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Quotation from Essays and Aphorisms by Arthur Schopenhauer

“it is the will to live, which, more and more embittered by the constant sufferings of existence, seeks to alleviate its own torment by causing torment in others”

Arthur Schopenhauer (spoken by Schopenhauer)

Essays and Aphorisms, On Human Nature, 'Human Nature', trans. T. Bailey Saunders (1897)

Portrait of Arthur Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer's explanation of what others call radical evil: cruelty as displaced suffering.

Citation: "it is the will to live, which, more and more embittered by the constant sufferings of existence, seeks to alleviate its own torment by causing torment in others" — Arthur Schopenhauer, Essays and Aphorisms, On Human Nature, 'Human Nature', trans. T. Bailey Saunders (1897). (id essays-and-aphorisms-q5)

Portrait: Arthur Schopenhauer by J Schäfer, 1859b, Johann Schäfer, Public domain.

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