain, delight in denying, and a hard skin, he would succumb by open wounds and internal injuries. And the other will choose the mediocre in everything he represents and thus make a mediocrity of the whole : such a disciple I would wish for my enemy.