Garden of the Hospital in Arles

Garden of the Hospital in Arles, Vincent van Gogh

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Luncheon of the Boating Party, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

This is a favorite of practically everyone, with good reason.

I completely agree with the sentiments of actor Edward G. Robinson who said, "For over thirty years I made periodic visits to Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party in a Washington museum, and stood before that magnificent masterpiece hour after hour, day after day, plotting ways to steal it."

For a wonderful look at who all these people are, check the link above.

Lord of the Rings — Resources for Digging Deeper

Some of my favorite resources for opening up the Lord of the Rings. (For resources on The Hobbit, look here.)

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AUDIOBOOKS
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Listening to the audiobooks along with the Tolkien Professor (below) is what helped me get through The Lord of the Rings the first time. At that time the only option were the Rob Inglis recordings. They are beloved by many although I never felt they were more than serviceable. 

Much more recently Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the movies, demonstrated his other talents by recording The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These are masterful readings and I highly recommend them.

Listen to both and you'll find your own perfect audio entry into The Lord of the Rings.

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MY ESSENTIALS
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These are the resources that brought the book alive for me
Your milage may vary. (Which is why I have plenty of other options below!)

The Tolkien Professor

Undergraduate Tolkien Survey

This is what began opening up The Lord of the Rings for me. After listening to these recordings of Corey Olsen's class, I was determined to read the book, despite having failed several times to get further than The Fellowship of the Ring. Thanks to the audiobooks and these classes, I did it! I've now read it over 10 times.

Download the classes from the link above. They are clearly labeled and if you only want Lord of the Rings, begin with week 8.

J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: 

Understanding Middle-Earth

by Bradley J. Birzer

My absolute favorite. Simply excellent overview that ties together Tolkien's underlying worldview from both his life and from his literature.

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LISTENING
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Mythgard Academy

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

The Tolkien Professor was so popular that Corey Olsen was able to begin Mythgard Academy, offering free on-line book courses and later branching out into an actual on-line university. If you like the Tolkien Professor's classes, these are essentially the same but more in-depth. I love them. Scroll down at the link to see all the past classes, beginning with the LOTR ones. There are links for different ways to get them - watching or listening.

 

Close Reads

Their conversation is not afraid to dip into Christian viewpoints which resonate with my own take and deepen it considerably. The classical viewpoint also adds richness to appreciating the wisdom J.R.R. Tolkien has woven into the story. The Close Reads discussions equal and complement the Mythgard classes in the best possible way. If you're a Tolkien fan and a Christian you're going to want to try this out. The $5 Patreon subscription gets you access to the LOTR discussions. My full commentary of their series is here.

 

A Good Story is Hard to Find

Scott and I did a two-part series on the book. Part 1, Part 2.

(We also discussed the movies in this episode. Because, you know, we're completists.)

SFFaudio Podcast

Because one set of discussions was not enough (when is it ever?) ... I also joined this discussion with Jesse, Seth, and Maissa at SFFaudio.

This is a 6-part series as we talked about LOTR following the way Tolkien divided the books up in sections.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

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READING

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The Gospel According to Tolkien: 
Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-Earth

by Ralph C. Wood

The Gospel According to Tolkien examines biblical and Christian themes that are found in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Some of the insights I already knew, but others are from things I didn't know referencing a larger literary view, Tolkien's past, history, and Christianity. Wood is a graceful and interesting writer. I bought this one.

Lord of the Elves and Eldils: 
Fantasy and Philosophy in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien

by Richard L. Purtill

I was surprised to see that quite a bit of this winds up addressing Tolkien's critics. I had no idea how many people, both positively and negatively inclined, have tried to shove The Lord of the Rings into their own narrow worldview. It is really interesting to see how much broader Tolkien, with his devout Catholic worldview, has managed to be simply because he himself wanted to write a story that was pre-Christian. I bought this one. My full review here.

