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We come from an inconceivable nothingness. We stay a while in something which seems equally inconceivable, only to vanish again into the inconceivable nothingness.

— 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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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.