Self-abasement is the antithesis of morality. If a man has acted immorally, but
regrets it and wants to atone for it, it is not self-abasement that prompts
him, but some remnant of love for moral values—and it is not self-abasement
that he expresses, but a longing to regain his self-esteem. Humility is not a
recognition of one’s failings, but a rejection of morality. “I am no good” is a
statement that may be uttered only in the past tense. To say: “I am no good” is
to declare: “—and I never intend to be any better.”