The Power of the Ring:
The Spiritual Vision Behind the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Stratford Caldecott

A great book looking under the surface of The Lord of the Rings and, indeed, all of Tolkien's writing through the lens of his devout Catholicism. This book impressed and inspired me so much that I began reading more of Caldecott's books including All Things Made New, The Radiance of Being, and Fruits of the Spirit — all of which I highly recommend.

 

The Battle for Middle Earth:
Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings
by Fleming Rutledge

Instead of zeroing in on themes and then pulling examples from throughout the text, Rutledge takes the unusual tactic of working her way through the book from beginning to end, commenting along the way on the links between the book and Christian themes. It is very effective because we can see the themes develop and grow as the story itself grows in complexity. There are many good insights that open up the book even further for the attentive reader. My full review is here.

The Philosophy of Tolkien: 
The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings

by Peter Kreeft 

 

This was like a class in applied philosophy. Peter Kreeft looks at the philosophies embodied in The Lord of the Rings and also explains basic philosophical concepts along the way. It is obvious that Kreeft just loves The Lord of the Rings and it is hard not to join in with that enthusiasm. I was able to grasp the philosophical concepts with an ease that I usually don't feel.

My full review here.

 

 

On the Shoulders of Hobbits: 

The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis

 by Louis Markos

I've read several other books looking deeper into The Lord of the Rings, in particular, and this book still managed to provide new ideas for reflection. Markos really does a fantastic job of revealing the characteristics of various characters in Middle-Earth and Narnia and the virtues we can see in them. This is a thoughtful and thought provoking book which I can't recommend highly enough. My full review here.

 

The Fellowship: 
The Literary Lives of the Inklings 
by Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski

I've read enough about Tolkien, Lewis, and the Inklings that I resisted this behemoth of a book at first. What hooked me was that the authors delve into both their faith and their literary works more deeply than the other things I've read. I read slowly, just picking it up here and there, and it was oh so satisfying. My full review is here.

J.R.R. Tolkien: 
A Biography 
by Humphrey Carpenter

Like Dr. Who's TARDIS, we're all bigger on the inside and Tolkien's inner landscape held a vast imagination coupled with interest in so many topics that he was sometimes unable to finish a project unless prodded by deadlines or friends. It is Humphrey Carpenter's ability to reconcile Tolkien's inner and outer man, while including his popular fiction in the timeline, that make this book so riveting. We feel we truly know J.R.R. Tolkien by the end. My full review here.

cover begins here

The "Steadying Brakes" of God's Laws

A single novel — a single sentence! — unlocked a great truth for me. Man needed the "steadying brakes of God's laws and the sacrifice of One who stands in for all of history's victims and perpetrators. The old "thou shalts" and the heartbreaking sacrifice that I read about in Saint Matthew's Gospel were a bulwark against totalitarianism, perhaps the only durable ones. The God who revealed himself in the moral law, and who condescended to be scourged by his creation — this God was a liberator.

Sohab Amari; From Fire, By Water

Tuna Boat at Sea

Maxime Maufra, Tuna Boat, 1907
via Arts Everyday Living

So that you do and accomplish that which, at the hour of your death, you will wish to have done.

May our Lord increase the days of [your] life for many years, and may he grant you to feel, in this present life, his most holy will and the spiritual strength to fulfill it, so that you do and accomplish that which, at the hour of your death, you will wish to have done.”

St. Francis Xavier's letter to King John III of Portugal

from Malacca in Malaysia, June 23, 1549

via the Novena of Grace, Day 1

Yes, please. Going in my prayer journal.

Eega (Fly)

Totally amazing movie about a guy murdered by his rival in love ... who is reincarnated as a fly. And is still determined to take vengeance on his murderer and protect his love. No wonder this director got funding for the first Baahubali. Everyone had seen this heartwarming, thrilling story of the little fly that could.

