--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm sorry, I'm absolutely convinced that…" description: "\"I'm sorry, I'm absolutely convinced that there is at the moment no realistic prospect for very much hope in human affairs.\" — George Steiner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/george-steiner-4683_convinced_i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that_2115316.png" --- # I'm sorry, I'm absolutely convinced that there is at the… ![“I'm sorry, I'm absolutely convinced that there is at the moment no realistic prospect for very much hope in human affairs.” quote by George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/george-steiner-4683_convinced_i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that_2115316.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/george-steiner-4683_convinced_i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that_2115316.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/george-steiner-4683_convinced_i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that_2115316.png) > “I'm sorry, I'm absolutely convinced that there is at the moment no realistic prospect for very much hope in human affairs.” [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He expresses deep pessimism about humanity's current lack of hopeful prospects. **In simple terms:** No realistic hope now. Key Takeaway Seek realistic solutions despite pessimism. Themes hope pessimism human affairs Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - policy making - social activism - personal outlook Key Concepts existential philosophy future studies Questions to Reflect On - What actions can foster hope? - Is pessimism ever productive? A Different Perspective Optimism can inspire change despite bleak outlooks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [But I do know this: that the two and a half years that I've been at HUD, I am absolutely convinced that some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonso-jackson/but-i-do-know-this-that-the-two-and-a-half-years-that-i-ve-been-at/) [Alphonso Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonso-jackson/) > [I would say that I was absolutely convinced of the possibility of our making an uranium engine, but I never thought that we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/i-would-say-that-i-was-absolutely-convinced-of-the-possibility-of-our/) [Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/) > [I'm absolutely convinced that the threat we face now, the idea of a terrorist in the middle of one of our cities with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/i-m-absolutely-convinced-that-the-threat-we-face-now-the-idea-of-a/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [I am absolutely convinced that my life was redeemed by poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-my-life-was-redeemed-by-poetry/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I am absolutely convinced, you never have to give up any of your freedoms in order to be secure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/i-am-absolutely-convinced-you-never-have-to-give-up-any-of-your/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Basing my conclusions on experience I am absolutely convinced not only of survival but of demonstrated survival, demonstrated by occasional interaction with matter in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/basing-my-conclusions-on-experience-i-am-absolutely-convinced-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am absolutely convinced that Florida will become the most exciting place in the world to live and work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-scott/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-florida-will-become-the-most-exciting/) [Rick Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-scott/) > [I try to explain to them about the aloha spirit. And it's that spirit that I am absolutely convinced is what America is looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-try-to-explain-to-them-about-the-aloha-spirit-and-it-s-that-spirit/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ I am absolutely convinced that race relations on the whole are actually better now than they were 20 years \[ago\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-race-relations-on-the-whole-are/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The young give us hope because young people are certain their best days still lie ahead - which explains why they're absolutely convinced they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/the-young-give-us-hope-because-young-people-are-certain-their-best/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [Beware how you take away hope from any human being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beware-how-you-take-away-hope-from-any-human-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By all that is sacred in our hope for the human race, I conjure those who love happiness and truth to give a fair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/by-all-that-is-sacred-in-our-hope-for-the-human-race-i-conjure-those/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“If people don’t change their minds, there’s no hope for the human race.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marius-gabriel/if-people-don-t-change-their-minds-there-s-no-hope-for-the-human-race/) [Marius Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marius-gabriel/) > [Character is the colossal hope of human improvement within and without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/character-is-the-colossal-hope-of-human-improvement-within-and-without/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [For the first time we have a weapon that nobody has used for thirty years. This gives me great hope for the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/for-the-first-time-we-have-a-weapon-that-nobody-has-used-for-thirty/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) ## More by George Steiner > [“But there is a third mode of trancendence: in it language simply ceases, and the motion of spirit gives no further outward manifestation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/but-there-is-a-third-mode-of-trancendence-in-it-language-simply/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Words that are saturated with lies or atrocity, do not easily resume life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/words-that-are-saturated-with-lies-or-atrocity-do-not-easily-resume/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Every one of my opponents, every one of my critics, will tell you that I am a generalist spread far too thin in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/every-one-of-my-opponents-every-one-of-my-critics-will-tell-you-that/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [The very opposite of freedom is cliche, and nothing is less free, more inert with convention and hollow brutality, than a row of four-letter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-very-opposite-of-freedom-is-cliche-and-nothing-is-less-free-more/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Books are in no hurry. An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely. The notion that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/books-are-in-no-hurry-an-act-of-creation-is-in-no-hurry-it-reads-us/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [To