--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human beings don't show, any more than…" description: "\"Human beings don't show, any more than cities at dusk, their real necessities! And yet if you looked -- past the circle of outside lights, through the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/phyllis-bottome-8036_circles_human-beings-don-t-show-any-more-than-ci_1599487.jpg" --- # Human beings don't show, any more than cities at dusk… ![“Human beings don't show, any more than cities at dusk, their real necessities! And yet if you looked -- past the circle of outside lights, through the street walls still standing -- into the want and emptiness within!” quote by Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/phyllis-bottome-8036_circles_human-beings-don-t-show-any-more-than-ci_1599487.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/phyllis-bottome-8036_circles_human-beings-don-t-show-any-more-than-ci_1599487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/phyllis-bottome-8036_circles_human-beings-don-t-show-any-more-than-ci_1599487.jpg) > “Human beings don't show, any more than cities at dusk, their real necessities! And yet if you looked -- past the circle of outside lights, through the street walls still standing -- into the want and emptiness within!” [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often hide their true needs, much like cities conceal emptiness behind bright lights. **In simple terms:** People hide real needs behind appearances. Key Takeaway Seek authenticity and address inner emptiness. Themes self-awareness authenticity illusion urban metaphor Mood introspective hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal relationships - mental health counseling - creative writing Key Concepts psychology existentialism urban studies Questions to Reflect On - What inner needs are you neglecting? - How can you reveal authentic desires in daily life? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overgeneralize human behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Cities Dusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities-dusk-6079852/) [Dusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dusk/) [Dusk Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dusk-real-6079853/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Outside Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-lights-2307557/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Street Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/street-walls-6079854/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [The outside lights were on, and it was snowing, and it looked like magic. 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A young Asian man screams into his mobile phone, not stopping to listen:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stone/friday-dusk-becomes-friday-evening-the-park-is-feverish-with-life-a/) [Craig Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stone/) > [The past--the wild charge at the head of his men up San Juan Hill; the first years of his marriage when he worked late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-past-the-wild-charge-at-the-head-of-his-men-up-san-juan-hill-the/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“There's a special quality to the loneliness of dusk, a melancholy more brooding even than the night's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gorman/there-s-a-special-quality-to-the-loneliness-of-dusk-a-melancholy-more/) [Ed Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gorman/) > [Over the tops of it, beginning to dusk under a young white moon, trailed a wavering ghost of smoke, and at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-hunter-austin/over-the-tops-of-it-beginning-to-dusk-under-a-young-white-moon/) [Mary Hunter Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-hunter-austin/) > [“Sophie picked her way through the forest, stepping over tree roots, and pushing aside low-lying branches, letting them snap back behind her with reckless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/sophie-picked-her-way-through-the-forest-stepping-over-tree-roots-and/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [Willows whiten, aspens quiver, Little breezes dusk and shiver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/willows-whiten-aspens-quiver-little-breezes-dusk-and-shiver/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [My father kept me busy from dawn to dusk when I was a kid. When I wasn't pitching hay, hauling corn or running a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-feller/my-father-kept-me-busy-from-dawn-to-dusk-when-i-was-a-kid-when-i-wasn/) [Bob Feller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-feller/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) ## More by Phyllis Bottome > [Jane had that happy disposition which would like to imagine that every one really wishes the well-being of his neighbour and struggles, though sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/jane-had-that-happy-disposition-which-would-like-to-imagine-that/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Neither situations nor people can be altered by the interference of an outsider. 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Think - it happens once only - to each of us - as birth does. What do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/death-is-not-a-great-affair-think-it-happens-once-only-to-each-of-us/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Taboos on the human heart are more dangerous than any risk we run by using our emotions. Sensation is the life of man; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/taboos-on-the-human-heart-are-more-dangerous-than-any-risk-we-run-by/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [... one pets what one degrades; and one has to support what one has enfeebled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/one-pets-what-one-degrades-and-one-has-to-support-what-one-has/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Truth is no man's slave - but lies - what magnificent servants they make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/truth-is-no-man-s-slave-but-lies-what-magnificent-servants-they-make/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Marriage! ... Why, it is like living in a thimble with a hippopotamus!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/marriage-why-it-is-like-living-in-a-thimble-with-a-hippopotamus/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Anger is like mild, it should not be kept too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/anger-is-like-mild-it-should-not-be-kept-too-long/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [People who talk of new lives believe there will be no new troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/people-who-talk-of-new-lives-believe-there-will-be-no-new-troubles/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [All persecution is a sign of fear; for if we did not fear the power of an opinion different from our own, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/all-persecution-is-a-sign-of-fear-for-if-we-did-not-fear-the-power-of/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Love comes into your being like a tidal wave ... sometimes it withdraws like a wave, till there isn't such a thing as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/love-comes-into-your-being-like-a-tidal-wave-sometimes-it-withdraws/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) [Explore all 85 Phyllis Bottome quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) ## More Circles quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. 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Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) [Browse all 1,860 Circles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human beings don't show, any more than cities at dusk, their real necessities! 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