The first _question_ concerning the _order of rank:_ how far is a man disposed to be _solitary_ or _gregarious?_ (in the latter case, his value consists in those qualities which secure the survival of his tribe or his type; in the former case, his qualities are those which distinguish him from others, which isolate and defend him, and make his _solitude possible_). _Consequence:_ the solitary type should not be valued from the standpoint of the gregarious type, or _vice versâ._ Viewed from above, both types are necessary; as is likewise their antagonism,--and nothing is _more_ thoroughly reprehensible than the "desire" which would develop a _third_ thing out of the two ("virtue" as hermaphroditism). This is as little worthy of desire as the equalisation and reconciliation of the sexes. The _distinguishing qualities must be developed ever more and more,_ the gulf must _be made ever wider...._ The concept of _degeneration_ in both cases: the approximation of the qualities of the herd to those of solitary creatures: and _vice versâ_--in short, when they begin to _resemble_ each other. This concept of degeneration is beyond the sphere of moral judgments. 887. Where the _strongest natures_ are to be sought. The ruin and degeneration of the _solitary_ species is much greater and more terrible: they have the instincts of the herd, and the tradition of values, against them; their weapons of defence, their instincts of self-preservation, are from the beginning insufficiently strong and reliable--fortune must be peculiarly favourable to them if they are _to prosper_ (they prosper best in the lowest ranks and dregs of society; if ye are seeking _personalities_ it is there that ye will find them with much greater certainty than in the middle classes!) When the dispute between ranks and classes, which aims at equality of rights, is almost settled, the fight will begin against the _solitary person._ (In a certain sense _the latter can maintain and develop himself most easily in a democratic society:_ there where the coarser means of defence are no longer necessary, and a certain habit of order, honesty, justice, trust, is already a general condition.) The _strongest_ must be most tightly bound, most strictly watched, laid in chains and supervised: this is the instinct of the herd. To them belongs a régime of self-mastery, of ascetic detachment, of "duties" consisting in exhausting work, in which one can no longer call one's soul one's own. 888. I am attempting an _economic_ justification of virtue. The object is to make man as useful as possible, and to make him approximate as nearly as one can to an infallible machine: to this end he must be equipped with _machine-like virtues_ (he must learn to value those states in which he works in a most mechanically useful way, as the highest of all: to this end it is necessary to make him as disgusted as possible with the other states, and to represent them as very dangerous and despicable).