The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

aid of a French Chinese grammar, after learning
French for the purpose, gradually managed to
decipher them, thereby acquiring a new interest in
life though he never used his Chinese knowledge
for other purposes. I have known men who were
entirely absorbed in the endeavour to find out all
about the Gnostic heresy, and other men whose
principal interest lay in collating the manuscripts
and early editions of Hobbes. It is quite impossible
to guess in advance what will interest a man, but
most men are capable of a keen interest in
something or other, and when once such an interest
has been aroused their life becomes free from
tedium. Very specialised interests are, however, a
less satisfactory source of happiness than a general
zest for life, since they can hardly fill the whole of
a man’s time, and there is always the danger that he
may come to know all there is to know about the
particular matter that has become his hobby.
It will be remembered that among our different
types at the banquet we included the gormandiser,
whom we were not prepared to praise. The reader