The achievements of such personal self-sufficiency, of such detachment from the world of agitations and desires, is, he will say, something entirely superhuman. "Why ask frail mortals to look at such unclimbable peaks, such unattainable summits?" Philosophy answers, "Yes, the peaks are high, the summits do cause us to strain our necks upwards. But it is wrong to say that they are unclimbable. There is a way of climbing them, little by little, under competent guidance, and that way is called the Quest. True, it involves certain disciplines, but then, what is there in life worth getting which can be got without paying some price in self-discipline for it? The aim of these disciplines is to secure a better-controlled mind, a more virtuous life, and a more reverent fundamental mood."
-- Notebooks Category 1: Overview of the Quest > Chapter 5 : Self-Development > # 87
