This is the preface to Russell's "Autobiography"

"Why I was born"

Three simple and strong passions have dominated my life: the passion for love The desire, the pursuit of knowledge, the heartbreaking sympathy for human suffering. These passions were like hurricanes, whirling me up and down, carrying me into oceans of deep pain and pushing me into the abyss of despair.

I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy - ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed the rest of my life for this fleeting joy. I have sought love, next, because it brings loneliness--the presence of unbearable loneliness. One's trembling eyes will glance over the edge of the world, into the cold and unfathomable lifeless abyss. I seek love, also, because in the union of love I see a mysterious miniature of the paradise described in the dreams of sages and poets of ancient and modern times. This is the state I seek, and although it may seem too wonderful for human life, it is what I ultimately find in love.

I pursue knowledge with the same passion. I want to understand the human heart. I want to know why the stars shine. I tried to understand the Pythagorean power that made numbers the essence of a changing world. I have gained something in this regard, but not much.

Love and knowledge, in their fullest potential, lift me to heaven. But compassion always brings me back to the earth of reality. Those cries of pain echoed in my heart. The children who starve, the unfortunates who are bullied by the oppressors, the helpless old people who are regarded as a disgusting burden by their children, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty and pain, are nothing more than an ideal for human life. ridicule. I long to alleviate the suffering, but there is nothing I can do and I suffer the consequences myself.

This is my life. I think I have not lived in vain. If God gives me a chance, I will happily live like this for the rest of my life.

(Translated by Xu Youyu)