However, he does not have to stop there. He can now be grateful for his capacity of being able to be grateful for being grateful. This chain has no end. It is reminiscent of God's desire to create the world, which had to be preceded by a desire to have a desire, and so on, also ad infinitum.
Compare this to Littlewood's idea of gratitude with potential infinity.
“The following idea, or coda to the series, was invented too late (I do not remember by whom), but what should have happened is as follows. I wrote a paper for the Comptes Rendus, which Prof. M. Riesz translated into French for me. In the end, there were 3 footnotes. The first read (in French), 'I am greatly indebted to Prof. Riesz for translating the present paper.' The second read, 'I am indebted to Prof. Riesz for translating the preceding footnote.' The third read, 'I am indebted to Prof. Riesz for translating the preceding footnote,' suggesting reflexiveness. Actually, I stop legitimately at number 3: however little French I know, I am capable of copying a French sentence.” (Littlewood, Mathematical Miscellany).
Why does Littlewood stop at 3 while we continue ad infinitum? Obviously, because he is grateful not for the quality of being grateful but for translating his gratitude. Our gratefulness is for gratefulness that we get into the infinite loop – which is better at stretching the mind than the finite.
Art: Gustave Courbet - Eternity
