He who feels, ‘I am in possession of the truth'—how many possessions does he not renounce in order to save this feeling! What would he not throw overboard in order to stay ‘on top'—that is, above the others who lack ‘the truth'! The state in which we hurt others is certainly seldom as agreeable, in an unadulterated way, as that in which we benefit others; it is a sign that we are still lacking power, or it betrays a frustration in the face of this poverty; it brings new dangers and uncertainties to the power we do possess and clouds our horizon with the prospect of revenge, scorn, punishment, failure. Only to the most irritable and covetous adherents of the feeling of power—to those for whom the sight of those who are already subjected (the objects of benevolence) is a burden and boredom—might it be more pleasurable to imprint the seal of power on the reluctant. It depends on how one is accustomed to spice one's life; it is a matter of taste whether one prefers the slow or the sudden, the safe or the dangerous and daring increase in power—one always this or that spice according to one's temperament.

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