What is an obstacle in our loving men is the love they have for themselves, which is touchy, exclusive, inordinate, tragic. We could never love them as much as that.

He who is in love with himself has at least this advantage-he won't encounter many rivals.

Our own self-love draws a thick veil between us and our faults.

Narcissus never wrote well nor was a friend.

Self-love is an idolatry. Self-hatred is a tragedy.

We prefer ourselves to others, only because we have a more intimate consciousness and confirmed opinion of our own claims and merits than of any other person's.

Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers.

We feel good and ill only in proportion to our self-love.

Simple narcissism gives the power of beasts to politicians, professional wrestlers and female movie stars.

The Europeans wanted gold and slaves, like everybody else; but at the same time they wanted statues put up to themselves as people who had done good things for the slaves.