--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The city has always been an embodiment of…" description: "\"The city has always been an embodiment of hope and a source of feeling guilt; a dream pursued, and found vain, wanting, and destructive.\" — Jonathan Raban" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/jonathan-raban-11981_cities_the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-o_2662627.jpg" --- # The city has always been an embodiment of hope and a… ![“The city has always been an embodiment of hope and a source of feeling guilt; a dream pursued, and found vain, wanting, and destructive.” quote by Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/jonathan-raban-11981_cities_the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-o_2662627.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/jonathan-raban-11981_cities_the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-o_2662627.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/jonathan-raban-11981_cities_the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-o_2662627.jpg) > “The city has always been an embodiment of hope and a source of feeling guilt; a dream pursued, and found vain, wanting, and destructive.” [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The city embodies hope and guilt, offering dreams that can become destructive. **In simple terms:** City holds hope, guilt, and destructive dreams. Key Takeaway Balance ambition with responsibility. Themes urban life psychology philosophy Mood melancholic thoughtful Type urban philosophical When to use this quote - city planning - personal growth - social critique Key Concepts existentialism urban studies Questions to Reflect On - How does a city shape personal identity? - What dreams become destructive? A Different Perspective Ambiguity may cause mixed feelings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [City Embodiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-embodiment-2440828/) [Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Embodiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embodiment/) [Feeling Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-guilt-2440829/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Guilt Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt-dream-2440825/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Pursued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursued/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) [Vain Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain-wanting-2440826/) [Wanting Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-destructive-2440827/) ## Related quotes > [Isolating, shutting down, and feeling guilt about pain makes it linger so much longer. Reconnecting, trusting, and being open and honest is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-murray/isolating-shutting-down-and-feeling-guilt-about-pain-makes-it-linger/) [Jaime Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-murray/) > [Anyone can be shamed, but feeling guilt requires empathy within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/anyone-can-be-shamed-but-feeling-guilt-requires-empathy-within/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [A sublime religion inevitably generates a strong feeling of guilt. There is an unavoidable contrast between loftiness of profession and imperfection of practice. And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-sublime-religion-inevitably-generates-a-strong-feeling-of-guilt/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Many people suffer all their lives from this oppressive feeling of guilt, the sense of not having lived up to their parents' expectations. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/many-people-suffer-all-their-lives-from-this-oppressive-feeling-of/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [“Feeling guilt dims our light. Instead of dimming our light to make others feel more comfortable, we could just continue to shine and foster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaric-hutchinson/feeling-guilt-dims-our-light-instead-of-dimming-our-light-to-make/) [Alaric Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaric-hutchinson/) > [“are capable of expressing boundless emotion, nearly all of which is intentional and nearly all of it drawn from the language of your mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cornwall/are-capable-of-expressing-boundless-emotion-nearly-all-of-which-is/) [Michael Cornwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cornwall/) > [“The trouble is that practically everything one does nowadays is illegal,” said Giles gloomily. “That’s why one has a permanent feeling of guilt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/the-trouble-is-that-practically-everything-one-does-nowadays-is/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [I was just a kid. I think I stole a candy bar. I remember feeling so terrible. It was the worst shock. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/i-was-just-a-kid-i-think-i-stole-a-candy-bar-i-remember-feeling-so/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [A guilty conscience never feels secure. The feeling of Guilt that overwhelmes you is the nerve of sorrow that will never let you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kev-moores/a-guilty-conscience-never-feels-secure-the-feeling-of-guilt-that/) [Kev Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kev-moores/) > [It doesn't matter whether I'm judged criminal. I have a great feeling of guilt - I have a feeling that I ran after Hitler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-frank/it-doesn-t-matter-whether-i-m-judged-criminal-i-have-a-great-feeling/) [Hans Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-frank/) > [“This feeling of guilt is your conscience calling your attention to the higher road, and your heart wishing you had taken it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/this-feeling-of-guilt-is-your-conscience-calling-your-attention-to/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Greek is the embodiment of the fluent speech that runs or soars, the speech of a people which could not help giving winged feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/greek-is-the-embodiment-of-the-fluent-speech-that-runs-or-soars-the/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [The