On Love 论爱情

罗素(B. Russell)

Is it better to be the lover or the loved one? Neither. By love, of course, I refer to romantic love — the love between man and woman, rather than between mother and child, or a boy and his dog, or two headwaiters.

The marvelous thing is that when one is in love there is an impulse to sing. This must be resisted at all costs, and care must also be taken to see that the ardent male doesn't “talk” the lyrics of songs. To be loved,certainly, is different from being admired, as one can be admired from afar but to really love someone it is essential to be in the same room with the person, crouching behind the drapes.

To be a really good lover, then, one must be strong and yet tender. How strong? I suppose being able to lift fifty pounds should do it. Bear in mind also that to the lover the loved one is always the most beautiful thing imaginable, even though to a stranger she may be indistinguishable from an order of smelts . Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Should the beholder have poor eyesight, he can ask the nearest person which girls look good. (Actually, the prettiest ones are almost always the most boring, and that is why some people feel there is no God.)

“The joys of love are but a moment long，” sang the troubadour , “but the pain of love endures forever.” This was almost a hit song...

- lyric [ˈlɪrɪk] n. 抒情诗

- indistinguishable [ˌɪndɪsˈtɪŋɡwɪʃəbl] a. 不可区别开的

order of smelts 普通人

- troubadour [ˈtruːbədʊər] n. 游吟诗人

爱与被爱哪个更好？两个都不好。所谓爱，当然我指的是浪漫的爱，是男女间的爱，而不是母子之爱，也不是小男孩和他的狗之爱，更不是两个餐厅领班之间的爱。

不可思议的事是恋爱中的人会有想唱歌的冲动，无论如何要忍住不唱，而且必须多加小心确保不让热情洋溢的男子用唱词“说话”。被爱，显然与被仰慕是不同的，因为被仰慕可以是遥遥相隔的，而真正爱上某人必须要和这个人待在同一个屋檐下，蜷伏在窗帘后面。

真正做个好恋人，人们就必须强壮而温存。多强壮？我认为强壮得能举起五十磅足矣。切记爱与被爱都是可以想象得到的最美的东西，即使她与普通人并无二致。情人眼中出西施。就算情人视力不佳，也可以问问近旁的人哪个姑娘长得漂亮。（其实，最美的往往总是最乏味的姑娘，为此有人认为上帝主持不公。）

“爱的欢乐只在旦夕，”游吟诗人唱道，“但爱的痛苦绵绵久长。”这几乎成了当红歌曲。

罗素(1872—1970)，英国唯心主义哲学家、数学家、逻辑学家。以他命名的“罗素悖论”，曾对20世纪的数学基础发生过重大影响。其主要著作还有《数学原理》(The Principles of Mathematics， 1903)，《心的分析》(The Analysis of Mind， 1921)，《物的分析》(The Analysis of Matter， 1927)，《西方哲学史》(A History of Western Philosophy， 1945)等。