--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hope is the only good that is common to…" description: "\"Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still.\" — Thales" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/thales-24146_common_hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to_356496.jpg" --- # Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who… ![“Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still.” quote by Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/thales-24146_common_hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to_356496.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/thales-24146_common_hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to_356496.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/thales-24146_common_hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to_356496.jpg) > “Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still.” [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope is the universal positive that persists even when all else is lost, uniting humanity in shared resilience. **In simple terms:** Hope unites everyone, even in poverty. Key Takeaway Cultivate hope in yourself and others. Themes hope resilience humanity Mood optimistic reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - poverty relief - mental health support - community building - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism shared experience Questions to Reflect On - How can hope be turned into concrete change? - What sustains hope in dire circumstances? A Different Perspective Hope can be fragile and may lead to complacency if not paired with action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-men-319905/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-good-335913/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Possess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-possess-546055/) [Possess Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possess-hope-3282157/) ## Related quotes > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [No man must be superior to the things that are common to men… Not only are we all in the same boat, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/no-man-must-be-superior-to-the-things-that-are-common-to-men-not-only/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Common men should esteem learning as silver, noble men prize it as gold, and princes as jewels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-ii/common-men-should-esteem-learning-as-silver-noble-men-prize-it-as/) [Pope Pius II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-ii/) > [Tis ever common That men are merriest when they are from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/tis-ever-common-that-men-are-merriest-when-they-are-from-home/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I'm an actress, so I hope I'm good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-eve/i-m-an-actress-so-i-hope-i-m-good-at-it/) [Alice Eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-eve/) > [Kinship among nations is not determined in such measurements as proximity of size and age. Rather we should turn to those inner things -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/kinship-among-nations-is-not-determined-in-such-measurements-as/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“Only men who do not mind a hard life, with scanty food, little water and lots of discomfort, men who possess stamina and initiative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/only-men-who-do-not-mind-a-hard-life-with-scanty-food-little-water/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Ten thousand men possess ten thousand hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/ten-thousand-men-possess-ten-thousand-hopes/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [At times the whole world seems to be in conspiracy to importune you with emphatic trifles. Friend, client, child, sickness, fear, want, charity, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/at-times-the-whole-world-seems-to-be-in-conspiracy-to-importune-you/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Though men now possess the power to dominate and exploit every corner of the natural world, nothing in that fact implies that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/though-men-now-possess-the-power-to-dominate-and-exploit-every-corner/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Virtuous men alone possess friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/virtuous-men-alone-possess-friends/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“The man who can organize and direct a "Master Mind" group of men who possess knowledge useful in the accumulation of money, is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-man-who-can-organize-and-direct-a-master-mind-group-of-men-who/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Control over a woman is the only form of dominance most men possess, for most men are merely subjects of more powerful men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/control-over-a-woman-is-the-only-form-of-dominance-most-men-possess/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [He was one of those men who possess almost every gift, except the gift of the power to use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-one-of-those-men-who-possess-almost-every-gift-except-the-gift/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [“Men live by rules they've made for themselves. And among those rules is one specifying that women are merely commodities for men to possess.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/men-live-by-rules-they-ve-made-for-themselves-and-among-those-rules/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) ## More by Thales > [Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/avoid-doing-what-you-would-blame-others-for-doing/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Many words are not proof of the wise man, because the sage only talk when it's needed, and the words are measured and corresponding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/many-words-are-not-proof-of-the-wise-man-because-the-sage-only-talk/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Time is the wisest of all things that are; for it brings everything to light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/time-is-the-wisest-of-all-things-that-are-for-it-brings-everything-to/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [There are three attributes for which I am grateful to Fortune: that I was born, first, human and not animal; second, man and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/there-are-three-attributes-for-which-i-am-grateful-to-fortune-that-i/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [We live not, in reality, on the summit of a solid earth but at the bottom of an ocean of air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/we-live-not-in-reality-on-the-summit-of-a-solid-earth-but-at-the/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [As brightness is to rustiness, so labor excelleth idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/as-brightness-is-to-rustiness-so-labor-excelleth-idleness/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [I did not become a father because I am fond of children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/i-did-not-become-a-father-because-i-am-fond-of-children/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [All things are from water and all things are resolved into water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/all-things-are-from-water-and-all-things-are-resolved-into-water/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Placing your stick at the end of the shadow of the pyramid, you made by the sun's rays two triangles, and so proved that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/placing-your-stick-at-the-end-of-the-shadow-of-the-pyramid-you-made/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [What man is happy? He who has a healthy body, a resourceful mind, and a docile nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/what-man-is-happy-he-who-has-a-healthy-body-a-resourceful-mind-and-a/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [I will be sufficiently rewarded if when telling it to others you will not claim the discovery as your own, but will say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/i-will-be-sufficiently-rewarded-if-when-telling-it-to-others-you-will/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [A multitude of words is no proof of a prudent mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/a-multitude-of-words-is-no-proof-of-a-prudent-mind/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [Place is the greatest thing, as it contains all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/place-is-the-greatest-thing-as-it-contains-all-things/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [ \[One\] who is healthy in body, resourceful in soul and of a readily teachable nature. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/one-who-is-healthy-in-body-resourceful-in-soul-and-of-a-readily/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [The past is certain, the future obscure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/the-past-is-certain-the-future-obscure/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) [Explore all 25 Thales quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thales" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to-all-men-those-who-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to-all-men-those-who-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/thales-24146_common_hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to_356496.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/thales-24146_common_hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to_356496.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/thales-24146_common_hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to_356496.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hope is the only good that is common to all men; those who have nothing else possess hope still.” — Thales", "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": "Thales", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hope is the only good that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to-all-men-those-who-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/hope-is-the-only-good-that-is-common-to-all-men-those-who-have/#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 } } ] } ```