--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only those who still have hope can…" description: "\"Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears.\" — Nathanael West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/nathanael-west-11471_benefit_only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benef_2743712.png" --- # Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears. ![“Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears.” quote by Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/nathanael-west-11471_benefit_only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benef_2743712.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/nathanael-west-11471_benefit_only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benef_2743712.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/nathanael-west-11471_benefit_only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benef_2743712.png) > “Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears.” [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope enables people to find value in sorrow, turning tears into a source of strength. **In simple terms:** Hope makes tears useful. Key Takeaway Embrace hope during hardship. Themes hope resilience emotions Mood reflective empathetic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal loss - creative expression - spiritual practice Key Concepts psychology emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform sorrow into growth? - What role does hope play in healing? A Different Perspective Hope may not erase pain, only reframe it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benefit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefit/) [Benefit Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefit-tears-3046170/) [Benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) [Having hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-hope/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Benefit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-benefit-3046171/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ## Related quotes > [Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears. When they finish, they feel better. But to those without hope, whose anguish is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benefit-from-tears-when-they/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [I hope the next benefit concert will aid people traumatized from watching wrinkly British rock stars in HD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hope-the-next-benefit-concert-will-aid-people-traumatized-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A benefit consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/a-benefit-consists-not-in-what-is-done-or-given-but-in-the-intention/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The test of civilization is the power of drawing the most benefit out of cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-test-of-civilization-is-the-power-of-drawing-the-most-benefit-out/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If you see long term benefit in doing something, but short term pain then you should do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/if-you-see-long-term-benefit-in-doing-something-but-short-term-pain/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I've learned the hard way how valuable privacy is. And I've learned that there are a lot of things in your life that really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-kutcher/i-ve-learned-the-hard-way-how-valuable-privacy-is-and-i-ve-learned/) [Ashton Kutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-kutcher/) > [I wasn't the typical pageant girl - I was a little more nerdy, and they gave me a voice. I created the Queen of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-giraud/i-wasn-t-the-typical-pageant-girl-i-was-a-little-more-nerdy-and-they/) [Joyce Giraud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-giraud/) > [A side benefit of the new and developing technologies is that soon we won't have to feel guilty about the suffering and denigration of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-williams/a-side-benefit-of-the-new-and-developing-technologies-is-that-soon-we/) [Joy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-williams/) > [To use for our exclusive benefit what is not ours is theft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/to-use-for-our-exclusive-benefit-what-is-not-ours-is-theft/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [Dance keeps me fit! It's been a huge benefit in my life and it will forever be a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-holker/dance-keeps-me-fit-it-s-been-a-huge-benefit-in-my-life-and-it-will/) [Allison Holker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-holker/) > [The benefit to building a startup is that customers don't have the same kind of friction when they adopt new technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-benefit-to-building-a-startup-is-that-customers-don-t-have-the/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [For us, my wife and I and all of my partners believe that corporations have to be corporate citizens, and individuals who benefit from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walter/for-us-my-wife-and-i-and-all-of-my-partners-believe-that-corporations/) [Mark Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walter/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [The benefit of living in a free society is that we all have the choice to be rich, poor, or middle class. The decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/the-benefit-of-living-in-a-free-society-is-that-we-all-have-the/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [It's not always to the benefit of the story to have it so preordained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-woodrell/it-s-not-always-to-the-benefit-of-the-story-to-have-it-so-preordained/) [Daniel Woodrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-woodrell/) ## More by Nathanael West > [“Perhaps I can make you understand. Let’s start from the beginning. A man is hired to give advice to the readers of a newspaper.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/perhaps-i-can-make-you-understand-let-s-start-from-the-beginning-a/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [He felt as though his heart were a bomb, a complicated bomb that would result in a simple explosion, wrecking the world without rocking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/he-felt-as-though-his-heart-were-a-bomb-a-complicated-bomb-that-would/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a wounded foot: to hurt the pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/he-read-it-for-the-same-reason-an-animal-tears-at-a-wounded-foot-to/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [“He Sat in the window thinking. Man has a tropism for order. Keys in one pocket, change in the other. Mandolins are tuned G…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/he-sat-in-the-window-thinking-man-has-a-tropism-for-order-keys-in-one/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [“Love a man even in his sin, for that is the semblance of Divine Love and is the highest love on eath. Love all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/love-a-man-even-in-his-sin-for-that-is-the-semblance-of-divine-love/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [Prayers for the condemned man will be offered on an adding machine. Numbers constitute the only universal