Mala’s Reviews > I Am Jonathan Scrivener > Status Update

Our desire, like a butterfly, is alluring only while it eludes. Captured, it is a dead thing through which we stick a pin. We multiply our wants because each possession in turn disappoints us, yet we lack the courage to admit the futility of the chase. (249)

It is remarkably easy to gain a theoretical triumph over an imaginary temptation. So easy, in fact, that our speculations as to what we should do, or should not do, in any given circumstances are not worth anything at all. Ordeal by experience is the only test. (238)