--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For it’s human nature even in the direst…" description: "\"“For it’s human nature even in the direst extremity to see a spark of hope and blow it into flames.”\" — Leo Perutz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/leo-perutz-39634_hope_for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst_1807267.jpg" --- # For it’s human nature even in the direst extremity to see… ![“For it’s human nature even in the direst extremity to see a spark of hope and blow it into flames.” quote by Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/leo-perutz-39634_hope_for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst_1807267.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/leo-perutz-39634_hope_for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst_1807267.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/leo-perutz-39634_hope_for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst_1807267.jpg) > ““For it’s human nature even in the direst extremity to see a spark of hope and blow it into flames.”” [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even in extreme hardship, humans instinctively cling to hope and amplify it. **In simple terms:** People turn small hope into big fire. Key Takeaway Nurture hope, but stay realistic. Themes hope human nature resilience Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - war zones - personal crises - medical emergencies - natural disasters Key Concepts psychology optimism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance hope with realism? - When can hope be harmful? A Different Perspective Hope can become delusion if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blow Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blow-flames-2084586/) [Extremity Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremity-spark-2084587/) [Flames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Spark Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spark-hope-2084588/) ## Related quotes > [Ever since we were little, we were so on fire for our dreams. We never let anyone blow our flames out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-rowland/ever-since-we-were-little-we-were-so-on-fire-for-our-dreams-we-never/) [Kelly Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-rowland/) > [Losing a friend, its hard to pretend that the light is always at the end of the tunnel. But when you reach out and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-a-friend-its-hard-to-pretend-that-the-light-is-always-at-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Our inner fire is the spark of hope that drives us through even the darkest times. Do not be so quick to dismiss it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-roman/our-inner-fire-is-the-spark-of-hope-that-drives-us-through-even-the/) [Dave Roman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-roman/) > [I clung to that spark of hope, nurturing it into a small flame that chased some of the shadows in my heart away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/i-clung-to-that-spark-of-hope-nurturing-it-into-a-small-flame-that/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I still have the small spark of hope in the heart while I'm sitting - (maybe, so I wandered never forget your past love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/i-still-have-the-small-spark-of-hope-in-the-heart-while-i-m-sitting/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [“Not fair to light a spark of hope, to see a grim mouth smile?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-weissmann-klein/not-fair-to-light-a-spark-of-hope-to-see-a-grim-mouth-smile/) [Gerda Weissmann Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-weissmann-klein/) > [A thing of orchestrated hell-a terrible symphony of light and flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/a-thing-of-orchestrated-hell-a-terrible-symphony-of-light-and-flame/) [Edward R. 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I want love where there's actual flames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-playing-games-i-want-love-where-there-s-actual-flames/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) ## More by Leo Perutz > [“Busy thyself with the secrets of wisdom and knowledge, thus thou shalt overcome the fear of the morrow in thee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/busy-thyself-with-the-secrets-of-wisdom-and-knowledge-thus-thou-shalt/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [“Look, doctor, China, the country without religion. The Chinese have no religious ideas, only a kind of philosophy. In the Middle Kingdom no grain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/look-doctor-china-the-country-without-religion-the-chinese-have-no/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [“And they say he’s so rich that he spreads sugar on his honey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/and-they-say-he-s-so-rich-that-he-spreads-sugar-on-his-honey/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [“There wasn’t a stick over which he didn’t stumble, and if he had bread he wouldn’t have a knife, and if he had both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/there-wasn-t-a-stick-over-which-he-didn-t-stumble-and-if-he-had-bread/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [“His neighbours said that if Berl Landfahrer started dealing in candles the sun would stop setting, and that if it rained ducats he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/his-neighbours-said-that-if-berl-landfahrer-started-dealing-in/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [“But, when you’ve swallowed what’s stuck in your throat, tell me who’s the first to notice the rain in this part of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/but-when-you-ve-swallowed-what-s-stuck-in-your-throat-tell-me-who-s/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [“For my most gracious master still called me redhead, though my hair was already churchyard-coloured.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/for-my-most-gracious-master-still-called-me-redhead-though-my-hair/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [“They say a deaf man heard a dumb man talking about a blind man who saw a cripple walking the tightrope.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/they-say-a-deaf-man-heard-a-dumb-man-talking-about-a-blind-man-who/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [“Svaki pogled njenih očiju, svaku reč iz njenih usta želim da imam samo za sebe. To što ne mogu da se odvojim od nje,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/svaki-pogled-njenih-o-iju-svaku-re-iz-njenih-usta-elim-da-imam-samo/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) [Explore all 10 Leo Perutz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) ## More Flames quotes > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [I hate playing games. I want love where there's actual flames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-playing-games-i-want-love-where-there-s-actual-flames/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A real flame of love is a subtle thing. It burns as a will-o'-the-wisp, dancing onward to fairy lands of delight. It roars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/a-real-flame-of-love-is-a-subtle-thing-it-burns-as-a-will-o-the-wisp/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fear, animated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthusiasm, are seldom in a proper temper of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-sectaries-of-a-persecuted-religion-depressed-by-fear-animated/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [A thing of orchestrated hell-a terrible symphony of light and flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/a-thing-of-orchestrated-hell-a-terrible-symphony-of-light-and-flame/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [I want a blaze of light to flame in me forever in a timeless, dear love of everything. And why should I pretend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-want-a-blaze-of-light-to-flame-in-me-forever-in-a-timeless-dear/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I have been much amused at ye singular phenomena resulting from bringing of a needle into contact with a piece of amber or resin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-have-been-much-amused-at-ye-singular-phenomena-resulting-from/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [The fire inside people is like a match; the way to ignite that flame is initially through friction, then other matches are lit through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/the-fire-inside-people-is-like-a-match-the-way-to-ignite-that-flame/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [“Savannah came to him instantly, her face lit up with some emotion he dared not name.She was in a man's silk shirt and nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/savannah-came-to-him-instantly-her-face-lit-up-with-some-emotion-he/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [She was drawn to damaged souls like a moth to a flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-mcpartlin/she-was-drawn-to-damaged-souls-like-a-moth-to-a-flame/) [Anna McPartlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-mcpartlin/) > [“Then think of fire, It’s laughter, the music of splintering beams and glass, The flames reaching through the second story of a house almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-levis/then-think-of-fire-it-s-laughter-the-music-of-splintering-beams-and/) [Larry Levis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-levis/) [Browse all 1,479 Flames quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flames/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For it’s human nature even in the direst extremity to see a spark of hope and blow it into flames.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Perutz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst-extremity-to-see-a-spark-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flames" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst-extremity-to-see-a-spark-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/leo-perutz-39634_hope_for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst_1807267.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/leo-perutz-39634_hope_for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst_1807267.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/leo-perutz-39634_hope_for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst_1807267.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For it’s human nature even in the direst extremity to see a spark of hope and blow it into flames.” — Leo Perutz", "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": "Leo Perutz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For it’s human nature even in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst-extremity-to-see-a-spark-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/for-it-s-human-nature-even-in-the-direst-extremity-to-see-a-spark-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 } } ] } ```