--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..when I say that \"he's a truly nasty…" description: "\"..when I say that \"he's a truly nasty man,\" I mean he has so thoroughly renounced everything good that he might have inside him that he's already like ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/muriel-barbery-1092_alive_when-i-say-that-he-s-a-truly-nasty-man-i_394285.jpg" --- # ..when I say that "he's a truly nasty man," I mean he has… ![“..when I say that "he's a truly nasty man," I mean he has so thoroughly renounced everything good that he might have inside him that he's already like a corpse even though he's still alive. Because truly nasty people hate everyone, to be sure, but most of all themselves. Can't you tell when a…” quote by Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/muriel-barbery-1092_alive_when-i-say-that-he-s-a-truly-nasty-man-i_394285.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/muriel-barbery-1092_alive_when-i-say-that-he-s-a-truly-nasty-man-i_394285.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/muriel-barbery-1092_alive_when-i-say-that-he-s-a-truly-nasty-man-i_394285.jpg) > “..when I say that "he's a truly nasty man," I mean he has so thoroughly renounced everything good that he might have inside him that he's already like a corpse even though he's still alive. Because truly nasty people hate everyone, to be sure, but most of all themselves. Can't you tell when a person hates himself? He becomes a living cadaver, it numbs all his negative emotions but also all the good ones so he won't feel nauseated by who he is.” [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person who despises everything, especially themselves, becomes emotionally dead, numb to both good and bad feelings, living like a corpse while still alive. **In simple terms:** Self‑hatred creates emotional numbness, making one feel dead inside. Key Takeaway Recognize self‑hatred and seek compassion. Themes self‑destruction emotional numbness self‑hatred Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal crisis - therapy - relationship conflict - self‑improvement Key Concepts existentialism psychology identity Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑hatred affect your relationships? - What steps can restore self‑compassion? A Different Perspective Self‑hatred can be a coping mechanism that masks deeper pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Cadavers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cadavers/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nasty people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nasty-people/) [Negative emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative-emotions/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [This is just a nasty, nasty sport but it's a perfect storm for me because I'm a nasty man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hooker/this-is-just-a-nasty-nasty-sport-but-it-s-a-perfect-storm-for-me/) [Dan Hooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hooker/) > [“The Lawrence cottage's about three quarters of a mile up on the left. You can't miss the turnoff unless you're hiking through a storm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/the-lawrence-cottage-s-about-three-quarters-of-a-mile-up-on-the-left/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > ["Nasty Man" isn't a laughing matter, but you have to laugh anyway. The song, itself, becomes something of a laughing matter because we'd go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/nasty-man-isn-t-a-laughing-matter-but-you-have-to-laugh-anyway-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [A good man giving bad advice is more dangerous than a nasty man giving bad advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-cruise-o-brien/a-good-man-giving-bad-advice-is-more-dangerous-than-a-nasty-man/) [Conor Cruise O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-cruise-o-brien/) > [“I looked like a corpse, and not a particularly fresh corpse at that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-spain/i-looked-like-a-corpse-and-not-a-particularly-fresh-corpse-at-that/) [Emmett Spain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-spain/) > [“I felt memories rising to the surface like a corpse coming up from dark water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-felt-memories-rising-to-the-surface-like-a-corpse-coming-up-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Try to close someone's eyes like a corpse when you're bored of talking to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/try-to-close-someone-s-eyes-like-a-corpse-when-you-re-bored-of/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [But prosperity without a soul is like a corpse whose heart has stopped beating. There is no life, only consumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/but-prosperity-without-a-soul-is-like-a-corpse-whose-heart-has/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [So I lay there, my body looking like a corpse because I felt so helpless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-catalyst/so-i-lay-there-my-body-looking-like-a-corpse-because-i-felt-so/) [The Catalyst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-catalyst/) > [Since you walked out on me I'm getting lovelier by the hour. I glow like a corpse in the dark. No one sees how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-cassian/since-you-walked-out-on-me-i-m-getting-lovelier-by-the-hour-i-glow/) Nina Cassian > [“When we kill our desires we stink like any corpse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-norse/when-we-kill-our-desires-we-stink-like-any-corpse/) Harold Norse > [“A bag lady of indeterminate race pushed her belongings in a cart, on top of which she had balanced a broken-legged plastic chair and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-b-cooney/a-bag-lady-of-indeterminate-race-pushed-her-belongings-in-a-cart-on/) [Caroline B. Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-b-cooney/) > [“You’re always exhausted and you sleep like a corpse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/you-re-always-exhausted-and-you-sleep-like-a-corpse/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Float like a corpse sting like a lemon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-van-lente/float-like-a-corpse-sting-like-a-lemon/) [Fred Van Lente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-van-lente/) > [I never change, I'm like a corpse in a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/i-never-change-i-m-like-a-corpse-in-a-coffin/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) ## More by Muriel Barbery > [“Those who can, do; those who can't, teach; those who can't teach, teach the teachers; and those who can't teach the teachers go into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/those-who-can-do-those-who-can-t-teach-those-who-can-t-teach-teach/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [What is writing, no matter how lavish the pieces, if it says nothing of the truth, cares little for the heart, and is merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/what-is-writing-no-matter-how-lavish-the-pieces-if-it-says-nothing-of/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [Live or die: mere consequences of what you have built. What matters is building well. So here we are I've assigned myself a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/live-or-die-mere-consequences-of-what-you-have-built-what-matters-is/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“A terroir only exists by virtue of one's childhood mythology . . . we have invented these words of tradition rooted deep in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/a-terroir-only-exists-by-virtue-of-one-s-childhood-mythology-we-have/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“The tea ritual: such a precise repetition of the same gestures and the same tastes; accession to simple,authentic and refined sensations, a license given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/the-tea-ritual-such-a-precise-repetition-of-the-same-gestures-and-the/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [As always, I am saved by the inability of living creatures to believe anything that might cause the walls of their little mental assumptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/as-always-i-am-saved-by-the-inability-of-living-creatures-to-believe/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“I wonder if I am not turning into a contemplative . . . But those roses . They were something else. I was having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-wonder-if-i-am-not-turning-into-a-contemplative-but-those-roses/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/personally-i-think-that-grammar-is-a-way-to-attain-beauty/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [To be poor, ugly and, moreover, intelligent condemns one in our society to a dark and disillusioned life...to beauty all is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/to-be-poor-ugly-and-moreover-intelligent-condemns-one-in-our-society/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [Beautiful things should belong to beautiful souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/beautiful-things-should-belong-to-beautiful-souls/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I know that they're all unhappy because nobody loves the right person the way they should and because they don't understand that it's really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-know-that-they-re-all-unhappy-because-nobody-loves-the-right-person/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [We never look beyond our assumptions and what's worse, we have given up trying to meet others; we just meet ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/we-never-look-beyond-our-assumptions-and-what-s-worse-we-have-given/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“To rich people it must seem that the ordinary little people..experience human emotions with less intensity and greater indifference...The fact that we might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/to-rich-people-it-must-seem-that-the-ordinary-little-people/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [I may know that the world is an ugly place, I still don't want to see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-may-know-that-the-world-is-an-ugly-place-i-still-don-t-want-to-see/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain Beauty. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you’ve said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/personally-i-think-that-grammar-is-a-way-to-attain-beauty-when-you/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) [Explore all 250 Muriel Barbery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "..when I say that \"he's a truly nasty man,\" I mean he has so thoroughly renounced everything good that he might have inside him that he's already like a corpse even though he's still alive. Because truly nasty people hate everyone, to be sure, but most of all themselves. Can't you tell when a person hates himself? 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