--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The gift finds the man attractive who…" description: "\"The gift finds the man attractive who stands with an empty bowl he does not own.\" — Lewis Hyde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/lewis-hyde-19548_attractive_the-gift-finds-the-man-attractive-who-st_2322453.jpg" --- # The gift finds the man attractive who stands with an empty… ![“The gift finds the man attractive who stands with an empty bowl he does not own.” quote by Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/lewis-hyde-19548_attractive_the-gift-finds-the-man-attractive-who-st_2322453.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/lewis-hyde-19548_attractive_the-gift-finds-the-man-attractive-who-st_2322453.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/lewis-hyde-19548_attractive_the-gift-finds-the-man-attractive-who-st_2322453.jpg) > “The gift finds the man attractive who stands with an empty bowl he does not own.” [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attraction arises when one offers something valuable without ownership. **In simple terms:** Offering gifts without ownership attracts. Key Takeaway Share generously without claiming ownership. Themes generosity relationships value Mood philosophical inspirational Type cultural economic When to use this quote - community building - creative collaboration - mentoring Key Concepts gift economy selflessness Questions to Reflect On - What does “empty bowl” symbolize? - How does ownership affect attraction? A Different Perspective May ignore power dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attractive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attractive/) [Bowls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bowls/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Finds Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finds-man-455140/) [Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift/) [Gift Finds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift-finds-5556486/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Man Attractive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-attractive-738256/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Stands Bowl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stands-bowl-3485826/) ## Related quotes > [Adversity finds at last the man whom she has often passed by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/adversity-finds-at-last-the-man-whom-she-has-often-passed-by/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“If life has a base that it stands upon, if it is a bowl that one fills and fills and fills - than my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-life-has-a-base-that-it-stands-upon-if-it-is-a-bowl-that-one-fills/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It was the first time I had ever felt guilt at finding a man attractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-mcgowan/it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-felt-guilt-at-finding-a-man/) [Tabitha McGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-mcgowan/) > [Miss Prism: ... And you do not seem to reealize, dear Doctor, that by persistently remaining single, a man coverts himself into a permanent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/miss-prism-and-you-do-not-seem-to-reealize-dear-doctor-that-by/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [But why, she thought wryly, did a man seem more attractive as he became less available? How humbling to think one had so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jo-putney/but-why-she-thought-wryly-did-a-man-seem-more-attractive-as-he-became/) [Mary Jo Putney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jo-putney/) > [“Man is more attractive when left to the imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-halberstadt/man-is-more-attractive-when-left-to-the-imagination/) [Michele Halberstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-halberstadt/) > [“But it appears that I am willing to put up with many things for the sake of Jamie Watson. 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To be honest with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mullane/the-opening-for-solid-waste-is-very-small-in-the-space-ship-it-s-not/) [Mike Mullane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mullane/) > [From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens - the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-sergeant-angell-white/from-december-to-march-there-are-for-many-of-us-three-gardens-the/) [Katharine Sergeant Angell White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-sergeant-angell-white/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) ## More by Lewis Hyde > [We are only alive to the degree that we can let ourselves be moved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/we-are-only-alive-to-the-degree-that-we-can-let-ourselves-be-moved/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [What is it about a work of art, even when it is bought and sold in the market, that makes us distinguish it from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/what-is-it-about-a-work-of-art-even-when-it-is-bought-and-sold-in-the/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Erik Erikson has commented: Potentially creative men like (Bernard) Shaw build the personal fundament of their work during a self-decreed moratorium, during which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/erik-erikson-has-commented-potentially-creative-men-like-bernard-shaw/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“All cultures seem to find a slightly alien local population to carry the Hermes projection. 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Carried over time it is the voice of the trapped who have come to enjoy their cage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/irony-has-only-emergency-use-carried-over-time-it-is-the-voice-of-the/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [We forgive when we give up attachment to our wounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/we-forgive-when-we-give-up-attachment-to-our-wounds/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [All that we make and do is shaped by the communities and traditions that contain us, not to mention by money, power, politics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/all-that-we-make-and-do-is-shaped-by-the-communities-and-traditions/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Science may not be as intimate as the medical profession; nonetheless, it certainly is a community in which ideas are often shared as contributions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/science-may-not-be-as-intimate-as-the-medical-profession-nonetheless/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“There is the family of our birth and then there is a more noble world to which we really belong; the richness of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/there-is-the-family-of-our-birth-and-then-there-is-a-more-noble-world/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [An anaesthetic is a poet-killer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/an-anaesthetic-is-a-poet-killer/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“Irony got dangerous when it became a habit. Wallace quoted Lewis Hyde…”Irony has only emergency use. Carried over time, it is the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/irony-got-dangerous-when-it-became-a-habit-wallace-quoted-lewis-hyde/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [When we are moved by art we are grateful that the artist lived, grateful that he labored in the service of his gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/when-we-are-moved-by-art-we-are-grateful-that-the-artist-lived/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Unlike the sale of a commodity, the giving of a gift tends to establish a relationship between the parties involved. When gifts circulate within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/unlike-the-sale-of-a-commodity-the-giving-of-a-gift-tends-to/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) [Explore all 32 Lewis Hyde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) ## More Attractive quotes > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [A beautiful woman must expect to be more accountable for her steps, than one less attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/a-beautiful-woman-must-expect-to-be-more-accountable-for-her-steps/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I was unusual looking - I didn't have the look of that time. If you look at 'Lucas' - and, basically, my first five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-was-unusual-looking-i-didn-t-have-the-look-of-that-time-if-you-look/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/violence-is-what-people-do-when-they-run-out-of-good-ideas-it-s/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [I hated grunge. No one’s more feminist than me, but you don’t have to look as if you don’t give a - you know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-zeta-jones/i-hated-grunge-no-one-s-more-feminist-than-me-but-you-don-t-have-to/) [Catherine Zeta-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-zeta-jones/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. 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It was quite reserved and quite elegant, and it was infectious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/my-dad-had-a-personal-style-which-was-very-attractive-it-was-quite/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [When you consider the sheer magnitude of investable equities to choose from in the world's emerging markets, you realize that finding one that looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mobius/when-you-consider-the-sheer-magnitude-of-investable-equities-to/) [Mark Mobius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mobius/) > [“Are pervs only pervs if you don't find them attractive?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancy/are-pervs-only-pervs-if-you-don-t-find-them-attractive/) [Rick Yancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancy/) > [I've tried to stay true, in my own fashion, to the ideas of The Sex Pistols, even while I was working with bands like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-temple/i-ve-tried-to-stay-true-in-my-own-fashion-to-the-ideas-of-the-sex/) [Julien Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-temple/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. 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