'And how does one basically recognize good development? In that a well-developed man does our senses good: that he is carved from wood which is hard, delicate, and sweet-smelling, all at the same time. He likes only that which is good for him; his preference, his pleasure ceases where the measure of the beneficial is exceeded. He divines remedies against wrongs, he fully utilizes bad incidents to his advantage; what does not kill him makes him stronger. Out of everything he sees, hears, experiences, he instinctively collects his sum: he is a selective principle, he rejects much. He is always in his society, whether he deals with books, men, or landscapes: he honors in that he chooses, in that he permits, in that he intrusts. He reacts slowly to all types of stimuli, with that slowness which long caution and a willed pride have bred in him — he tests the stimulus which approaches him, he is far from meeting it halfway. He believes neither in “misfortune” nor in “guilt”: he comes to terms with himself, with others, he knows how to forget, — he is strong enough that to him everything must be for the best.'
Friedrich Nietzsche