Law is the true embodiment of everything that's excellent; it has no kind of fault or flaw and I, my Lords, embody the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/the-law-is-the-true-embodiment-of-everything-that-s-excellent-it-has/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [The Hope, Love & Healing necklace is the perfect embodiment of what we are trying to bring to Haiti through safe and sustainable housing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/the-hope-love-healing-necklace-is-the-perfect-embodiment-of-what-we/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More by Jonathan Raban > [No president has come near to rivaling Lincoln as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/no-president-has-come-near-to-rivaling-lincoln-as-a-writer/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [All this piling up of one technology on top of another-railroad on steamboat, interstate highway on railroad, hydroelectric dam on watermill-had reduced the Mississippi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/all-this-piling-up-of-one-technology-on-top-of-another-railroad-on/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/life-as-the-most-ancient-of-all-metaphors-insists-is-a-journey-and/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Inaugurals conventionally start with a history lesson and finish with a prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/inaugurals-conventionally-start-with-a-history-lesson-and-finish-with/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [When New Yorkers tell one about the dangers of their city, the muggings, the dinner parties to which no one turns up for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/when-new-yorkers-tell-one-about-the-dangers-of-their-city-the/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [ My new city \[Seattle\] and its hinterland felt deceptively homely. Their similar latitude gave them the angular light and lingering evenings I was used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/my-new-city-seattle-and-its-hinterland-felt-deceptively-homely-their/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [At night, what you see is a city, because all you see is lights. By day, it doesn't look like a city at all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/at-night-what-you-see-is-a-city-because-all-you-see-is-lights-by-day/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Because Washington state now votes by mail, elections here tend to play out, at an agonizingly slow speed, over many days and, sometimes, weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/because-washington-state-now-votes-by-mail-elections-here-tend-to/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The only nation I've ever been tempted to feel really racist about are the Swiss - a whole country of phobic hand washers living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-only-nation-i-ve-ever-been-tempted-to-feel-really-racist-about/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [ The \[travel\] writer, looking back at the journey from a distance of a year or two (or three), is a different character from the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-travel-writer-looking-back-at-the-journey-from-a-distance-of-a/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The mythical America?that marvellous, heroic, sentimental landwas an object of faith. It challenged you to make the believer's leap over the rude facts at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-mythical-america-that-marvellous-heroic-sentimental-landwas-an/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Over emphatic negatives always suggest that what is being denied may be what is really being asserted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/over-emphatic-negatives-always-suggest-that-what-is-being-denied-may/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Heartbreak comes in different sizes, and the departure of an 18-year-old child for a far college has to be treated as a very benign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/heartbreak-comes-in-different-sizes-and-the-departure-of-an-18-year/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Books admitted me to their world open-handedly, as people for their most part, did not. The life I lived in books was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/books-admitted-me-to-their-world-open-handedly-as-people-for-their/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [One of the oddest features of western Christianized culture is its ready acceptance of the myth of the stable family and the happy marriage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/one-of-the-oddest-features-of-western-christianized-culture-is-its/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) [Explore all 57 Jonathan Raban quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The city has always been an embodiment of hope and a source of feeling guilt; a dream pursued, and found vain, wanting, and destructive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Raban" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-of-hope-and-a-source-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-of-hope-and-a-source-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/jonathan-raban-11981_cities_the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-o_2662627.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/jonathan-raban-11981_cities_the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-o_2662627.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8db/jonathan-raban-11981_cities_the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-o_2662627.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The city has always been an embodiment of hope and a source of feeling guilt; a dream pursued, and found…” — Jonathan Raban", "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": "Jonathan Raban", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The city has always been an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-of-hope-and-a-source-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-city-has-always-been-an-embodiment-of-hope-and-a-source-of/#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 } } ] } ```