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The ultimate goal of the arriviste’s aspirations is not to acquire a thing of value, but to be more highly esteemed than others. He merely uses the “thing” as an indifferent occasion for overcoming the oppressive feeling of inferiority which results from his constant comparisons.

— Max Scheler Das Ressentiment im Aufbau der Moralen (1912)

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More quotes by Max Scheler

The fake love of ressentiment man offers no real help, since for his perverted sense of values, evils like “sickness” and “poverty” have become goods.

Das Ressentiment im Aufbau der Moralen (1912)

The “kingdom of God” has become the “other world,” which stands mechanically beside “this world”—an opposition unknown to the strongest periods of Christianity.

Das Ressentiment im Aufbau der Moralen (1912)

We have a tendency to overcome any strong tension between desire and impotence by depreciating or denying the positive value of the desired object.

Das Ressentiment im Aufbau der Moralen (1912)

Antiquity believed that the forces of love in the universe were limited. Therefore they were to be used sparingly,and everyone was to be loved only according to his value.

Das Ressentiment im Aufbau der Moralen (1912)

All the seemingly positive valuations and judgments of ressentiment are hidden devaluations and negations.

Das Ressentiment im Aufbau der Moralen (1912)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Max Scheler (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.