We were particularly impressed (as was everyone else who saw this, from the reviews we read) by Sudeep's performance as the deadly villain. It is not everyone who can essentially carry a movie while acting with a fly, and a CGI fly at that. He was completely convincing.

This really must be seen to be believed. Originating in a joke between the director and his main screenwriter (his hardworking father), this movie delivers in a way that continually surprised us, bouncing between humor, danger, thrills, and just a little horror. It is delivered in an efficient two hours, including two dance numbers and a musical training montage.

This is available on Netflix. You may wind up finding it as Makkhi (Hindi for fly) since this southern Indian film has been translated from the original Telugu-Tamil language film into Hindi (with English captions, thank goodness).

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

An American's Guide to Bollywood discusses Eega.

Being amply repaid with popularity

Emma did not repent her condescension in going to the Coles. The visit afforded her many pleasant recollections the next day; and all that she might be supposed to have lost on the side of dignified seclusion, must be amply repaid in the splendour of popularity. She must have delighted the Coles — worthy people, who deserved to be made happy! — and left a name behind her that would not soon die away.

Jane Austen, Emma

I'm very slowly rereading this, picking it up now and then and reading great swatches because I can't tear myself away. I'd forgotten how funny it is. Some parts I'd recalled such as Miss Bates monologues, but things like Emma's self-satisfaction at giving such great pleasure to others with her mere presence — well, those I had forgotten. And I laugh at them every time.

Blogging Around: Inspiration in Trying Times

It turns out you’re the only one who thinks your family looks like a mess.
JD Flynn talks about how simply going to Mass as a family inspired a woman to not have an abortion.

We often feel self-conscious at Mass. We’re like a circus act. Three kids, two of them with Down syndrome, singing loudly off key, intoning the priest’s parts, talking about Elmo, throwing things, farting, bickering, occasionally bolting for the sanctuary. ...

It turns out you’re the only one who thinks your family looks like a mess. And God is using the messes of our families to love other people, even when we don’t know it

Via Elizabeth Scalia.

The Hard Slog of Sanctity Starts Here
I don't know faithful Catholics who are saying "I'm done" because they are demoralized and overwhelmed, but I know they are out there. I know that the clergy in our parish are hearing from them and from those who are very angry. So I'm lucky in my friends that way. And I know this is when we need to get our second wind and remember that St. Paul talked about the faith as a race in which we shouldn't fall by the wayside, that we would need endurance to get to the finish line. And that's where we are now.

Elizabeth Scalia is hearing from these tired out, faithful Catholics also. She's got some encouragement that is bracing. Here's a bit but read it all.

These are difficult, challenging days, and the utter fury roiling through our guts, our hearts, and our minds as we read these stories is understandable. The rage is righteous, and its energy is real.

Still, all of our anger will count for nothing if we do not channel that energy into action that goes beyond venting on social media and declaring that we’re “done.” Rather than walking away, we—each one of us—will have to roll up our sleeves and teach the institutional Church how to actually be a church again.

Dear Gay Catholic Priests,
Jennifer Fitz hits it out of the park with this open letter (the way she always does). Go read it. Here's a bit to tempt you.

I’ve been reading about your plight in the New York Times. So let’s go ahead and clear something up right now: Most Catholics don’t give a rip who it is you’re not having sex with. ...

I have good news for you: There are other Catholics who want to be faithful to our vows — whether that be the vows of ordination, or marriage, or baptism, we’re all in this together. We’ve all made the commitment to do our best to order our actions to our state in life, and no you are not the only one who faces fierce temptations to act on urges that are not consistent with our human dignity.

So if you want support in keeping your vows, we’re out here. ...

You are made for eternal glory. God who loves you wants you in Heaven forever with Him, and so do all sane men.

From Fire By Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith: Sohrab Ahmari

My native land smelled of dust mingled with stale rosewater. There was enjoyment in Iran and grandeur of a kind, to be sure. But when it wasn't burning with ideological rage, it mainly offered mournful nostalgia. Those were its default modes, rage and nostalgia. I desired something more. ...

