Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude.

Schopenhauer’s image likens intellectual or moral “greatness” to an eagle’s habit of nesting high and apart. The comparison suggests that exceptional achievement often requires distance from the crowd: solitude provides the quiet, independence, and freedom from social pressures needed for original thought and self-mastery. It also implies a cost—loftiness can mean isolation, misunderstanding, or loneliness. In a Schopenhauerian key, the line resonates with his suspicion of mass opinion and his belief that most people are absorbed in practical concerns, while the rare individual capable of deeper insight must withdraw to cultivate it.