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In accordance with my conception of life, I have chosen not to bring children into the world. A coin is examined, and only after careful deliberation, given to a beggar, whereas a child is flung out into the cosmic brutality without hesitation.

— Peter Wessel Zapffe The Humorous Pessimist (1990)

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More quotes by Peter Wessel Zapffe

Each new generation asks – What is the meaning of life? A more fertile way of putting the question would be – Why does man need a meaning to life?

The Humorous Pessimist (1990)

To bear children into this world is like carrying wood into a burning house.

No future triumph or metamorphosis can justify the pitiful blighting of a human being against his will.

For me, a desert island is no tragedy, neither is a deserted planet.

The seed of a metaphysical or religious defeat is in us all. For the honest questioner, however, who doesn’t seek refuge in some faith or fantasy, there will never be an answer.

The Humorous Pessimist (1990)

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Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This pleases me.

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So what if a kid dies? God will take care of him.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev

Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.

Rabindranath Tagore Stray Birds (1916)

Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.

Thomas Szasz The Second Sin (1973)

Attribution

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