 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Interwoven with many other political motives are two closely related passions to which human beings are regrettably prone: I mean fear and hate. It is normal to hate what we fear, and it happens frequently, though not always, that we fear what we hate. ...
We love those who hate our enemies, and if we had no enemies there would be very few people whom we should love.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, part II: The Conflict of Passions, chapter ２: Politically important desires, n.12
More info.：https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-2_0212.htm
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Dialogue with ChrGPT
Me: “We love those who hate our enemies, and if we had no enemies there would be very few people whom we should love. And if we had no enemies there would be very few people whom we should love.” I believe that this would be the case. But is this a sentence that correctly expresses Russell's sentiment? I would translate it better as “prefer” rather than “love”...?
ChatGPT:.
You pointed out, “We love those who hate their enemies. And if we had no enemies, we would have very few people to love.” is certainly a straightforward translation of the English sentence to Japanese, and it is not incorrect in meaning. However, it may require some work to determine whether this translation fully and accurately expresses Bertrand Russell's sentiments and intentions.
Russell is here critically describing human psychological tendencies and social mechanisms in a love-hate relationship. In other words, what he is trying to say is the ironic reality that having enemies has become the foundation of love. Given that background, the tone of this text is somewhat critical and dispassionate in its observations.
Therefore, a translation that captures a bit more of its nuance might more accurately convey Russell's sentiment:
We feel affection for those who hate their enemies. And if our enemies did not exist, there would be few objects for us to love.”
This translation says “we feel attachment” rather than “we love,” emphasizing that Russell's intention is not “simple affection,” but rather the mechanics of certain human relationships. Also, by stating “will almost be gone,” we intend to highlight the ironic reality that Russell suggests.
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