The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it.
The first line of V.S. Naipaul’s A Bend in the River is very provocative. Naipaul spares no one any pity or compassion in his portrayal of a brutal world. But, I am not sure that I would fully agree.
Grave Error 
I’ll limit my expressions.
I concur with the gentleman author. As would Machiavelli.