The self-righteous feel no need to be charming, and thus double their offensiveness.
Asceticism without religion is just another way of cultivating peculiar sensations.
Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.
Fail, and your friends feel superior. Succeed, and they feel resentful.
Existence is not a mystery unless you think it has a meaning.
Hope and despair ignore one another's cries.