The valet sees no hero because he lacks the organ to perceive significance

Evidence

Another -sphere of the same form corresponds to what is called the “significance” of a personality. In regard to the “significant” [“great”] man, there is an inner compulsion which tells one to keep at a distance and which does not disappear even in intimate relations with him. The only type for whom such distance does not exist is the individual who has no organ for perceiving significance. For this reason, the “valet” knows no such sphere of distance; for him there is no “hero”; but this is due, not to the hero, but to the valet. — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 7811

Categorization

• XREF: The valet-no-hero aphorism connects to Shapiro’s guardian-trustee dynamics: distance and perception shape how principals apprehend authority figures.
• CANDY: ‘No man is a hero to his valet’ — but Simmel’s twist is that this is the valet’s failing, not the hero’s.
• QUESTION: Does the valet’s failure track a capacity issue or an incentive issue — is proximity itself what kills the organ for perceiving significance?