Gradually our interest is attached to the new thing, eventually to such an extent that we sink into it from head to foot. Suddenly we are possessed, captivated by it. We have disappeared. And this propensity to be captivated, this infatuation, is a property of each one of us under many different guises. It binds us, taking away our strength and time, and leaving us no possibility to be objective and free—two essential qualities for anyone who would follow the way of self-knowledge.