“Better to never have been born!” This pessimistic declaration has been made at various points in the history of human thought, becoming a true philosophical system beginning with Arthur Schopenhauer in the nineteenth century. It was repeated by various philosophers in subsequent decades, though rarely with the tragic passion of Emil Cioran (1911-1995). A solitary philosopher, Cioran was born in Romania but spent most of his career in Paris, where he moved at the age of 26 and where he remained until his death.