The Iranian way was irrational. It wasn't modern. "Rational" and "modern" were my watchwords from a very young age. I had fuzzy notions of what these terms meant, but this merely magnified my enthusiasm for them. If the Western way was better than the non-Western, then America was best of all. America was the vanguard of Western-ness. The fact that all our leaders constantly denounced the evils of "Waa-shang-ton" was sure proof of this. America stood at the forefront of the modern and the rational, and that was where I belonged.

If you had told me, before I set out, that decades later I would find the heart of the West somewhere entirely different—in events that took place on a dusty, blood-stained hilltop on the outskirts of ancient Jerusalem—I would have cackled in disbelief.

Sohrab Ahmari was the spoiled darling of his intellectual, liberal Iranian family. Immigrating to Utah, he was rapidly disillusioned about his ideas of a secular, rational, modern America. Searching for meaning, he discovered Nietzsche, as so many have done. Ironically, that began a very long process that ended in the Catholic Church.

As well as being a personal journey, this book almost serves as an overview of modern man's search for meaning. Ahmari moves from Nietzsche to the existentialists to Marxism and politics. His own experiences under the Iranian regime and with life in general reveal flaws in all these philosophies even as he devotes himself to secularism with ever increasing fervor. And it is through these cracks that Ahmari experiences epiphanies which gradually lead to recognition of the truth of Jesus' sacrifice as necessary for salvation.

This is a very readable book and I was fascinated by the continual backdrop of Iranian culture which so often informed Ahmari as to the truth or falseness of different philosophical theories. I really loved the last fourth of the book when names like Robert Alter, Pope Benedict XVI, and Augustine began popping up. Now we were in the same wheel house of intellectual and philosophical influences.

I also found Ahmari's deep understanding of the Fall and Christ's passion and sacrifice to deepen my own understanding. I reread the last part of the book twice for this very reason. Ahmari feels bad because he denied Christ for many years past when he should have converted, but to see his matter-of-fact embrace of such facts provides a witness that is all the more powerful for knowing his story.

Highly recommended.

God Through Binoculars by Danusha Goska

A spiritual memoir and travelogue, God through Binoculars: A Hitchhiker at a Monastery is about where you go when you have nowhere left to go. After a difficult childhood and a series of tragedies and misfortunes, author Danusha Goska finds herself without hope for the future. She decides on a retreat at a remote Cistercian monastery. What results is a story about family, friends, nature, and God; the Ivory Tower and the Catholic Church. 

I read God through Binoculars at breakneck speed. Danusha sent me her document some time ago when it was still just her journal notes, as she put it, disclaiming any notion of publishing. I read it in a day and urged her to look for a publisher. Now that it has indeed become a book I find it just as gripping and hard to put down. The problem is how to describe what makes it so compelling.

Danusha's book is as hard to pin down as quicksilver. She grabs you by the hand to veer from personal stories to sightings on a walk to evolution to God's love for the predator and the prey and then darts onward in a way that leaves you breathless but willingly running to keep up. At times there is a stream of consciousness aspect that is nonetheless fascinating. It is all permeated with humor, self awareness, and a sense of God's small, still voice.

Perhaps most valuable this book challenges the reader about their own assumptions, albeit from a devoutly Catholic standpoint. Although just because she's a devout Catholic doesn't mean Danusha doesn't occasionally rage against the machine. As she contemplates the hawk and the squirrel, pinworms and the Spirograph, hyenas and new socks, we are called to consider the inner truths such things point toward ... and share Danusha's pilgrimage.

I love Danusha's absolute honesty. She puts it all out there for us. It can be occasionally raw, politically incorrect, and distressing. Have you read the Bible lately? She's in good company. There are also transcendent moments that inspire and open the way for God's grace.

This would be an excellent book for Lenten reading. Or for anytime.

