《三種激情》是選自《伯特蘭·羅素自傳》的一篇優(yōu)秀散文。它既是作者心靈的抒發(fā)，也是生命體驗(yàn)的總結(jié)。作者以深刻的感悟和敏銳的目光，分析了人生中的三種激情，即對(duì)愛(ài)的渴望，對(duì)知識(shí)的追求和對(duì)人類(lèi)苦難的同情。對(duì)愛(ài)的渴望，使人欣喜若狂，既能解除孤獨(dú)，又能發(fā)現(xiàn)美好的未來(lái)。對(duì)知識(shí)的追求，使人理解人心，了解宇宙，掌握科學(xué)。愛(ài)和知識(shí)把人引向天堂般的境界，而對(duì)人類(lèi)的同情之心又使人回到苦難深重的人間。作者認(rèn)為這就是人生，值得為此再活一次的人生。這篇散文似乎信手拈來(lái)，但卻耐人尋味。充滿(mǎn)激情，充滿(mǎn)感慨，充滿(mǎn)智慧，情文并茂，邏輯性和感染力極強(qiáng)。
Three passions
Three passions，simple but overwhelmingly strong，have governed my life：the longing for love，the search for knowledge，and unbearable pity for the suffering 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 very verge of despair.
I have sought love，first，because it brings ecstasy–ecstasy so great that I would often 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 the 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 tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flu. 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 reverberate 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，and I too suffer.
This has been my life. I have found it worth living，and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.
三種激情——羅素
三種激情雖然簡(jiǎn)單，卻異常強(qiáng)烈，它們統(tǒng)治著我的生命，那便是：對(duì)愛(ài)的渴望，對(duì)知識(shí)的追求，以及對(duì)人類(lèi)苦難的難以承受的同情。這三種激情像變化莫測(cè)的狂風(fēng)任意地把我刮來(lái)刮去，把我刮入痛苦的深海，到了絕望的邊緣。
我曾經(jīng)尋找愛(ài)，首先是因?yàn)樗�能使我欣喜若�?mdash;—這種喜悅之情如此強(qiáng)烈，使我常常寧愿為這幾個(gè)小時(shí)的愉悅而犧牲生命中的其他一切。我尋求愛(ài)，其次是因?yàn)閻?ài)能解除孤獨(dú)——在這種可怕的孤獨(dú)中，一顆顫抖的良心在世界的邊緣，注視著下面冰涼、毫無(wú)生氣、望不見(jiàn)底的深淵。我尋求愛(ài)還因?yàn)樵趷?ài)的融合中，我能以某種神秘的圖像看到曾被圣人和詩(shī)人想象過(guò)的天堂里未來(lái)的景象。這就是我所追求的東西，雖然這似乎對(duì)于人類(lèi)的生命來(lái)說(shuō)過(guò)于完美，但這確實(shí)是我最終發(fā)現(xiàn)的東西。我懷著同樣的激情去尋找知識(shí)，我曾渴望著理解人心，我曾渴望知道為何星星會(huì)閃爍，我還企圖弄懂畢達(dá)哥拉斯所謂的用數(shù)字控制變化的力量，但在這方面，我只知道一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。
愛(ài)的力量和知識(shí)的力量引我接近天堂，但同情之心往往又把我拉回大地。痛苦的哭泣回響、震蕩在我的心中。饑餓的兒童，被壓迫、受折磨的人們，成為兒孫們討厭的包袱的、無(wú)助的老人們，充斥著整個(gè)世界的孤獨(dú)的氣氛，貧窮和苦難，所有這一切都是對(duì)人類(lèi)生活原本該具有的樣子所作的諷刺。我渴望消除一切邪惡，但我辦不到，因?yàn)槲易约阂蔡幱诳嚯y之中。這就是我的生活，我認(rèn)為值得一過(guò)。而且，如果有第二次機(jī)會(huì)，我將樂(lè)意地再過(guò)一次。