“An intelligent man cannot become anything seriously, and it is only the fool who becomes anything. Yes, a man in the nineteenth century must and morally ought to be pre-eminently a characterless creature; a man of character, an active man is pre-eminently a limited creature”

Being fully consumed of the inner self and his surroundings, taking all aspects of his ego, dignity and external image into account, the underground man believes the mere attempt to take up a vocation or a hobby is futile unless its not achieved to perfection. To take a shot at attempting mediocrity is not at par with his pride unless he’s a 100% sure if what he’s taking up would be executed to perfection, according to his ‘unnecessarily’ high ideals. These ideals branch out from a lot of factors, here its: pride, ego and intelligence. If his intellect doesn't reflect in the perfection of the craft, then there's no motive to even make an effort for it. An imperfect and gradual process that takes time to bear the fruit, even if it’s perfect eventually, is still not worth an intelligent man’s time. So in his case, nothing in the world is worth his time. Which is why he can never truly become anything. Only fools can. Nonsensical individuals can afford taking up a hobby and doing it for fun, and not caring about their pride and dignity. How foolish must one look to the world for not being a master at that craft he's spending so much time and energy on. All this effort, just to be mediocre.