--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is greatly desired, but long…" description: "\"What is greatly desired, but long deferred, gives little pleasure, when at length it is ours, for we have lived with it in imagination until we have gr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_giving_what-is-greatly-desired-but-long-deferre_471553.png" --- # What is greatly desired, but long deferred, gives little… ![“What is greatly desired, but long deferred, gives little pleasure, when at length it is ours, for we have lived with it in imagination until we have grown weary of it, having ourselves, in the meanwhile, become other.” quote by John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_giving_what-is-greatly-desired-but-long-deferre_471553.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_giving_what-is-greatly-desired-but-long-deferre_471553.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/john-lancaster-spalding-3115_giving_what-is-greatly-desired-but-long-deferre_471553.png) > “What is greatly desired, but long deferred, gives little pleasure, when at length it is ours, for we have lived with it in imagination until we have grown weary of it, having ourselves, in the meanwhile, become other.” [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desiring something for a long time can become a source of disappointment when finally attained, because imagination has already exhausted its appeal. **In simple terms:** Long‑awaited desires lose their charm after fulfillment. Key Takeaway Savor the present, not just the imagined future. Themes desire disappointment imagination Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - career goals - relationships - material possessions - personal aspirations Key Concepts psychology expectation hedonic adaptation Questions to Reflect On - Do you often idealize outcomes before they happen? - How can you stay present while pursuing goals? A Different Perspective Even when achieved, the reality may not match the fantasy, leading to emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) ## Related quotes > [By default, most of us have taken the dare to simply survive. Exist. Get through. 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To him, there seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/his-gaze-against-the-sweeping-of-the-bars-has-grown-so-weary-it-can/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [For there 's nae luck about the house, There 's nae luck at a'; There 's little pleasure in the house When our gudeman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-julius-mickle/for-there-s-nae-luck-about-the-house-there-s-nae-luck-at-a-there-s/) William Julius Mickle > [“Judge me if you must, but keep in mind how very little pleasure I could have possibly derived from a one-thrust sex session, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-madison/judge-me-if-you-must-but-keep-in-mind-how-very-little-pleasure-i/) [Kate Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-madison/) > [Women find little pleasure in the society of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-desmond/women-find-little-pleasure-in-the-society-of-women/) [Arthur Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-desmond/) > [Pity aims just as little at the pleasure of others as malice at the pain of others Per-Se.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pity-aims-just-as-little-at-the-pleasure-of-others-as-malice-at-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There is little pleasure in the world that is true and sincere beside the pleasure of doing our duty and doing good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/there-is-little-pleasure-in-the-world-that-is-true-and-sincere-beside/) [John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/) > [You have to be a lover of books without expecting more of them than they give - a little pleasure, a little insight, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/you-have-to-be-a-lover-of-books-without-expecting-more-of-them-than/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) ## More by John Lancaster Spalding > [In giving us dominion over the animal kingdom God has signified His will that we subdue the beast within ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/in-giving-us-dominion-over-the-animal-kingdom-god-has-signified-his/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [To think profoundly, to seek and speak truth, to love justice and denounce wrong is to draw upon one's self the ill will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/to-think-profoundly-to-seek-and-speak-truth-to-love-justice-and/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [There is some lack either of sense or of character in one who becomes involved in difficulties with the worthless or the vicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/there-is-some-lack-either-of-sense-or-of-character-in-one-who-becomes/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Worry, whatever its source, weakens, takes away courage, and shortens life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/worry-whatever-its-source-weakens-takes-away-courage-and-shortens-life/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [The zest of life lies in right doing, not in the garnered harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-zest-of-life-lies-in-right-doing-not-in-the-garnered-harvest/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [They who can no longer unlearn have lost the power to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/they-who-can-no-longer-unlearn-have-lost-the-power-to-learn/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [What we think out for ourselves forms channels in which other thoughts will flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/what-we-think-out-for-ourselves-forms-channels-in-which-other/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Women are aristocrats, and it is always the mother who makes us feel that we belong to the better sort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/women-are-aristocrats-and-it-is-always-the-mother-who-makes-us-feel/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Though what we accept be true, it is a prejudice unless we ourselves have considered and understood why and how it is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/though-what-we-accept-be-true-it-is-a-prejudice-unless-we-ourselves/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [There are few things it is more important to learn than how to live on little and be therewith content: for the less we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/there-are-few-things-it-is-more-important-to-learn-than-how-to-live/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [We are more disturbed by a calamity which threatens us than by one which has befallen us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/we-are-more-disturbed-by-a-calamity-which-threatens-us-than-by-one/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Be watchful lest thou lose the power of desiring and loving what appeals to the soul this is the miser's curse this the chain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/be-watchful-lest-thou-lose-the-power-of-desiring-and-loving-what/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [The exercise of authority is odious, and they who know how to govern, leave it in abeyance as much as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-exercise-of-authority-is-odious-and-they-who-know-how-to-govern/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [We may outgrow the things of children, without acquiring sense and relish for those which become a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/we-may-outgrow-the-things-of-children-without-acquiring-sense-and/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [They who see through the eyes of others are controlled by the will of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/they-who-see-through-the-eyes-of-others-are-controlled-by-the-will-of/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) [Explore all 139 John Lancaster Spalding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. 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