--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who is drawn to something desirable…" description: "\"He who is drawn to something desirable does not desire to have it as a thought but as a thing.\" — Thomas Aquinas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/thomas-aquinas-837_desirable_he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-d_3232790.jpg" --- # He who is drawn to something desirable does not desire to… ![“He who is drawn to something desirable does not desire to have it as a thought but as a thing.” quote by Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/thomas-aquinas-837_desirable_he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-d_3232790.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/thomas-aquinas-837_desirable_he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-d_3232790.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/thomas-aquinas-837_desirable_he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-d_3232790.jpg) > “He who is drawn to something desirable does not desire to have it as a thought but as a thing.” [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire for something valuable should be directed toward its actual existence, not merely an abstract idea. **In simple terms:** Wanting something should aim for its real presence, not just thought. Key Takeaway Seek tangible fulfillment, not empty longing. Themes desire reality philosophy Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal goals - material acquisition - spiritual practice Key Concepts metaphysics ethical intention Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between wanting and needing? - What actions turn desire into reality? A Different Perspective Focusing on the idea may neglect practical steps to obtain it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desirable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desirable/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-thought-606990/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Does Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does-desire-980772/) [Drawn Desirable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawn-desirable-6122249/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ## Related quotes > [Does desire melt away with age? Im waiting for that day to come. Sexual desire is like aging, A lot of it is up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/does-desire-melt-away-with-age-im-waiting-for-that-day-to-come-sexual/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [“An honest man does not desire until he has identified the object of his desire. He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/an-honest-man-does-not-desire-until-he-has-identified-the-object-of/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [After all, conflict arises, does it not, through the desire to be something, to be other than what is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/after-all-conflict-arises-does-it-not-through-the-desire-to-be/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Three silences there are: the first of speech, the second of desire, the third of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/three-silences-there-are-the-first-of-speech-the-second-of-desire-the/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [I have absolutely no desire and no thought of quitting ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-cook/i-have-absolutely-no-desire-and-no-thought-of-quitting-ever/) [Barbara Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-cook/) > [ \[I\]t is rather the case that we desire something because we believe it to be good than that we believe a thing to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/i-t-is-rather-the-case-that-we-desire-something-because-we-believe-it/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Whenever you go out-of-doors, draw the chin in, carry the crown of the head high, and fill the lungs to the utmost; drink in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/whenever-you-go-out-of-doors-draw-the-chin-in-carry-the-crown-of-the-2/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Picture in your mind the able, earnest, useful person you desire to be, and the thought you hold is hourly transforming you into that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/picture-in-your-mind-the-able-earnest-useful-person-you-desire-to-be/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [“The desire to be desire-less is but another desire. The thought that, because this desire purports to be spiritual, it is superior to more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kramer/the-desire-to-be-desire-less-is-but-another-desire-the-thought-that/) [Joel Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kramer/) > [The desire to be thought clever often prevents a man from becoming so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-desire-to-be-thought-clever-often-prevents-a-man-from-becoming-so/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [It may well happen that what is in itself the more certain on account of the weakness of our intelligence, which is dazzled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/it-may-well-happen-that-what-is-in-itself-the-more-certain-on-account/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Desire itself is movement Not in itself desirable; Love is itself unmoving, Only the cause and end of movement, Timeless, and undesiring Except in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/desire-itself-is-movement-not-in-itself-desirable-love-is-itself/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Let your desire for truth transcend all minor considerations. Ignorance is invariably confident. The man of knowledge learns to realize his own needs. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grenville-kleiser/let-your-desire-for-truth-transcend-all-minor-considerations/) [Grenville Kleiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grenville-kleiser/) > [I'm happy to be considered desirable. I love it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-happy-to-be-considered-desirable-i-love-it/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) ## More by Thomas Aquinas > [Grace does not destroy nature, it perfects it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/grace-does-not-destroy-nature-it-perfects-it/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Justice is in subjects as well as in rulers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/justice-is-in-subjects-as-well-as-in-rulers/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“A capacity as such is directed to an act. Wherefore we seek to know the nature of a capacity from the act to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/a-capacity-as-such-is-directed-to-an-act-wherefore-we-seek-to-know/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“Yet no-one can say that God has not a Word, for it would follow that God is most foolish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/yet-no-one-can-say-that-god-has-not-a-word-for-it-would-follow-that/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Unbelief is the greatest of sins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/unbelief-is-the-greatest-of-sins/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [If forgers and malefactors are put to death by the secular power, there is much more reason for excommunicating and even putting to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/if-forgers-and-malefactors-are-put-to-death-by-the-secular-power/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [When fear is excessive it can make many a man despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/when-fear-is-excessive-it-can-make-many-a-man-despair/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Now, nothing