I know very well that we are not all equal, nor can be so; but it is my opinion that he who deems it important to keep aloof from the so-called rabble, in order to maintain their respect, is as much to blame as a coward who hides himself from his enemy because he fears defeat.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I know very well that we are not all equal, nor can be so; but it is my opinion that he who deems it important to keep aloof from the so-called rabble, in order to maintain their respect, is as much to blame as a coward who hides himself from his enemy because he fears defeat." in the context of "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther (Boston: 1884), “May 15”" to mean that wisdom is timeless.