Great men talk about ideas. Second-handers talk about people.

That precisely, is the deadliness of second-handers. They have no concern for facts, ideas, work. They're concerned only with people. They don't ask: 'Is this true?' They ask: 'Is this what others think is true?' Not to judge, but to repeat. Not to do, but to give the impression of doing. Not creation, but show. Not ability, but friendship. Not merit, but pull.
And isn't that the root of every despicable action? Not selfishness, but precisely the absence of a self. The man who cheats and lies, but preserves a respectable front. He knows himself to be dishonest, but others think he is honest and he derives his self-respect from that, second-hand. Greatness - in other people's eyes. Fame, admiration, envy - all that whice comes from others. Not wanting to be great, but wanting to be thought as great. That is actual selflessness. Its their ego they have betrayed and given up. And such people are called selfish.
Its what I couldn't understand about people for a long time. They have no self. They live second-hand.