--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cathedrals are an unassailable witness to…" description: "\"Cathedrals are an unassailable witness to human passion. Using what demented calculation could an animal build such places? I think we know. An animal ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/lionel-tiger-42821_animal_cathedrals-are-an-unassailable-witness-t_394753.png" --- # Cathedrals are an unassailable witness to human passion… ![“Cathedrals are an unassailable witness to human passion. Using what demented calculation could an animal build such places? I think we know. An animal with a gorgeous genius for hope.” quote by Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/lionel-tiger-42821_animal_cathedrals-are-an-unassailable-witness-t_394753.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/lionel-tiger-42821_animal_cathedrals-are-an-unassailable-witness-t_394753.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a9/lionel-tiger-42821_animal_cathedrals-are-an-unassailable-witness-t_394753.png) > “Cathedrals are an unassailable witness to human passion. Using what demented calculation could an animal build such places? I think we know. An animal with a gorgeous genius for hope.” [Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cathedrals symbolize humanity’s deep yearning and capacity for hope, contrasting with animal instinct. **In simple terms:** Human creations reflect hope, unlike animal building. Key Takeaway Recognize hope as a driving force. Themes hope human achievement architecture passion Mood awe inspired Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - visiting historic sites - studying architecture - reflecting on personal aspirations Key Concepts existentialism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does hope shape your creative projects? - What structures embody your passions? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize human effort, overlooking practical labor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Cathedrals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedrals/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Funny, gorgeous, and a genius. What a package." He backed out of the parking space, smiling as he drove away. 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Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained; I stand and look at them long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-think-i-could-turn-and-live-with-the-animals-they-are-so-placid-and/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [There was a time in my demented youth When somehow I suspected that the truth About survival after death was known To every human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-was-a-time-in-my-demented-youth-when-somehow-i-suspected-that/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [I had a perfect confidence, still unshaken, in books. If you read enough you would reach the point of no return. You would cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-bevington/i-had-a-perfect-confidence-still-unshaken-in-books-if-you-read-enough/) [Helen Bevington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-bevington/) > [I've mainly been in dramas, so this is one of my first comedy kind of performances in Cecil B. Demented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dorff/i-ve-mainly-been-in-dramas-so-this-is-one-of-my-first-comedy-kind-of/) [Stephen Dorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dorff/) > [You can't just rattle it off like a demented parrot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-sage/you-can-t-just-rattle-it-off-like-a-demented-parrot/) [Angie Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-sage/) > [In truth, one of our company, the solemn warrior Ecthgow, was so demented from liquor that he was drunk while still upon his horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/in-truth-one-of-our-company-the-solemn-warrior-ecthgow-was-so/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [As for the demented, I hold it certain that all beings deprived of reason are thus afflicted only by the Devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/as-for-the-demented-i-hold-it-certain-that-all-beings-deprived-of/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I think they’re having trouble adjusting to the emotions they have outside of their dreams. 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Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [… an outlaw gulch, a haven for draft resisters, struggling artists, and drug addicts…a camp for semi-demented adults… Venice is like the legendary Phoenix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-davidson/an-outlaw-gulch-a-haven-for-draft-resisters-struggling-artists-and/) Sara Davidson > [My childhood may have been more demented than most, because I learned to read very early and was allowed to read whatever I wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppy-z-brite/my-childhood-may-have-been-more-demented-than-most-because-i-learned/) [Poppy Z. Brite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppy-z-brite/) > [He's like a demented ferret up a wee drainpipe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mclaren/he-s-like-a-demented-ferret-up-a-wee-drainpipe/) Bill McLaren ## More by Lionel Tiger > [There is a tendency for humans to consciously see what they wish to see. They literally have difficulty seeing things with negative connotations while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-tiger/there-is-a-tendency-for-humans-to-consciously-see-what-they-wish-to/) [Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) > [To those who think that the law of gravity interferes with their freedom, there is nothing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-tiger/to-those-who-think-that-the-law-of-gravity-interferes-with-their/) [Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) > [ \[Pleasure is what suggested\] which behaviors, emotions, social patterns and patterns of taste served us well during our evolutionary history. They were experienced as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-tiger/pleasure-is-what-suggested-which-behaviors-emotions-social-patterns/) [Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) > [Our ancestors were eating meat over 2.5 million years ago. 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They have suffered an unexpected blow to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-tiger/no-one-attached-to-the-traditional-image-of-authoritarian-patriarchy/) [Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) > [Human beings need pleasure the way they need vitamins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-tiger/human-beings-need-pleasure-the-way-they-need-vitamins/) [Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) > [You can teach a bear to tango on a barrel but his enthusiasm and performance are limited and brief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-tiger/you-can-teach-a-bear-to-tango-on-a-barrel-but-his-enthusiasm-and/) [Lionel Tiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) [Explore all 10 Lionel Tiger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-tiger/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cathedrals are an unassailable witness to human passion. Using what demented calculation could an animal build such places? I think we know. 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