--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagination is like a lofty building…" description: "\"Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the sky; whereas fancy is a balloon that soars at the wind's will.\" — Gelett Burgess" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/gelett-burgess-12916_balloons_imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-rea_1313431.jpg" --- # Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the… ![“Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the sky; whereas fancy is a balloon that soars at the wind's will.” quote by Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/gelett-burgess-12916_balloons_imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-rea_1313431.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/gelett-burgess-12916_balloons_imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-rea_1313431.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/gelett-burgess-12916_balloons_imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-rea_1313431.jpg) > “Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the sky; whereas fancy is a balloon that soars at the wind's will.” [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination builds grand structures; fancy is fleeting and directionless. **In simple terms:** Imagination is structured; fancy is airy. Key Takeaway Focus on purposeful creativity. Themes imagination creativity structure Mood inspirational analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - design - innovation - problem solving Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you channel imagination into concrete results? - When does fancy become a hindrance? A Different Perspective Fancy can distract from meaningful work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balloons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balloons/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Lofty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lofty/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the sky - fancy is a balloon that soars at the wind's will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gelett-burgess/imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-reared-to-meet-the-sky-fancy-is/) Frank Gelett Burgess > [“Your imagination is like a hot air balloon, it can take you anywhere!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha/your-imagination-is-like-a-hot-air-balloon-it-can-take-you-anywhere/) [Samantha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha/) > [One thing about 'Star Wars' that I'm really proud of is that it expands the imagination. That's why I like the 'Star Wars' toys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/one-thing-about-star-wars-that-i-m-really-proud-of-is-that-it-expands/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [“What an imagination. Like I’d go to Oval just to have sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-henning/what-an-imagination-like-i-d-go-to-oval-just-to-have-sex/) Stephen Henning > [“When I read a book, I put in all the imagination I can, so that it is almost like writing a book as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/when-i-read-a-book-i-put-in-all-the-imagination-i-can-so-that-it-is/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [ \[My novel\] took up the sweetest part of my mind and the rarest part of my imagination; it was like being in love and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/my-novel-took-up-the-sweetest-part-of-my-mind-and-the-rarest-part-of/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“Imagination is like muscle. If you don't exercise it, it shrinks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-campbell/imagination-is-like-muscle-if-you-don-t-exercise-it-it-shrinks/) [Tim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-campbell/) > [Imagination, like reality, has its limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/imagination-like-reality-has-its-limits/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [I've always had a desire to write something and capture people's imagination like Peter Pan had captured mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-ve-always-had-a-desire-to-write-something-and-capture-people-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Great living starts with a picture, held in your imagination, of what you would like to do or be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/great-living-starts-with-a-picture-held-in-your-imagination-of-what/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [“Sometimes your imagination is more like you than yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-cosette/sometimes-your-imagination-is-more-like-you-than-yourself/) Anna-Cosette > [I wanted to be her; I wanted to write her. Red Sonja became anchored in my imagination like a mountain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/i-wanted-to-be-her-i-wanted-to-write-her-red-sonja-became-anchored-in/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [The imagination is like a muscle: it strengthens through use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/the-imagination-is-like-a-muscle-it-strengthens-through-use/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [I just have a relationship with my imagination. It's like my friend, almost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-just-have-a-relationship-with-my-imagination-it-s-like-my-friend/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [As a kid, I always had a super vivid imagination, like "Man, I like those shoes, but they should've made them in purple" or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/as-a-kid-i-always-had-a-super-vivid-imagination-like-man-i-like-those/) [Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/) ## More by Gelett Burgess > [No man knoweth how another man maketh his love, for women tell not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/no-man-knoweth-how-another-man-maketh-his-love-for-women-tell-not/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [Son, heed my instruction, and apply thyself to know women; let thine eyes observe her when she is with another, for what she doeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/son-heed-my-instruction-and-apply-thyself-to-know-women-let-thine/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [When the waitress puts the dinner on the table, the old men look at the dinner. The young men look at the waitress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/when-the-waitress-puts-the-dinner-on-the-table-the-old-men-look-at/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [A maiden's first kiss cometh hard, yea, it is as the first olive out of a bottle, requiring much skill; but the rest are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/a-maiden-s-first-kiss-cometh-hard-yea-it-is-as-the-first-olive-out-of/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [A woman findeth in her last lover much of her first love; but a man seeth his next-to-the-last love, alway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/a-woman-findeth-in-her-last-lover-much-of-her-first-love-but-a-man/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [Many a maid have I won by a quarrel, when flattery was in no wise helpful; but take heed that thou art in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/many-a-maid-have-i-won-by-a-quarrel-when-flattery-was-in-no-wise/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [It is in the blood of genius to love play for its own sake, and whether one uses one's skill on thrones or women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/it-is-in-the-blood-of-genius-to-love-play-for-its-own-sake-and/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [There are no roads in all Bohemia !