--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He saw a chamber, broad and low…" description: "\"“He saw a chamber, broad and low, designed, in its every rich stain of picture and slumberous hanging, to appeal to the sensuous. And here the scent wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/bernard-capes-36369_decadence_he-saw-a-chamber-broad-and-low-designed_138656.jpg" --- # He saw a chamber, broad and low, designed, in its every… ![“He saw a chamber, broad and low, designed, in its every rich stain of picture and slumberous hanging, to appeal to the sensuous. And here the scent was thick and motionless. Costly marqueterie; Palissy candlesticks reflected in half-concealed mirrors framed in embossed silver; antique Nankin vases…” quote by Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/bernard-capes-36369_decadence_he-saw-a-chamber-broad-and-low-designed_138656.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/bernard-capes-36369_decadence_he-saw-a-chamber-broad-and-low-designed_138656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/bernard-capes-36369_decadence_he-saw-a-chamber-broad-and-low-designed_138656.jpg) > ““He saw a chamber, broad and low, designed, in its every rich stain of picture and slumberous hanging, to appeal to the sensuous. And here the scent was thick and motionless. Costly marqueterie; Palissy candlesticks reflected in half-concealed mirrors framed in embossed silver; antique Nankin vases brimming with pot-pourri; in one comer a suit of Milanese armour, fluted, damasquinee, by Felippo Negroli; in another a tripod table of porphyry, spectrally repeating in its polished surface the opal hues of a vessel of old Venetian glass half filled with some topaz-coloured liqueur - such and many more tokens of a luxurious aestheticism wrought in the observer an immediate sense of pleasurable enervation. He noticed, with a swaying thrill of delight, that his feet were on a padded rug of Astrakhan - one of many, disposed eccentrically about the yellow tassellated-marble floor; and he noticed that the sole light in the chamber came from an iridescent globed lamp, fed with some fragrant oil, that hung near an alcove traversed by a veil of dark violet silk. ("The Accursed Cordonnier")”” [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A richly decorated room overwhelms the senses, blending luxury with a subtle fatigue of excess. **In simple terms:** Luxurious surroundings can both delight and exhaust. Key Takeaway Balance aesthetic pleasure with simplicity. Themes luxury sensory overload art history reflection Mood introspective critical Type descriptive philosophical When to use this quote - visiting museums - designing interiors - curating art displays Key Concepts aesthetic theory material culture psychology of space Questions to Reflect On - How does opulence affect your mood? - When does beauty become tiring? A Different Perspective May ignore personal taste differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decadence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decadence/) [Decadent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decadent/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [“The neurotic youth of to-day renews no ante-existent type. You will look in vain for a face like Amos's amongst the busts of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/the-neurotic-youth-of-to-day-renews-no-ante-existent-type-you-will/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“A long light robe, sulphur-coloured, clung to the sleeper from low throat to ankle; bands of narrow nolana-blue ribbon crossed her breast and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/a-long-light-robe-sulphur-coloured-clung-to-the-sleeper-from-low/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Superficially, the figure in the smoking-room was that of a long, weedy young man - hairless as to his face; scalped with a fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/superficially-the-figure-in-the-smoking-room-was-that-of-a-long-weedy/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Lady Sarah Henbery was his hostess, and the inspired projector of a new scheme of existence (that was, in effect, the repudiation of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/lady-sarah-henbery-was-his-hostess-and-the-inspired-projector-of-a/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Let the beggar speak for himself. He's in earnest. Haven't we been bred on the principle of self-sacrifice, till we've come to think a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/let-the-beggar-speak-for-himself-he-s-in-earnest-haven-t-we-been-bred/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Bully the jade, and she will love you. ("The Accursed Cordonnier")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/bully-the-jade-and-she-will-love-you-the-accursed-cordonnier/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“This,' said the stranger softly, as if to himself, 'is the woeful proof, indeed, of decadence. Man waives his prerogative of lordship over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/this-said-the-stranger-softly-as-if-to-himself-is-the-woeful-proof/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Rose was patently a degenerate. Nature, in scheduling his characteristics, had pruned all superlatives. The rude armour of the flesh, under which the spiritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/rose-was-patently-a-degenerate-nature-in-scheduling-his/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“I think God hands over to His apprentices the moulding of vessels that don't interest Him. ("The Accursed Cordonnier")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/i-think-god-hands-over-to-his-apprentices-the-moulding-of-vessels/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“The beauty of the twentieth century is the charm of the hospital, the grace of the cemetery, of consumption and emaciation. I admit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/the-beauty-of-the-twentieth-century-is-the-charm-of-the-hospital-the/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [I haven't got purity, and I don't think I ever did. I have always been, even as a child, a very decadent little person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-faithfull/i-haven-t-got-purity-and-i-don-t-think-i-ever-did-i-have-always-been/) [Marianne Faithfull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-faithfull/) > [I was raised in a solidly upper-middle class family who had really strong values and excess was not one of the things that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/i-was-raised-in-a-solidly-upper-middle-class-family-who-had-really/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [“After two years' absence she finally returned to chilly Europe, a trifle weary, a trifle sad, disgusted by our banal entertainments, our shrunken landscapes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/after-two-years-absence-she-finally-returned-to-chilly-europe-a/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [“(Decadent style) is ingenious, complicated, learned, full of shades of meaning and research, always pushing further the limits of language... forcing itself to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/decadent-style-is-ingenious-complicated-learned-full-of-shades-of/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/like-symbolism-decadence-puts-forth-the-idea-that-the-function-of/) [Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/) ## More