“I think the reason children get tired of their toys so soon is just that it is against human nature to be really interested in what is of no use.”

—  George MacDonald

The History of Gutta Percha Willie, the Working Genius (1873)
Context: !-- After a few days, Willie got tired of [the water-wheel] — and no blame to him, for it was no earthly use beyond amusement, and that which can only amuse can never amuse long. --> I think the reason children get tired of their toys so soon is just that it is against human nature to be really interested in what is of no use. If you say that a beautiful thing is always interesting, I answer, that a beautiful thing is of the highest use. Is not the diamond that flashes all its colours into the heart of a poet as useful as the diamond with which the glazier divides the sheets of glass into panes for our windows?

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George MacDonald 127
Scottish journalist, novelist 1824–1905

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