; the wise man can set a puzzle for all the spectators to solve: what has that person lost? Some one thinks it is a watch; another thinks it is a diamond brooch; and others will essay other guesses。 After all the guesses have failed; the wise man who really doesn’t know what the person is seeking after; tells the pany; “I’ll tell you。 He has lost some breath。” And no one can deny that he is right。 So we often forget out true self in the pursuit of living; like a bird forgetting its own danger in pursuit of a mantis; which again forgets its own danger in pursuit of another prey; as is so beautifully expressed in a parable by Chuangtse。
我為何而生
伯特蘭?羅素
對愛的期望,對知識的追求以及對人類苦難的深切憐憫之心——這三種質樸而不可抗拒的情感主宰著我的生活。這些情感像一陣陣颶風,把我吹得飄來蕩去,穿過痛苦的海洋,抵達絕望的彼岸。
我曾追尋過愛,首先是因為愛可以使人欣喜若狂——它讓人如此高興。為了這片刻的快樂,我寧願拿我的餘生作為犧牲;我曾追尋過愛,其次是因為它能排解人孤獨的感覺——置身於這無比可怕的孤獨中,那讓人戰慄的感覺,會掠過這個世界的邊緣,把人帶入那無聲無息而且寒氣逼人的無底深淵。我曾追尋過愛,還因為在愛的結合、在這神秘的縮影中,我看到了聖人和詩人們曾經幻想的天堂美景。我追尋的正是如此。儘管對凡人而言,這世間好像是一種奢望,但這是我最終所尋覓的。
帶著同樣的情感,我曾追尋過知識。我曾希望對人類的心靈有所瞭解,我曾想知道星辰為什麼會發光,我曾試圖理解畢達哥拉斯的力量,他認為數的力量駕馭著萬物的變化。我得到了為數不多的一點知識。
愛和知識可以把人帶入天堂。但是憐憫之心又常常把我拉回塵世之中,我的心中激盪著痛苦的呼喚。嗷嗷待哺的孩子、受壓迫者折磨的受害者、孤苦無助的老人——他們是兒女們憎惡的負擔。還有那充滿著孤獨、貧窮和痛苦的世界,都在嘲弄著人類生活本應有的美好。我渴望減少人間的邪惡,對此卻無能為力,因此也承受著煎熬。
這就是我的生活,我覺得值得活下去。如果天賜良機,我願意再快樂地活一次。
What I Have Lived For
Bertrand Russell
Three passions; simple but overwhelmingly strong; have governed my life: the longing for love; the search for knowledge; and unbearable pity for the suffering