I am not proud; I am simply a man who has suffered, and who has resolved that others shall suffer in their turn.
He rejects the label “pride” and names his motive plainly: reciprocity of pain. The antithesis (“not proud / resolved”) turns character judgment into purpose statement. It’s chilling because it’s tidy—suffering made into policy. The line shows how hurt can harden into math. Emotionally, readers grasp the honesty and the danger. Without love, this program would be a machine. The book keeps asking whether justice can stay human.