by Bernard Capes > [“I think God hands over to His apprentices the moulding of vessels that don't interest Him. ("The Accursed Cordonnier")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/i-think-god-hands-over-to-his-apprentices-the-moulding-of-vessels/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Rose was patently a degenerate. Nature, in scheduling his characteristics, had pruned all superlatives. The rude armour of the flesh, under which the spiritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/rose-was-patently-a-degenerate-nature-in-scheduling-his/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“This,' said the stranger softly, as if to himself, 'is the woeful proof, indeed, of decadence. Man waives his prerogative of lordship over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/this-said-the-stranger-softly-as-if-to-himself-is-the-woeful-proof/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Bully the jade, and she will love you. ("The Accursed Cordonnier")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/bully-the-jade-and-she-will-love-you-the-accursed-cordonnier/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Let the beggar speak for himself. He's in earnest. Haven't we been bred on the principle of self-sacrifice, till we've come to think a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/let-the-beggar-speak-for-himself-he-s-in-earnest-haven-t-we-been-bred/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Lady Sarah Henbery was his hostess, and the inspired projector of a new scheme of existence (that was, in effect, the repudiation of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/lady-sarah-henbery-was-his-hostess-and-the-inspired-projector-of-a/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“But there, set as in the crater of a mountain of sand, and inaccessible to mortal footstep, stands unperishing the glory of the earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/but-there-set-as-in-the-crater-of-a-mountain-of-sand-and-inaccessible/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“Superficially, the figure in the smoking-room was that of a long, weedy young man - hairless as to his face; scalped with a fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/superficially-the-figure-in-the-smoking-room-was-that-of-a-long-weedy/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“My (paradoxically) Christian name was bestowed in compliment to a godfather, sir. I am no Jew. I have already enough to know the curse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/my-paradoxically-christian-name-was-bestowed-in-compliment-to-a/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“I have an acute sense of delicacy. Naturally I am prejudiced in favour of virtue. ("The Accursed Cordonnier")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/i-have-an-acute-sense-of-delicacy-naturally-i-am-prejudiced-in-favour/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“A long light robe, sulphur-coloured, clung to the sleeper from low throat to ankle; bands of narrow nolana-blue ribbon crossed her breast and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/a-long-light-robe-sulphur-coloured-clung-to-the-sleeper-from-low/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) > [“The neurotic youth of to-day renews no ante-existent type. You will look in vain for a face like Amos's amongst the busts of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-capes/the-neurotic-youth-of-to-day-renews-no-ante-existent-type-you-will/) [Bernard Capes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) [Explore all 13 Bernard Capes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-capes/) ## More Decadence quotes > [One defining symptom of decadence is a fondness for vast and nonsensical extravagance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/one-defining-symptom-of-decadence-is-a-fondness-for-vast-and/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/like-symbolism-decadence-puts-forth-the-idea-that-the-function-of/) [Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/) > [I think Illium can take care of himself.” “Not if he keeps flirting with you.” A fine, almost elegant tendril of heat, champagne and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-think-illium-can-take-care-of-himself-not-if-he-keeps-flirting-with/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [“(Decadent style) is ingenious, complicated, learned, full of shades of meaning and research, always pushing further the limits of language... forcing itself to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/decadent-style-is-ingenious-complicated-learned-full-of-shades-of/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [“After two years' absence she finally returned to chilly Europe, a trifle weary, a trifle sad, disgusted by our banal entertainments, our shrunken landscapes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/after-two-years-absence-she-finally-returned-to-chilly-europe-a/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [I definitely consider 'Poses' - the whole album in fact - to be kind of a miracle. Like the last breath of that moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-definitely-consider-poses-the-whole-album-in-fact-to-be-kind-of-a/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [Fundamentalists believe that we don't believe in anything. In their view of the world, they are in possession of absolute certainties, while we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/fundamentalists-believe-that-we-don-t-believe-in-anything-in-their/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The history of prevailing status quos shows decay and decadence infecting the opulent materialism of the Haves. The spiritual life of the Haves is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-history-of-prevailing-status-quos-shows-decay-and-decadence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want my children to be bold,free,self-reliant and capable of changing the phase of that portion of the earth where they live. They may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amun-djoleto/i-want-my-children-to-be-bold-free-self-reliant-and-capable-of/) Amun Djoleto > [“Evolution has no foresight. Complex machinery develops its own agendas. Brains — cheat. Feedback loops evolve to promote stable heartbeats and then stumble upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/evolution-has-no-foresight-complex-machinery-develops-its-own-agendas/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Conventional, organized religion, in its most decadent form, is an inert parody of the genuine religious experience as much as modern occult organizations are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/conventional-organized-religion-in-its-most-decadent-form-is-an-inert/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [Decadence is a difficult word to use since it has become little more than a term of abuse applied by critics to anything they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/decadence-is-a-difficult-word-to-use-since-it-has-become-little-more/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Browse all 204 Decadence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decadence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He saw a chamber, broad and low, designed, in its every rich stain of picture and slumberous hanging, to appeal to the sensuous. 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