Man is more sensitive to the contempt that others feel towards him than to the contempt that he feels towards himself.

Laughter means: taking a mischievous delight in someone else's uneasiness, but with a good conscience.

Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.

Pity makes suffering contagious.

All in all, punishment hardens and renders people more insensible; it concentrates; it increases the feeling of estrangement; it strengthens the power of resistance.

Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman — a rope over an abyss.

Impoliteness is frequently the sign of an awkward modesty that loses its head when surprised and hopes to conceal this with rudeness.