Allan the Hunter: A Tale of Three Lions

Allan the Hunter: A Tale of Three Lions by H. Rider Haggard
via Books and Art

The church is always God hung between two thieves.

The church is always God hung between two thieves. Thus, no one should be surprised or shocked at how badly the church has betrayed the gospel and how much it continues to do so today. It has never done very well. Conversely, however, nobody should deny the good the church has done either. It has carried grace, produced saints, morally challenged the planet, and made, however imperfectly, a house for God to dwell in on this earth.

To be connected with the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers and hypocrites of every description. It also, at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul within every time, country, race and gender. To be a member of the church is to carry the mantle of both the worst sin and the finest heroism of the soul ... because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves.

Ronald Rolheiser

I wish it wasn't necessary to dig this out of my quote journal one more time, but here we are — back at the mirror of the original crucifixion.

Updated: The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again ... and Related Reading

I wrote this back in 2012 and was looking it over because my Catholic women's book club is going to read The Lord of the Rings. I've added a few new resources.

Man oh man. I reread this for an upcoming discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. The Hobbit is the flavor of the month just at present thanks to the upcoming movie, so I'm sure I'm not the only one rereading and finding new insights.

It was still really good even though this is the umpteenth time I've read this classic. I took the opportunity to get the audiobook from the library because I wanted to pay special attention to the songs and poems which were so important to Tolkien but which I always tended to skip right over. I enjoyed being forced, as it were, to listen to them line by line because each time it gave me insight into the singer (or singers, as the case may be).

And can I just mention that Bilbo's burgling career gave me courage for something that I was going to try for the first time? (Not burgling, by the way.) So it is inspirational too. No, I'm not telling. You'll have to listen to the podcast to hear that story.

We're not really surprised, are we, that I finished The Hobbit and then had to hurry right on to my favorite of The Lord of the Ring trilogy? Of course we're not.

Rob Inglis' narration in The Hobbit wasn't perfect (meaning that his interpretation of various voices was not as I "heard" them in my mind's ear), however it was good enough.

Much more recently Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the movies, demonstrated his other talents by recording The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These are masterful readings and I highly recommend them.

Key to my renewed enjoyment of Tolkien is The Tolkien Professor's 8-part series on The Hobbit and the fact that he's posted his lectures on the Lord of the Rings trilogy from his Tolkien class. He has really helped me to see below the surface of these very enjoyable stories to the Catholic worldview that anchored Tolkien and his storytelling.

Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit by Corey Olsen
This is the book that Corey Olsen wrote after his Tolkien Professor classes (see above) got popular. I love this book a lot. If you want to skip the podcasts, read this.

As many others have commented, I agree that one of the great strengths of this book is that Olsen only discusses The Hobbit, not The Lord of the Rings. As well, he uses a professorial style in simply pointing out things instead of hammering home his own conclusions repeatedly. It is refreshing and thought provoking, just as the best teaching should be.

The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
All right, I admit I looked through this quickly, stopping to read whenever the author was NOT giving the original text of the story in the sidebar. Although it is interesting that the original story was retooled to give it more links with The Lord of the Rings, once it became clear that Tolkien was writing something on a larger scale ... as I say, that is interesting but I don't care to read the original.

What this book did, though, was awaken my respect for Tolkien as an artist and illustrator. I had no idea that he was so good at that aspect of story telling. For example, that book cover for the Hobbit at the top of this post was done by Tolkien himself.

Lessons in Manliness: The Hobbit
I do love this blog and it often has some of the most insightful articles. This is one such which isn't long but makes good points.

When it was originally published, it was put into the children’s category and even won prizes for best juvenile fiction that year. Tolkien himself, however, said that a simple tale like The Hobbit can be enjoyed by children and adults alike, making it a great story to read with your kids. ...

There are many lessons we can glean from The Hobbit, but we’ll focus on just a few of this classic tale’s most salient takeaways.

My Tolkien resources: get 'em here!

Dance at Bougival

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Dance at Bougival

One half of the world ...

