《朱子語類》卷一二六：釋氏以生為寄，故要見得父母未生時面目。黃蘗一僧有偈與其母雲：“先時寄宿此婆家”；止以父母之身為寄宿處，其無情義、滅絕天性可知！蓋不知孔丘家兒早有“寄物”、“寄盛”之喻，較“寄宿”更簿情也。古希臘詩人亦謂：“汝曷不思汝父何以得汝乎！汝身不過來自情慾一餉、不淨一滴耳”（If thou rememberest, O man how thy father sowed thee……Thou art sprung from incontinent lust and a filthy drop）①。後世詩文中，習見不鮮，舉數例以概。十七世紀英國名作：“汝子被訶，倘不服而反唇曰：'何故生我？我初未乞求誕生也！'汝將奚如？”（what if thy son／prove disobedient, and, reproved , retort, /“Wherefore didst thou beget me？I sought it not！”）②；又一劇二角色相語，甲雲：“若翁生汝，汝則殺之，足以報施，”（Cutting his throat was a very gund return for his begetting you）乙答：“老革初未嘗計及生我，渠只自述快意耳。”（, Twas for his own sake, he ne'er thought of me in the business） ③《海外軒渠錄》言小人國法令謂父母生子女出於情慾（by the motives of concupiscence），故子女於親不必有恩義（obligation）④。當世波蘭小說中母誡未嫁女毋外遇致有孕，曰“吾不欲家中忽添嬰兒”（But I don't want a kid here），女怫然答：“汝之生我，幾會先事詢我願不乎!”（You didn't ask me if I wanted to be born）⑤；一意大利小說中母責女曰：“汝對阿父語，不得如此。”（Guarda che non dovresti ripondere cosi a tuo padre） 女藐之（alzava le spalle）曰：“我初未求出世，汝二人專擅，遽使我生。”（Io non avevo chiesto di venire al mondo. Mi ci avete fatta vemire）⑥吾國舊號“孝治”，故率言如孔融者不多耳⑦。
另一方面，以父母立場發言的，錢鍾書也別有舉例：
十八世紀英國才婦（Lady Mary Wortley Montagu）致其女（the Countess of Bute）書曰：“汝不必感我誕育為人， 正如我不謝汝惠臨出世。俗見多妄，每以孝思繩子女，吾生平絕口未嘗道之。”（You are no more obliged to me for bringing you into the world, than I am to you for coming into it, and I never, never made use of that commonplace（and like most commonplace , false）argument, as exacting any return of affection-Letters.“Everyman's Library”, 400）母久劬勞，而持此論，尤罕事也。
