--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Candlesticks and incense not being…" description: "\"Candlesticks and incense not being portable into the maintop, the sailor perceives these decorations to be, on the whole, inessential to a maintop mass..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-ruskin-314_absolution_candlesticks-and-incense-not-being-porta_1249232.jpg" --- # Candlesticks and incense not being portable into the… ![“Candlesticks and incense not being portable into the maintop, the sailor perceives these decorations to be, on the whole, inessential to a maintop mass. Sails must be set and cables bent, be it never so strict a saint's day; and it is found that no harm comes of it. Absolution on a lee-shore must…” quote by John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-ruskin-314_absolution_candlesticks-and-incense-not-being-porta_1249232.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-ruskin-314_absolution_candlesticks-and-incense-not-being-porta_1249232.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-ruskin-314_absolution_candlesticks-and-incense-not-being-porta_1249232.jpg) > “Candlesticks and incense not being portable into the maintop, the sailor perceives these decorations to be, on the whole, inessential to a maintop mass. Sails must be set and cables bent, be it never so strict a saint's day; and it is found that no harm comes of it. Absolution on a lee-shore must be had of the breakers, it appears, if at all; and they give plenary and brief without listening to confession.” [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Practical necessities outweigh decorative rituals; essential work should not be hindered by superfluous customs. **In simple terms:** Focus on essentials, not unnecessary rituals. Key Takeaway Prioritize functional tasks over ornament. Themes practicality tradition efficiency Mood contemplative neutral Type critical observational When to use this quote - construction projects - maritime operations - daily chores Key Concepts rituals essentialism work ethic Questions to Reflect On - When are rituals worth preserving? - How do customs affect teamwork? A Different Perspective Some rituals provide morale or cultural value beyond practicality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolution/) [Bent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bent/) [Cables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cables/) [Ceremony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceremony/) [Confession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confession/) [Decoration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decoration/) [Decorations Inessential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decorations-inessential-3930156/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Incense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incense/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Maintop Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maintop-mass-3930155/) [Maintop Sailor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maintop-sailor-3930153/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Perceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive/) [Sail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sail/) [Sailor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailor/) [Sailor Perceives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailor-perceives-3930154/) [Sails Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sails-set-3930157/) [Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint/) [Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shore/) [Strict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strict/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [“Waiting for a ship to come in               only further                                           removes               wind from sails set off faraway to find rarities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenyatta-jean-paul-garcia/waiting-for-a-ship-to-come-in-only-further-removes-wind-from-sails/) [Kenyatta Jean-Paul Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenyatta-jean-paul-garcia/) > [The truth brings with it a great measure of absolution, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-truth-brings-with-it-a-great-measure-of-absolution-always/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [There is nothing absolute and final. If everything were ironclad, all the rules absolute and everything structured so no paradox or irony existed, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itzhak-bentov/there-is-nothing-absolute-and-final-if-everything-were-ironclad-all/) [Itzhak Bentov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/itzhak-bentov/) > [It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-the-confession-not-the-priest-that-gives-us-absolution/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I find something repulsive about the idea of vicarious redemption. I would not throw my numberless sins onto a scapegoat and expect them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-find-something-repulsive-about-the-idea-of-vicarious-redemption-i/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Psychoanalysis is confession without absolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/psychoanalysis-is-confession-without-absolution/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Pause your opinions, debating and absolute knowing for long enough to conceive gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/pause-your-opinions-debating-and-absolute-knowing-for-long-enough-to/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Time made apologies and absolution unnecessary. Time didn't really heal, it just made bad memories distant so that the brain couldn't recapture the lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amulya-malladi/time-made-apologies-and-absolution-unnecessary-time-didn-t-really/) [Amulya Malladi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amulya-malladi/) > [Our own acts are isolated and one act does not buy absolution for another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/our-own-acts-are-isolated-and-one-act-does-not-buy-absolution-for/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“Being alone will show you who you really are, and if you cannot get-on positively as the sole master of your space in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/being-alone-will-show-you-who-you-really-are-and-if-you-cannot-get-on/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [From sorrow to serenity, the truth is absolution, from sorrow to serenity, its on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killswitch-engage/from-sorrow-to-serenity-the-truth-is-absolution-from-sorrow-to/) [Killswitch Engage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killswitch-engage/) > [“There's absolution and purity to fucking that strips people back to their primal core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-french/there-s-absolution-and-purity-to-fucking-that-strips-people-back-to/) [Kitty French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-french/) > [“There's a price for absolution on this planet, and it's called penance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/there-s-a-price-for-absolution-on-this-planet-and-it-s-called-penance/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I tell you, guilt dwells nowhere but in the eyes of the accuser. This men know even as they deny it, which is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-tell-you-guilt-dwells-nowhere-but-in-the-eyes-of-the-accuser-this/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) ## More by John Ruskin > [“Occult Theft,--Theft which hides itself even from itself, and is legal, respectable, and cowardly,--corrupts the body and soul of man, to the last fibre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/occult-theft-theft-which-hides-itself-even-from-itself-and-is-legal/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Mighty of heart, mighty of