--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only occasionally can you glimpse through…" description: "\"“Only occasionally can you glimpse through the embrasures of an otherwise perfectly polite person to see the cannons aimed out, only in a certain glint..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/michael-paterniti-30115_desire_only-occasionally-can-you-glimpse-throug_428707.jpg" --- # Only occasionally can you glimpse through the embrasures… ![“Only occasionally can you glimpse through the embrasures of an otherwise perfectly polite person to see the cannons aimed out, only in a certain glint of light do the eyeteeth become fangs. We are driven by desire and fear. Only in our solitary hungers do we find ourselves capable of the most…” quote by Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/michael-paterniti-30115_desire_only-occasionally-can-you-glimpse-throug_428707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/michael-paterniti-30115_desire_only-occasionally-can-you-glimpse-throug_428707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/michael-paterniti-30115_desire_only-occasionally-can-you-glimpse-throug_428707.jpg) > ““Only occasionally can you glimpse through the embrasures of an otherwise perfectly polite person to see the cannons aimed out, only in a certain glint of light do the eyeteeth become fangs. We are driven by desire and fear. Only in our solitary hungers do we find ourselves capable of the most magnificently unexpected sins.”” [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire and fear drive us to hidden, unexpected sins, revealed in brief moments of insight. **In simple terms:** Desire and fear cause surprising sins. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden motives. Themes desire fear sin human nature Mood thoughtful dark analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal introspection - ethical decision making - creative writing Key Concepts psychology morality self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What hidden urges shape your actions? - How can awareness prevent harmful sins? A Different Perspective The quote may exaggerate the rarity of such moments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ## Related quotes > [Most people's lives are run by desire and fear. Desire is the need to add something to yourself in order to be yourself more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/most-people-s-lives-are-run-by-desire-and-fear-desire-is-the-need-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Joy, grief, desire or fear, whate'er the name The passion bears, its influence is the same; Where things exceed your hope or fall below,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/joy-grief-desire-or-fear-whate-er-the-name-the-passion-bears-its/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“I moaned in frustration, trapped between desire and fear. “God, Roth.” “In your life, at this time, those two words could be considered synonymous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/i-moaned-in-frustration-trapped-between-desire-and-fear-god-roth-in/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [If there is nothing left to desire, there is everything to fear, an unhappy state of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/if-there-is-nothing-left-to-desire-there-is-everything-to-fear-an/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [I am dead already. Physical death will make no difference in my case. I am timeless being. I am free of desire or fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/i-am-dead-already-physical-death-will-make-no-difference-in-my-case-i/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Having wandered some distance among gloomy rocks, I came to the entrance of a great cavern ... Two contrary emotions arose in me: fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/having-wandered-some-distance-among-gloomy-rocks-i-came-to-the/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Everything you do is triggered by an emotion of either desire or fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/everything-you-do-is-triggered-by-an-emotion-of-either-desire-or-fear/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [It's important to only think about what you desire, not what you fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/it-s-important-to-only-think-about-what-you-desire-not-what-you-fear/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [When you no longer are compelled by desire and fear . . . when you have seen the radiance in eternity from all forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-no-longer-are-compelled-by-desire-and-fear-when-you-have/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Life is the dance between what you desire most, and what you fear most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/life-is-the-dance-between-what-you-desire-most-and-what-you-fear-most/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Whatwe fear we also desire, and what we desire we fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/whatwe-fear-we-also-desire-and-what-we-desire-we-fear/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [He who has few things to desire cannot have many to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/he-who-has-few-things-to-desire-cannot-have-many-to-fear/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [I always tell people: Life is the dance between what you desire most and what you fear most. You've got to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-benioff/i-always-tell-people-life-is-the-dance-between-what-you-desire-most/) [Marc Benioff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-benioff/) > [Clearly, all fear has an element of resistance and a leaning away from the moment. Its dynamic is not unlike that of strong desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/clearly-all-fear-has-an-element-of-resistance-and-a-leaning-away-from/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [“But the kings of modern times, restrained by the limits of mere probability, have neither courage nor desire. They fear the eat that hears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/but-the-kings-of-modern-times-restrained-by-the-limits-of-mere/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## More by Michael Paterniti > [“This again was the curious thing about Ambrosio, his willingness to live fully inside the moment, whatever its virtue or folly, without regard for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/this-again-was-the-curious-thing-about-ambrosio-his-willingness-to/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“We all had our secrets, and maybe the most terrible of them was that we weren't exactly who we thought we were, who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/we-all-had-our-secrets-and-maybe-the-most-terrible-of-them-was-that/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“From a footnote: Writes Clifton Fadiman: "A cheese may disappoint. It may be dull, it may be naive, it may be oversophisticated. Yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/from-a-footnote-writes-clifton-fadiman-a-cheese-may-disappoint-it-may/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“In our national parlance, what's usually meant by the word "maverick" is someone who skirts the edge of sanity--or is so insane as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/in-our-national-parlance-what-s-usually-meant-by-the-word-maverick-is/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“In the end, it wasn't so much that there was an alternative narrative--there always was--but it came down to belief: Which one did you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/in-the-end-it-wasn-t-so-much-that-there-was-an-alternative-narrative/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“Take your hallowed halls of Congress or the littered floor of the Stock Exchange, America is built on its pancake houses!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/take-your-hallowed-halls-of-congress-or-the-littered-floor-of-the/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“At first, you fall in love. You wake in the morning woozy and your twilight is lit with astral violet light. You spelunk down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/at-first-you-fall-in-love-you-wake-in-the-morning-woozy-and-your/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“After the cafes of Paris with their exquisite wines and creamy fromages, crepes and steak tartare-- screaming Adore me!-- Madrid was these store-bought hunks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/after-the-cafes-of-paris-with-their-exquisite-wines-and-creamy/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [ “Mark, she now could see, was destined for a life of absolute logic \[...\], while she, the Etch a Sketcher, thought herself destined for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/mark-she-now-could-see-was-destined-for-a-life-of-absolute-logic/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“Learn to listen to this silence, because it will tell you many things, unimaginable things, things of great beauty and meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/learn-to-listen-to-this-silence-because-it-will-tell-you-many-things/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“A story is time itself, boxed and compressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/a-story-is-time-itself-boxed-and-compressed/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“We continued our strolling, for that is exactly what it was: strolling. This was not something I did in real life, either. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/we-continued-our-strolling-for-that-is-exactly-what-it-was-strolling/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“Someday, of course, she would light out on her own, following her own riverbed, and though we'd follow as long as she allowed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/someday-of-course-she-would-light-out-on-her-own-following-her-own/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“There's immeasurable glory in riding a tractor. You start by taking a lap around the fields, smelling the aroma, admiring the colors, day after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/there-s-immeasurable-glory-in-riding-a-tractor-you-start-by-taking-a/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) > [“Here where vegetables are scarce—or, it seems, scarcely eaten—there are times when ham (gorgeous, fantastic ham!) is the starter, the vegetable, and the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-paterniti/here-where-vegetables-are-scarce-or-it-seems-scarcely-eaten-there-are/) [Michael Paterniti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) [Explore all 17 Michael Paterniti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-paterniti/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [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/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Only occasionally can you glimpse through the embrasures of an otherwise perfectly polite person to see the cannons aimed out, only in a certain glint of light do the eyeteeth become fangs. We are driven by desire and fear. 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