Full Idea
Able to live only beyond and short of life, man is a prey to two temptation: imbecility and sanctity: sub-man and superman, never himself.
Gist of Idea
Man is never himself; he always aims at less than life, or more than life
Source
E.M. Cioran (A Short History of Decay [1949], 4 'Threat')
Book Reference
Cioran,E.M.: 'A Short History of Decay', ed/tr. Howard,Richard [Penguin 2010], p.140
A Reaction
To me, Taoism embodies imbecility, and spiritual religions embody the superman idea. [This is not Nietzsche's übermensch].