Great men are necessary, the age in which they appear is a matter of chance
 Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols (1889). copy citation

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Author Friedrich Nietzsche
Source Twilight of the Idols
Topic age chance
Date 1889
Language English
Reference
Note Translated by Anthony M. Ludovici
Weblink https://www.gutenberg.org/files/52263/52263-h/52263-h.htm

Context

“And because Napoleon was something different, the heir of a stronger, more lasting and older civilisation than that which in France was being smashed to atoms he became master there, he was the only master there. Great men are necessary, the age in which they appear is a matter of chance; the fact that they almost invariably master their age is accounted for simply by the fact that they are stronger, that they are older, and that power has been stored longer for them. The relation of a genius to his age is that which exists between strength and weakness and between maturity and youth:” source