can be brought from potentiality to actual existence except through something actually existing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/now-nothing-can-be-brought-from-potentiality-to-actual-existence/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [To convert somebody go and take them by the hand and guide them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/to-convert-somebody-go-and-take-them-by-the-hand-and-guide-them/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [ By the divine providence \[animals\] are intended for man's use... Hence it is not wrong for man to make use of them, either by… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/by-the-divine-providence-animals-are-intended-for-man-s-use-hence-it/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“What causes love, since it is a passion, is its object; and since it is a sort of affinity or agreement with the object,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/what-causes-love-since-it-is-a-passion-is-its-object-and-since-it-is/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [The image of God always abides in the soul, whether this image be obsolete and clouded over as to amount to almost nothing; or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-image-of-god-always-abides-in-the-soul-whether-this-image-be/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Charity, by which God and neighbor are loved, is the most perfect friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/charity-by-which-god-and-neighbor-are-loved-is-the-most-perfect/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Beauty adds to goodness a relation to the cognitive faculty: so that "good" means that which simply pleases the appetite; while the "beautiful" is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/beauty-adds-to-goodness-a-relation-to-the-cognitive-faculty-so-that/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“God is not, like creatures, made up of parts. God is spirit, without bodily dimensions. Firstly, no body can cause change without itself being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/god-is-not-like-creatures-made-up-of-parts-god-is-spirit-without/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) [Explore all 357 Thomas Aquinas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) ## More Desirable quotes > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I'm happy to be considered desirable. I love it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-happy-to-be-considered-desirable-i-love-it/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [It was both necessary and desirable for us to be so strong at sea that no Sea Power could attack us without risk, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-von-bulow/it-was-both-necessary-and-desirable-for-us-to-be-so-strong-at-sea/) [Bernhard von Bulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-von-bulow/) > [Things to be done offer themselves, I suppose, because they are in themselves desirable; not because it is desirable to have something to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/things-to-be-done-offer-themselves-i-suppose-because-they-are-in/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [The goal in raising one's child is to enable him, first, to discover who he wants to be, and then to become a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-bettelheim/the-goal-in-raising-one-s-child-is-to-enable-him-first-to-discover/) [Bruno Bettelheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-bettelheim/) > [“The great thing about facts is that you don't have to ponder whether they're desirable or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesb/the-great-thing-about-facts-is-that-you-don-t-have-to-ponder-whether/) [Jo Nesbø](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesb/) > [What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/what-seems-so-necessary-today-may-not-even-be-desirable-tomorrow/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I don't just live to work because I don't think that's healthy or desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harris-dickinson/i-don-t-just-live-to-work-because-i-don-t-think-that-s-healthy-or/) [Harris Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harris-dickinson/) > [Common sense is both more rare and more desirable in leaders than mere intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/common-sense-is-both-more-rare-and-more-desirable-in-leaders-than/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When the desirable jobs are spending other people's money, reporting on spending other people's money and lobbying to spend other people's money then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-worstall/when-the-desirable-jobs-are-spending-other-people-s-money-reporting/) [Tim Worstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-worstall/) > [Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power. Let us, through persuasion and education, seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/social-and-cultural-change-however-desirable-should-not-be-effected/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [To me the function of politics is to make possible the desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/to-me-the-function-of-politics-is-to-make-possible-the-desirable/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [It is the common calamity of old age to lose whatever might have rendered it desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-is-the-common-calamity-of-old-age-to-lose-whatever-might-have/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Desire itself is movement Not in itself desirable; Love is itself unmoving, Only the cause and end of movement, Timeless, and undesiring Except in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/desire-itself-is-movement-not-in-itself-desirable-love-is-itself/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Rhythm is born in all of us. To be a desirable dancing partner, you don't have to do all the intricate fancy steps that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-rogers/rhythm-is-born-in-all-of-us-to-be-a-desirable-dancing-partner-you-don/) [Ginger Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-rogers/) [Browse all 509 Desirable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desirable/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who is drawn to something desirable does not desire to have it as a thought but as a thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Aquinas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-does-not-desire-to-have-it-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desirable" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-does-not-desire-to-have-it-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/thomas-aquinas-837_desirable_he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-d_3232790.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/thomas-aquinas-837_desirable_he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-d_3232790.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/thomas-aquinas-837_desirable_he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-d_3232790.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who is drawn to something desirable does not desire to have it as a thought but as a thing.” — Thomas Aquinas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Aquinas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He who is drawn to something...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-does-not-desire-to-have-it-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/he-who-is-drawn-to-something-desirable-does-not-desire-to-have-it-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```