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/there-are-no-roads-in-all-bohemia/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [Hurry not a woman's favor; neither forcer her hastily to surrender to thee. For she goeth into love as she goeth into the waters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/hurry-not-a-woman-s-favor-neither-forcer-her-hastily-to-surrender-to/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [A woman and a mouse, they carry a tale wherever they go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/a-woman-and-a-mouse-they-carry-a-tale-wherever-they-go/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [Count no matron happy until she hath passed thirty, and hath not waxed fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/count-no-matron-happy-until-she-hath-passed-thirty-and-hath-not-waxed/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [Son, if a maiden love thee, thou shalt appear handsome in her sight; she shall praise thine eyes, and the corners of thy mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/son-if-a-maiden-love-thee-thou-shalt-appear-handsome-in-her-sight-she/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [There is indeed no such thing in life as absolute darkness; one's eyes revolt and hasten to fill the vacuum by floating in sparks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/there-is-indeed-no-such-thing-in-life-as-absolute-darkness-one-s-eyes/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [Can a woman entertain a man and a pet at the same time? I say unto thee, one of the twain shall suffer jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/can-a-woman-entertain-a-man-and-a-pet-at-the-same-time-i-say-unto/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [Verily, men do foolish things thoughtlessly, knowing not why; but no woman doeth aught without a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/verily-men-do-foolish-things-thoughtlessly-knowing-not-why-but-no/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) [Explore all 52 Gelett Burgess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) ## More Balloons quotes > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [But the true voyagers are only those who leave Just to be leaving; hearts light, like balloons, They never turn aside from their fatality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/but-the-true-voyagers-are-only-those-who-leave-just-to-be-leaving/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Science is the only truth and it is the great lie. It knows nothing, and people think it knows everything. It is misrepresented. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/science-is-the-only-truth-and-it-is-the-great-lie-it-knows-nothing/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [Five runs with two outs is tough to take. It sure took the air out of our balloon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hargrove/five-runs-with-two-outs-is-tough-to-take-it-sure-took-the-air-out-of/) Mike Hargrove > [“Faith, hope and love should be balloons lifting you up, not anchors weighing you down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/faith-hope-and-love-should-be-balloons-lifting-you-up-not-anchors/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [It is not difficult to destroy Islam. Islam is the pumped up ego of a megalomaniac psychopath. Muhammad was a narcissist madman. Just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/it-is-not-difficult-to-destroy-islam-islam-is-the-pumped-up-ego-of-a/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [Blackouts can be fun if approached with the right mindset. You just can't sweat the fact that you've lost a small portion of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-kilmer-purcell/blackouts-can-be-fun-if-approached-with-the-right-mindset-you-just/) [Josh Kilmer-Purcell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-kilmer-purcell/) > [Imagination is to love what gas is to the balloon-that which raises it from earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/imagination-is-to-love-what-gas-is-to-the-balloon-that-which-raises/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) > [The balloon seems to stand still in the air while the earth flies past underneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-santos-dumont/the-balloon-seems-to-stand-still-in-the-air-while-the-earth-flies/) [Alberto Santos-Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-santos-dumont/) > [I was a kind of a one-man army. I could solder circuits together, I could turn out things on the lathe, I could work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-allen/i-was-a-kind-of-a-one-man-army-i-could-solder-circuits-together-i/) [James Van Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-allen/) > [“I remember watching those balloons as a little boy, each fall, wondering if someday I, too, would be nothing but a balloon in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-porpora/i-remember-watching-those-balloons-as-a-little-boy-each-fall/) [Kenny Porpora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-porpora/) > [Astronomy may be revolutionized more than any other field of science by observations from above the atmosphere. Study of the planets, the Sun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-spitzer/astronomy-may-be-revolutionized-more-than-any-other-field-of-science/) Lyman Spitzer > [The greatest sin is appearing naive or old-fashioned so that somebody can give you a sort of a very cool arch smile and devastate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-greatest-sin-is-appearing-naive-or-old-fashioned-so-that-somebody/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I want to ride in a cold air balloon. "This isn't going anywhere!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-want-to-ride-in-a-cold-air-balloon-this-isn-t-going-anywhere/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Balloons are SO weird... Happy Birthday, here's a plastic sack of my breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/balloons-are-so-weird-happy-birthday-here-s-a-plastic-sack-of-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 255 Balloons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balloons/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the sky; whereas fancy is a balloon that soars at the wind's will.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gelett Burgess" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-reared-to-meet-the-sky-whereas/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balloons" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-reared-to-meet-the-sky-whereas/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/gelett-burgess-12916_balloons_imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-rea_1313431.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/gelett-burgess-12916_balloons_imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-rea_1313431.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/gelett-burgess-12916_balloons_imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-rea_1313431.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the sky; whereas fancy is a balloon that soars at the…” — Gelett Burgess", "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": "Gelett Burgess", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Imagination is like a lofty building...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-reared-to-meet-the-sky-whereas/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/imagination-is-like-a-lofty-building-reared-to-meet-the-sky-whereas/#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 } } ] } ```