Of Love

The stage is more beholding to love, than the life of man.

For as to the stage, love is ever matter of comedies, and now and then of  tragedies; but in the life it doth much mischief; sometimes like a siren, sometimes like a fury.

You may observe, that amongst all the great and worthy persons(whereof the memory remaineth, either ancient or recent) there is not one, that hath been transported to the mad degree of love: which shows that great spirits, and great business, do keep out this weak passion. you must except, nevertheless, Marcus Antonius, the half partner of the emprie of Rome, and Appius Claudius, the decemvir and voluptuous man, and inordinate; but the later was an austere and wise man: and therefore it seems (though rarely) that love can find entrance, not only into an open heart, but also into a heart well fortified, if watch be not well kept.

It is a poor saying of Epicurus, "Satis magnum alter alteri thearum sumus". As if man, made for the comtemplation of heaven, and all noble objects, should do nothing but kneel before a little idol, and make himself a subject, though not of the mouth (as beasts are), yet of the eye; which is given him for higher purposes.

It is a strange thing, to note the excess of this passion, and now it braves the nature, and value of things, by this; that the speaking in a perpetual hyperbole, is comely in nothing but in love. Neither is it merely in the phrase; for whereas it hath been well said, that the arch-flatterer, with whom all the petty flatterers have intelligence, is a man's self; certainly the lover is more. for there was never pround man thought so absurdly well of himself, as the lover doth of person loved; and therefore it was well said. that it is impossible to love, and to be wise. Neither doth this weakness appear to others only, and not to the party loved; but to the loved most of all, except the love be reciproque. For it is true rule, that love is ever rewarded, either with the reciproque, or with an inward and secret contempt.

By how much the more, men ought to beware of this passion, which loseth not only other things, but itself! As for the oter losses, the poet's relation doth well figure them: that he that preferred Helena, quitted the gifts of Juno and Pallas. For whosoever esteemeth too much of amorous affection, quitteth both riches and wisdom.

I hnow not how, but martial men are given to love: I think, it is but as they are given to wine; for periles commonly ask to be paid in pleasures.

There is in man's nature, a secret inclination and motion, towards love of others, wich if it be not spent upon some one or a few, doth naturally spread itself towards many, and makethemen become humane and charitable; as it is seen sometime in friars.

Nuptial love maketh mankind; friendly love perfecteth it; but wanton love corrupteth, and embaseth it.

论爱情
弗朗西斯.培根
   舞台上的爱情往往要比生活中的爱情美好得多.因为在舞台上,爱情只是喜剧和悲剧的素材.但在人生中,爱情却常常招致不幸,它有时像那诱人的魔女,有时又像那复仇的女神.
   你应该看到,一切真正伟大的人物(无论是古代的还是现代的,,只要是其英名能永远铭记于人类记忆中的),没有一个是因为爱情而发狂的,完成伟大事业的人中只有罗马的安东尼和克劳底亚是例外.虽然前者本性荒淫好色,但后者却足智多谋.这说明爱情不仅能占领开明广阔的胸怀,而且也能闯入壁垒森严的心灵——要是你抵御不严的话。
   伊壁鸠鲁曾说过这样的一句蠢话：“人生不过是一场戏。”似乎人类不应去努力追求高尚的事业，而只应像玩偶般的逢场作戏。虽然做爱情的奴隶和那些只顾吃喝的禽兽不同，但毕竟也只是做皮肉色相的奴隶，而上帝赐予人眼睛是有更高尚的用途的。
   过渡追求爱情，必然会损害人本身的价值。例如，只有在爱情中，那些浮夸献媚的辞令才大行其道。而在其他场合，这样的辞令只能招人耻笑。古热有一句名言：人们总是把最大的奉承留给自己。——只有对情人的奉承要算例外。因为甚至那些最骄傲的人，也甘愿在情人面前自轻自贱。所以古人说的好即使载爱情中也难保持聪明。情人这种弱点不仅在外人眼中是明显的，就是在被追求者的眼中也会很明显——除非她（他）也在追求他（她）。所以爱情的代价就是如此，如果得不到回爱，就会等到心底深藏的轻蔑，这是永恒的真理。
   由此可见，人们应当对这种感情十分警惕。因为它不但会使人丧失其地，而且可以使人类迷失自我，甚至造成更重大的损失。古代诗人造就告诉过我们，那些海伦娜的追求者，舍弃了朱诺（天后，主神朱比特之妻，相当于希腊神话中的赫拉）和帕拉斯（即智慧女神雅典娜）的天赐，因为怀有炙热恋情的人总是不惜放弃财富和智慧。
   不知为什么，许多军人会更容易堕入情网，也许这正如他们嗜酒一样，危险的生活更需要欢乐的补偿。
   人们心中可能普遍都有一种博爱的倾向，若不是集中于某个专一对象的身上，就必将施于更广泛的大众，他将成为仁善的人，像有的僧侣那样。
   夫妻的爱，可以使人类繁衍；朋友的爱可以给人以帮助；二那时人荒淫纵欲的爱，就只会使人堕落毁灭！

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