The sage will not be an adherent of martyristic ideology. He will make no pretense and set up no pose of exaggerated altruism. He will do what needs to be done for his own self. But at the same time he will also do what needs to be done for others. It is not altruistic folly but altruistic wisdom that he seeks to practise. Hence he prefers to be a live servant of the good in mankind than a dead martyr to the evil in mankind. He will not swing from the extreme of utter selfishness to the extreme of unbalanced selflessness. He will not ignore his own needs or fail to work for his own betterment even while he is attending to the needs of others and working for their betterment. He can well serve individual ends alongside his service of social ones.
-- Notebooks Category 25: World-Mind in Individual Mind > Chapter 3 : The Sage Part 1 > # 208
