of　mankind。　These　passions；　like　great　winds；　have　blown　me　hither　and　thither；　in　a　wayward　course；　over　a　deep　ocean　of　anguish；　reaching　to　the　verge　of　despair。

I　have　sought　love；　first；　because　it　brings　ecstasy　—　ecstasy　so　great　that　I　would　have　sacrificed　all　the　rest　of　life　for　a　few　hours　of　this　joy。　I　have　sought　it；　next；　because　it　relieves　loneliness　—　that　terrible　loneliness　in　which　one　shivering　consciousness　looks　over　the　rim　of　the　world　into　cold　unfathomable　lifeless　abyss。　I　have　sought　it；　finally；　because　in　the　union　of　love　I　have　seen；　in　a　mystic　miniature；　the　prefiguring　vision　of　the　heaven　that　saints　and　poets　have　imagined。　This　is　what　I　sought；　and　though　it　might　seem　too　good　for　human　life；　this　is　what　—　at　last　—　I　have　found。

With　equal　passion　I　have　sought　knowledge。　I　have　wished　to　understand　the　hearts　of　men。　I　have　wished　to　know　why　the　stars　shine。　And　I　have　tried　to　apprehend　the　Pythagorean　power　by　which　number　holds　away　above　the　flux。　A　little　of　this；　but　not　much；　I　have　achieved。

Love　and　knowledge；　so　far　as　they　were　possible；　led　upward　toward　the　heavens。　But　always　pity　brought　me　back　to　earth。　Echoes　of　cries　of　pain　reverberated　in　my　heart。　Children　in　famine；　victims　tortured　by　oppressors；　helpless　old　people　a　hated　burden　to　their　sons；　and　the　whole　world　of　loneliness；　poverty；　and　pain　make　a　mockery　of　what　human　life　should　be。　I　long　to　alleviate　the　evil；　but　I　cannot；