That is the case with us all, papa. One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.

Jane Austen, Emma

For example, that is the case with this very book. It is often called too long and boring with a disagreeable "heroine."

To be fair, Jane Austen wrote to someone that she was writing a heroine who no one would like but her. I do like Emma though. And I like her father also. Both are annoying in their habits, but when you've read about them long enough — especially the father — you begin to see how Austen is drawing them out for comic effect.

I've gotten to the point in rereading Emma that when the father begins his series of gentle objections on behalf of the comfort of others, I know I'm going to see comic genius in the way that others wriggle out of his proposals.

A Little Bit of Flannery ... and her sense of humor

How can you not grow to like someone who tells a story like this with such humor? From The Habit of Being.

... Dear old Van Wyke insisted that I read a story at which horror-stricken looks appeared on the faces of both Caroline and Sue. "Read the shortest one!" they both screamed. I read "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and Mr. Brooks later remarked to Miss Jenkins that it was a shame someone with so much talent should look upon life as a horror story. Malcolm was very polite and asked me if I had a wooden leg.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (A Match Made By God)

Surinder Sahni is a mild-mannered office worker who loves from afar his former professor's daughter, the beautiful and vivacious Taani. When tragedy strikes, the professor arranges their marriage. Fighting loneliness in her new home, Taani enters a dance class/competition. Surinder disguises himself to watch her when fate steps in and he becomes her partner as the brash Raj. It's all fun until he realizes Taani is falling in love with Raj. He's losing his wife ... to himself!

We watched this on Sunday evening after helping present the Beyond Cana marriage retreat for three days.

All we expected was a romantic comedy with India's top star playing a double role as a nerd and an obnoxious "cool" dancer. It was a solid comedy and a funny, sweet look at true love. But it delivered a lot more.

• Not knowing the translation of the title, we were surprised to find the strong theme of “seeing God in your beloved.”
  
  
• I certainly didn't expect to find an overwhelming example of covenantal love when Suri humbly doesn't expect anything in return for his love.
  
  
• Also, "Jodi" means "pair." So the subtitle is: "There is an extraordinary love story in every ordinary couple."

So it was all amazingly appropriate considering our marriage retreat mindset of the moment! Plus, this is possibly Shah Rukh Khan's most charming role. And I'll admit it — I came to see King Khan. It was super entertaining!

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast - Scott and I discussed this movie in episode 209. Listen in!

An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast - Hannah and Rose discuss it here.

When we have been wounded by the Church ...

When we have been wounded by the Church, our temptation is to reject it. But when we reject the Church it becomes very hard for us to keep in touch with the living Christ. When we say, “I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,” we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too. The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the Church seldom asks us for forgiveness, at least not officially. But the Church as an often fallible human organization needs our forgiveness, while the Church as the living Christ among us continues to offer us forgiveness.

It is important to think about the Church not as “over there” but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer.

Henri Nouwen

They have invented a phrase — ‘free-love’ — as if a lover ever had been, or ever could be, free.

The revolt against vows has been carried in our day even to the extent of a revolt against the typical vow of marriage. It is most amusing to listen to the opponents of marriage on this subject. They appear to imagine that the ideal of constancy was a yoke mysteriously imposed on mankind by the devil, instead of being, as it is, a yoke consistently imposed by all lovers on themselves. They have invented a phrase, a phrase that is a black and white contradiction in two words — ‘free-love’ — as if a lover ever had been, or ever could be, free. It is the nature of love to bind itself, and the institution of marriage merely paid the average man the compliment of taking him at his word. Modern sages offer to the lover, with an ill-favoured grin, the largest liberties and the fullest irresponsibility; but they do not respect him as the old Church respected him; they do not write his oath upon the heavens, as the record of his highest moment. They give him every liberty except the liberty to sell his liberty, which is the only one that he wants.

G. K. Chesterton, A Defence of Rash Vows