starve a child of the spell of the story, of the canter of the poem, oral or written, is a kind of living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/to-starve-a-child-of-the-spell-of-the-story-of-the-canter-of-the-poem/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [I have every reason to believe that an individual man or woman fluent in several tongues seduces, possesses, remembers differently according to his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/i-have-every-reason-to-believe-that-an-individual-man-or-woman-fluent/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [I believe that a work of art, like metaphors in language, can ask the most serious, difficult questions in a way which really makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/i-believe-that-a-work-of-art-like-metaphors-in-language-can-ask-the/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [To a degree which is difficult to determine, the esoteric impulse in twentieth-century music, literature and the arts reflects calculation. It looks to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/to-a-degree-which-is-difficult-to-determine-the-esoteric-impulse-in/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Books are in no hurry. An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/books-are-in-no-hurry-an-act-of-creation-is-in-no-hurry-it-reads-us-2/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [“The inception of human consciousness, the genesis of awareness, must have entailed prolonged 'condensations' around intractable nodes of wonder and terror, at the discriminations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-inception-of-human-consciousness-the-genesis-of-awareness-must/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [The immense majority of human biographies are a gray transit between domestic spasm and oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-immense-majority-of-human-biographies-are-a-gray-transit-between/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [The new sound-sphere is global. It ripples at great speed across languages, ideologies, frontiers and races. The economics of this musical Esperanto is staggering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-new-sound-sphere-is-global-it-ripples-at-great-speed-across/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [My father loved poetry and music. But deep in himself he thought teaching the finest thing a person could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/my-father-loved-poetry-and-music-but-deep-in-himself-he-thought/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Every language is a world. Without translation, we would inhabit parishes bordering on silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/every-language-is-a-world-without-translation-we-would-inhabit/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) [Explore all 104 George Steiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) ## More Convinced quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [I'm convinced I will be cleared of all these charges that were unfairly leveled against me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-estrada/i-m-convinced-i-will-be-cleared-of-all-these-charges-that-were/) [Joseph Estrada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-estrada/) > [You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm convinced the fall of Aleppo will not end the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federica-mogherini/i-m-convinced-the-fall-of-aleppo-will-not-end-the-war/) [Federica Mogherini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federica-mogherini/) > [The male dares to be different to the degree that he accepts his passivity and his desire to be female, his fagginess. The farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/the-male-dares-to-be-different-to-the-degree-that-he-accepts-his/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [In high school I had sex with girls quite a few times. They were straight women who I convinced to jump in the sack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/in-high-school-i-had-sex-with-girls-quite-a-few-times-they-were/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [Adults look upon a child as something empty that is to be filled through their own efforts, as something inert and helpless for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/adults-look-upon-a-child-as-something-empty-that-is-to-be-filled/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [ The fact that an Englishman has an Argentinian as an idol is very rare. I keep watching my \[title-winning\] goal against QPR and every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-aguero/the-fact-that-an-englishman-has-an-argentinian-as-an-idol-is-very/) [Sergio Aguero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-aguero/) > [In the formation of such a government, it is not only the right, but the indispensable duty of every citizen to examine the principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-webster/in-the-formation-of-such-a-government-it-is-not-only-the-right-but/) [Noah Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-webster/) > [I'm not convinced that the world is in any worse shape than it ever was. It's just that in this age of almost instantaneous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/i-m-not-convinced-that-the-world-is-in-any-worse-shape-than-it-ever/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“I become convinced that you have to live in the world to say anything meaningful about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/i-become-convinced-that-you-have-to-live-in-the-world-to-say-anything/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) Browse all 1,815 Convinced quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm sorry, I'm absolutely convinced that there is at the moment no realistic prospect for very much hope in human affairs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Steiner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that-there-is-at-the-moment-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Convinced" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that-there-is-at-the-moment-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/george-steiner-4683_convinced_i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that_2115316.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/george-steiner-4683_convinced_i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that_2115316.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c1/george-steiner-4683_convinced_i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that_2115316.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm sorry, I'm absolutely convinced that there is at the moment no realistic prospect for very much hope in…” — George Steiner", "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": "George Steiner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm sorry, I'm absolutely convinced that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that-there-is-at-the-moment-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/i-m-sorry-i-m-absolutely-convinced-that-there-is-at-the-moment-no/#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 } } ] } ```