--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There lurks, perhaps, in every human…" description: "\"There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then to believe, that Nature has given ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/samuel-johnson-50_about-yourself_there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart_137286.png" --- # There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of… ![“There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then to believe, that Nature has given him something peculiar to himself.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/samuel-johnson-50_about-yourself_there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart_137286.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/samuel-johnson-50_about-yourself_there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart_137286.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/samuel-johnson-50_about-yourself_there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart_137286.png) > “There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then to believe, that Nature has given him something peculiar to himself.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans naturally desire distinction, leading to hope and belief that they possess a unique nature. **In simple terms:** People seek uniqueness, fostering hope and self‑belief. Key Takeaway Embrace individuality while recognizing shared humanity. Themes identity hope human nature Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - creative pursuits Key Concepts self‑esteem philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does being unique mean to you? - How can you balance individuality with community? A Different Perspective Excessive focus on distinction can cause isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) [Be true to yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-true-to-yourself/) [Be you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-you/) [Being single](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-single/) [Being yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-yourself/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-distinction-1560665/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Every man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-man/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Given Peculiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-peculiar-1560667/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-desire/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Incline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incline/) [Lurks Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lurks-human-1560666/) [Man Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-hope-585141/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Peculiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peculiar/) [True to yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-to-yourself/) ## Related quotes > [Those whose abilities or knowledge incline them most to deviate from the general round of life are recalled from eccentricity by the laws of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/those-whose-abilities-or-knowledge-incline-them-most-to-deviate-from/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“If your trust is in man, your joy will soon be buried in the cemetery. If you hope is in cars, your happiness will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/if-your-trust-is-in-man-your-joy-will-soon-be-buried-in-the-cemetery/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Are you finally admitting that you can sell a man hope? Have I at last succeeded in teaching you that?” He laughed and flicked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-maitland/are-you-finally-admitting-that-you-can-sell-a-man-hope-have-i-at-last/) [Karen Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-maitland/) > [The miracle word which God has written on the brow of every man is 'hope'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sreenadh/the-miracle-word-which-god-has-written-on-the-brow-of-every-man-is/) [Sreenadh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sreenadh/) > [A man full of hope will be full of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/a-man-full-of-hope-will-be-full-of-action/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [The things a man has to have are hope and confidence in himself against odds... And he must be ready to choose death before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-gable/the-things-a-man-has-to-have-are-hope-and-confidence-in-himself-2/) [Clark Gable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-gable/) > [Ah! If man would but see that hope is from within and not from without - that he himself must work out his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/ah-if-man-would-but-see-that-hope-is-from-within-and-not-from-without/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [“Whether you believe or disbelieve, it is a wicked thing to take away Man's hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/whether-you-believe-or-disbelieve-it-is-a-wicked-thing-to-take-away/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Focus on miracles or breakthrough makes a man to hope that he could reap where he has not sown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/focus-on-miracles-or-breakthrough-makes-a-man-to-hope-that-he-could/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You're my hope for the future and my call to be a better man and I do hope one day you'll be my wife.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-adams/you-re-my-hope-for-the-future-and-my-call-to-be-a-better-man-and-i-do/) [Noelle Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-adams/) > [A man without hope is a man without fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-miller/a-man-without-hope-is-a-man-without-fear/) [Frank Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-miller/) > [“That's how life is; we grow, we learn, and sometimes we change. And in every man, there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-le-veque/that-s-how-life-is-we-grow-we-learn-and-sometimes-we-change-and-in/) [Kathryn Le Veque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-le-veque/) > [Man's hope can paint a purple picture, can transform a soaring vulture into a noble eagle or moaning dove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/man-s-hope-can-paint-a-purple-picture-can-transform-a-soaring-vulture/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [If man has been kicked up out of that which is only impersonal by chance , then those things that make him man-hope of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/if-man-has-been-kicked-up-out-of-that-which-is-only-impersonal-by/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [A man can never hope to be more than he is if he is not first honest about what he isnt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-can-never-hope-to-be-more-than-he-is-if-he-is-not-first-honest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More About yourself quotes > [“they all have always loved you Will Herondale, for you cannot hide what is good about yourself, however har you try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/they-all-have-always-loved-you-will-herondale-for-you-cannot-hide/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-can-t-love-yourself-how-in-the-hell-you-gonna-love-somebody/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [Change your thoughts, change your life. —LAO TZU When I was fighting depression, I remember hearing this expression and not understanding it at first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/change-your-thoughts-change-your-life-lao-tzu-when-i-was-fighting/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Dreams really tell you about yourself more than anything else in this world could ever tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/dreams-really-tell-you-about-yourself-more-than-anything-else-in-this/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [Celebrate all the things you don't like about yourself. love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/celebrate-all-the-things-you-don-t-like-about-yourself-love-yourself/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Start enjoying the things you like about yourself, and if there are things you want to change, either get to work on it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benji-madden/start-enjoying-the-things-you-like-about-yourself-and-if-there-are/) [Benji Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benji-madden/) > [Always be yourself. There's only one you. You should embrace anything that you don't like about yourself because that's individual and that's you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesy-nelson/always-be-yourself-there-s-only-one-you-you-should-embrace-anything/) [Jesy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesy-nelson/) > [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/) [Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. There are no secrets. They are only techniques to waken yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/the-only-thing-a-master-can-teach-is-how-to-learn-about-yourself/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [I don't want to sell myself short. You hurt your spouse, not so much by the infidelity, but by the negative feelings about yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-zaslow/i-don-t-want-to-sell-myself-short-you-hurt-your-spouse-not-so-much-by/) [Michael Zaslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-zaslow/) > [A stranger can see in an instant something in you that you might spend years learning about yourself. 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Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) [Browse all 770 About yourself quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinction, which inclines every man first to hope, and then to believe, that Nature has given him something peculiar to himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart-a-desire-of-distinction/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "About yourself" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart-a-desire-of-distinction/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/samuel-johnson-50_about-yourself_there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart_137286.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/samuel-johnson-50_about-yourself_there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart_137286.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/samuel-johnson-50_about-yourself_there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart_137286.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There lurks, perhaps, in every human heart a desire of distinction, which inclines every man first to hope…” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There lurks, perhaps, in every human...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart-a-desire-of-distinction/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-lurks-perhaps-in-every-human-heart-a-desire-of-distinction/#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 } } ] } ```