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From: Michael Vik
Date: 9/26/2003
Time: 3:45:36 PM
Remote Name: 199.44.215.199
I do not think that true love can ever be rationalizied because it is not something that can be scientifically constructed. Love can do many things to people that force them to act in ways that are harmful to them; people, I believe, are to a certain extent, naturally lazy, yet love can force people to "go the extra mile" or to suffer untold agonies in the mind, body, and soul (naturally it can also elevate them to untold bliss, but I'm using the sorrow side to explain my point). A good example is a hopeless romantic. If Petrarch tried to, as per John's example, confess his love to his precious Laura, she would have been unable to see into his soul to determine if his love was true or just plain mania, and she would have rejected him. Regardless of the result, Petrarch would have been forced by his heart to summon up the courage to tell her his feelings in the slim hope that she would have such feelings for him. People usually do not go out of their way to suffer. Avoidance of pain and sorrow is a mental quality in everyone, which is why love can instill long-lasting sorrow (or, ideally, the greatest bliss imaginable, of course) because it is not governed by the mind. How would I know? I am a hopeless romantic, not like Petrarch, but hopeless all the same. My memories tell me this, although I have no rational method for explaining why I sometimes feel crushed. It is from this idea that I believe that love and reason do not mix.