And if they should altogether praise me, how could I go to sleep on their praise? A girdle of spines is their praise unto me: it scratcheth me even when I take it off.

And this also did I learn among them: the praiser doeth as if he gave back; in truth, however, he wanteth more to be given him!

Ask my foot if their lauding and luring strains please it! Verily, to such measure and ticktack it liketh neither to dance nor to stand still.

To small virtues would they fain lure and laud me; to the ticktack of small happiness would they fain persuade my foot.

I pass through this people and keep mine eyes open; they have become smaller, and ever become smaller—the reason thereof is their doctrine of happiness and virtue.

For they are moderate also in virtue—because they want comfort. With comfort, however, moderate virtue only is compatible.

To be sure, they also learn in their way to stride on and stride forward: that, I call their hobbling. Thereby they become a hindrance to all who are in haste.

And many of them go forward, and look backwards thereby, with stiffened necks; those do I like to run up against.

Foot and eye shall not lie, nor give the lie to each other. But there is much lying among small people.

Some of them will, but most of them are willed. Some of them are genuine, but most of them are bad actors.

There are actors without knowing it amongst them, and actors without intending it; the genuine ones are always rare, especially the genuine actors.

Of man there is little here: therefore do their women masculinise themselves. For only he who is man enough, will—save the woman in woman.

And this hypocrisy found I worst amongst them, that even those who command feign the virtues of those who serve.

‘I serve, thou servest, we serve’—so chanteth here even the hypocrisy of the rulers—and alas, if the first lord be only the first servant!

Ah, even upon their hypocrisy did mine eyes’ curiosity alight; and well did I divine all their fly-happiness, and their buzzing around sunny window-panes.

So much kindness, so much weakness do I see. So much justice and pity, so much weakness.

Round, fair and considerate are they to one another, as grains of sand are round, fair and considerate to grains of sand.

Modestly to embrace a small happiness—that do they call ‘submission’! And at the same time they peer modestly after a new small happiness.

In their hearts they want simply one thing most of all: that no one hurt them. Thus do they anticipate every one’s wishes and do well unto every one.

That, however, is cowardice, though it be called ‘virtue’.