 That Nietzsche was able to write so prolifically and profoundly for years, while remaining in a condition of ill-health and often intense physical pain, is a testament to his spectacular mental capacities and will power. Lesser people under the same physical pressures might not have had the inclination to pick up a pen, let alone think and record thoughts which—created in the midst of striving for healthy self-overcoming—would have the power to influence an entire century.