mind, magnanimous-to be this is indeed to be great in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/mighty-of-heart-mighty-of-mind-magnanimous-to-be-this-is-indeed-to-be/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Life is a magic vase filled to the brim, so made that you cannot dip from it nor draw from it; but it overflows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/life-is-a-magic-vase-filled-to-the-brim-so-made-that-you-cannot-dip/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [As in the instances of alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds, political economy, has a plausible idea at the root of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/as-in-the-instances-of-alchemy-astrology-witchcraft-and-other-such/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I am far more provoked at being thought foolish by foolish people, than pleased at being thought sensible by sensible people; and the average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/i-am-far-more-provoked-at-being-thought-foolish-by-foolish-people/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [When we build ... let it not be for present delights nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/when-we-build-let-it-not-be-for-present-delights-nor-for-present-use/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [It is far more difficult to be simple than to be complicated; far more difficult to sacrifice skill and easy execution in the proper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-far-more-difficult-to-be-simple-than-to-be-complicated-far-more/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [It is a good and safe rule to sojourn in every place as if you meant to spend your life there, never omitting an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-good-and-safe-rule-to-sojourn-in-every-place-as-if-you-meant/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“You may trust to the truth of my sympathy; but you must remember that I am engaged in the investigation of enormous religious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/you-may-trust-to-the-truth-of-my-sympathy-but-you-must-remember-that/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [And remember, child, that nothing is ever done beautifully, which is done in rivalship; or nobly, which is done in pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/and-remember-child-that-nothing-is-ever-done-beautifully-which-is/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-s-unwise-to-pay-too-much-but-it-s-worse-to-pay-too-little/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [The world is full of vulgar Purists, who bring discredit on all selection by the silliness of their choice; and this the more, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-world-is-full-of-vulgar-purists-who-bring-discredit-on-all/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Like other beautiful things in this world, its end (that of a shaft) is to be beautiful; and, in proportion to its beauty, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/like-other-beautiful-things-in-this-world-its-end-that-of-a-shaft-is/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [All are to be men of genius in their degree,--rivulets or rivers, it does not matter, so that the souls be clear and pure;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/all-are-to-be-men-of-genius-in-their-degree-rivulets-or-rivers-it/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [The art of drawing which is of more real importance to the human race than that of writing...should be taught to every child just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-art-of-drawing-which-is-of-more-real-importance-to-the-human-race/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) [Explore all 696 John Ruskin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) ## More Absolution quotes > [I tell you, guilt dwells nowhere but in the eyes of the accuser. This men know even as they deny it, which is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/i-tell-you-guilt-dwells-nowhere-but-in-the-eyes-of-the-accuser-this/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“There's a price for absolution on this planet, and it's called penance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/there-s-a-price-for-absolution-on-this-planet-and-it-s-called-penance/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [“There's absolution and purity to fucking that strips people back to their primal core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty-french/there-s-absolution-and-purity-to-fucking-that-strips-people-back-to/) [Kitty French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kitty-french/) > [From sorrow to serenity, the truth is absolution, from sorrow to serenity, its on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killswitch-engage/from-sorrow-to-serenity-the-truth-is-absolution-from-sorrow-to/) [Killswitch Engage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killswitch-engage/) > [“Being alone will show you who you really are, and if you cannot get-on positively as the sole master of your space in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/being-alone-will-show-you-who-you-really-are-and-if-you-cannot-get-on/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Our own acts are isolated and one act does not buy absolution for another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/our-own-acts-are-isolated-and-one-act-does-not-buy-absolution-for/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“Time made apologies and absolution unnecessary. Time didn't really heal, it just made bad memories distant so that the brain couldn't recapture the lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amulya-malladi/time-made-apologies-and-absolution-unnecessary-time-didn-t-really/) [Amulya Malladi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amulya-malladi/) > [“Pause your opinions, debating and absolute knowing for long enough to conceive gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/pause-your-opinions-debating-and-absolute-knowing-for-long-enough-to/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Psychoanalysis is confession without absolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/psychoanalysis-is-confession-without-absolution/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“I find something repulsive about the idea of vicarious redemption. I would not throw my numberless sins onto a scapegoat and expect them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-find-something-repulsive-about-the-idea-of-vicarious-redemption-i/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-the-confession-not-the-priest-that-gives-us-absolution/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [There is nothing absolute and final. If everything were ironclad, all the rules absolute and everything structured so no paradox or irony existed, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itzhak-bentov/there-is-nothing-absolute-and-final-if-everything-were-ironclad-all/) [Itzhak Bentov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/itzhak-bentov/) > [The truth brings with it a great measure of absolution, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/the-truth-brings-with-it-a-great-measure-of-absolution-always/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [For one thing, the Catholic Church in particular has this one thing - confession - in which you could go, confess to a priest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/for-one-thing-the-catholic-church-in-particular-has-this-one-thing/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) [Browse all 89 Absolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Candlesticks and incense not being portable into the maintop, the sailor perceives these decorations to be, on the whole, inessential to a maintop mass. Sails must be set and cables bent, be it never so strict a saint's day; and it is found that no harm comes of it. 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