The near explains the far. The drop is a small ocean. A man is related to all nature. This perception of the worth of the vulgar is fruitful in discoveries. Goethe, in this very thing the most modern of the moderns, has shown us, as none ever did, the genius of the ancients.
Any form of measuring yourself by the unkind action of another towards you is like looking into a badly fractured mirror. . . and then blaming yourself for the shattered image you see therein.