language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/prayers-for-the-condemned-man-will-be-offered-on-an-adding-machine/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [Her sureness was based on the power to limit experience arbitrarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/her-sureness-was-based-on-the-power-to-limit-experience-arbitrarily/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [“But now let us consider the holes in our own bodies and into what these congenital wounds open. Under the skin of man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/but-now-let-us-consider-the-holes-in-our-own-bodies-and-into-what/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [You once said to me that I talk like a man in a book. I not only talk, but think and feel like one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/you-once-said-to-me-that-i-talk-like-a-man-in-a-book-i-not-only-talk/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [“Art Is One if Life's Richest Offerings. For those who have not the talent to create, there is appreciation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/art-is-one-if-life-s-richest-offerings-for-those-who-have-not-the/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [“He's an escapist. He wants to cultivate his interior garden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/he-s-an-escapist-he-wants-to-cultivate-his-interior-garden/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [“His mouth formed an O with lips torn angry in laying duck's eggs from a chicken's rectum.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/his-mouth-formed-an-o-with-lips-torn-angry-in-laying-duck-s-eggs-from/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears. When they finish, they feel better. But to those without hope, whose anguish is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benefit-from-tears-when-they/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [At college, and perhaps for a year afterwards, they had believed in literature, had believed in Beauty and in personal expression as an absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/at-college-and-perhaps-for-a-year-afterwards-they-had-believed-in/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [“It was very sad under the trees. Although spring was well advanced, in the deep shade there was nothing but death-rotten leaves, gray and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/it-was-very-sad-under-the-trees-although-spring-was-well-advanced-in/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) [Explore all 58 Nathanael West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) ## More Benefit quotes > [Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-mehlman/some-republicans-gave-up-on-winning-the-african-american-vote-looking/) [Ken Mehlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-mehlman/) > [It's not always to the benefit of the story to have it so preordained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-woodrell/it-s-not-always-to-the-benefit-of-the-story-to-have-it-so-preordained/) [Daniel Woodrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-woodrell/) > [I'm less concerned about whether being a good corporate citizen burnishes a company's reputation. That's just an added benefit. I believe it's a responsibility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-burns/i-m-less-concerned-about-whether-being-a-good-corporate-citizen/) [Ursula Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-burns/) > [The benefit of living in a free society is that we all have the choice to be rich, poor, or middle class. The decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/the-benefit-of-living-in-a-free-society-is-that-we-all-have-the/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [For us, my wife and I and all of my partners believe that corporations have to be corporate citizens, and individuals who benefit from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walter/for-us-my-wife-and-i-and-all-of-my-partners-believe-that-corporations/) [Mark Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walter/) > [The benefit to building a startup is that customers don't have the same kind of friction when they adopt new technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-benefit-to-building-a-startup-is-that-customers-don-t-have-the/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing is so good that impious and sacrilegious and wicked people cannot contort its proper benefit into evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/nothing-is-so-good-that-impious-and-sacrilegious-and-wicked-people/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [“Everything I think I’m doing for my own benefit has some incidental evolutionary advantage!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-hamantaschen/everything-i-think-i-m-doing-for-my-own-benefit-has-some-incidental/) [J.R. Hamantaschen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-hamantaschen/) > [The true principle of taxation is the benefit principle - those who benefit from a government service should pay for it. It's also known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-skousen/the-true-principle-of-taxation-is-the-benefit-principle-those-who/) [Mark Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-skousen/) > [Dance keeps me fit! It's been a huge benefit in my life and it will forever be a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-holker/dance-keeps-me-fit-it-s-been-a-huge-benefit-in-my-life-and-it-will/) [Allison Holker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-holker/) > [Many people do not realize that where unions have bargaining rights employers cannot raise wages or improve benefit plans any more than they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/many-people-do-not-realize-that-where-unions-have-bargaining-rights/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [To use for our exclusive benefit what is not ours is theft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/to-use-for-our-exclusive-benefit-what-is-not-ours-is-theft/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [There is almost no topic that can't benefit from being talked about in a humorous way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-parris/there-is-almost-no-topic-that-can-t-benefit-from-being-talked-about/) [Rachel Parris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-parris/) [Browse all 533 Benefit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nathanael West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benefit-from-tears/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benefit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benefit-from-tears/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/nathanael-west-11471_benefit_only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benef_2743712.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/nathanael-west-11471_benefit_only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benef_2743712.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/nathanael-west-11471_benefit_only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benef_2743712.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears.” — Nathanael West", "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": "Nathanael West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only those who still have hope...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benefit-from-tears/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/only-those-who-still-have-hope-can-benefit-from-tears/#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 } } ] } ```