Arthur Schopenhauer

Unless suffering is the direct and immediate object of life, our existence must entirely fail of its aim. It is absurd to look upon the enormous amount of pain that abounds everywhere in the world, and originates in needs and necessities inseparable from life itself, as serving no purpose at all and the result of mere chance. Each separate misfortune, as it comes, seems, no doubt, to be something exceptional; but misfortune in general is the rule.

-- 

While no man is much to be envied for his lot, there are countless numbers whose fate is to be deplored.

--

Life is a task to be done. It is a fine thing to say defunctus est; it means that the man has done his task.

--

If children were brought into the world by an act of pure reason alone, would the human race continue to exist? Would not a man rather have so much sympathy with the coming generation as to spare it the burden of existence? or at any rate not take it upon himself to impose that burden upon it in cold blood.

-- 

All the misery and horrors whereof the world is full are merely the necessary result of all the characters in which the will-to-live objectifies itself under circumstances which occur on the unbroken chain of necessity and furnish the characters with motives. Those horrors and misery are, therefore, the mere commentary to the affirmation of the will-to-live. That our existence itself implies a guilt is proved by death.