--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Venice is the worlds unconscious: a…" description: "\"Venice is the worlds unconscious: a misers glittering hoard, guarded by a Beast whose eyes are made of white agate, and by a saint who is really a prin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/mary-mccarthy-2691_beast_venice-is-the-worlds-unconscious-a-miser_1054551.png" --- # Venice is the worlds unconscious: a misers glittering… ![“Venice is the worlds unconscious: a misers glittering hoard, guarded by a Beast whose eyes are made of white agate, and by a saint who is really a prince who has just slain a dragon.” quote by Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/mary-mccarthy-2691_beast_venice-is-the-worlds-unconscious-a-miser_1054551.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/mary-mccarthy-2691_beast_venice-is-the-worlds-unconscious-a-miser_1054551.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/mary-mccarthy-2691_beast_venice-is-the-worlds-unconscious-a-miser_1054551.png) > “Venice is the worlds unconscious: a misers glittering hoard, guarded by a Beast whose eyes are made of white agate, and by a saint who is really a prince who has just slain a dragon.” [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The city is likened to a hidden, guarded treasure, guarded by both a monstrous beast and a deceptive saint‑prince. **In simple terms:** City as hidden treasure. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden complexities. Themes urban myth power wealth guardians illusion Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - urban exploration - policy making - tourism - heritage preservation Key Concepts symbolism psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does the 'beast' represent in modern cities? - How can we see beyond the 'saint' façade? A Different Perspective Simplifying a city to myth can ignore real socioeconomic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) [Dragons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dragons/) [Misers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misers/) [Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint/) [Venice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/venice/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The deep art... That's the part that has to be guarded like a miser would his money... Like a dope addict would his dope...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alonzo-king/the-deep-art-that-s-the-part-that-has-to-be-guarded-like-a-miser/) [Alonzo King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alonzo-king/) > [The perennial wonder of Venice is to peer at herself in her canals and find that she exists-incredible as it seems. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-perennial-wonder-of-venice-is-to-peer-at-herself-in-her-canals/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Venice, as a city, was a foundling, floating upon the waters like Moses in his basket among the bulrushes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/venice-as-a-city-was-a-foundling-floating-upon-the-waters-like-moses/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [this is the spirit of the enchantment under which Venice lies, pearly and roseate, like the Sleeping Beauty, changeless throughout the centuries, arrested, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/this-is-the-spirit-of-the-enchantment-under-which-venice-lies-pearly/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [...the tourist Venice is Venice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-tourist-venice-is-venice/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [ This grossly advertised wonder \[Venice\], this gold idol with clay feet, this trompe-l'oeil, this painted deception, this cliche-what intelligent iconoclast could fail to experience… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/this-grossly-advertised-wonder-venice-this-gold-idol-with-clay-feet/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The rationalist mind has always had its doubts about Venice. The watery city receives a dry inspection, as though it were a myth for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-rationalist-mind-has-always-had-its-doubts-about-venice-the/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The things of this world reveal their essential absurdity when they are put in the Venetian context. In the unreal realm of the canals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-things-of-this-world-reveal-their-essential-absurdity-when-they/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Mutability is the badge of infirmity. It is seldom that a man continues to wish and design the same thing two days alike. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-charron/mutability-is-the-badge-of-infirmity-it-is-seldom-that-a-man/) [Pierre Charron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-charron/) > [Never was a miser a brave soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/never-was-a-miser-a-brave-soul/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Misers are very kind people: they amass wealth for those who wish their death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/misers-are-very-kind-people-they-amass-wealth-for-those-who-wish/) [Stanisław I Leszczyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/) > [Contrary to popular belief, prosperity is an emotional state that has little to do with your wealth or the state of the economy. 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It is startling to realize that what we call extreme self-seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-in-even-the-most-selfish-passion-a-large-element-of-self/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The coward regards himself as cautious, the miser as thrifty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/the-coward-regards-himself-as-cautious-the-miser-as-thrifty/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) ## More by Mary McCarthy > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Yet friendship, I believe, is essential to intellectuals. 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An aggressive churchgoer, she was quite without Christian feeling; the mercy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/combativeness-was-i-suppose-the-dominant-trait-in-my-grandmother-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I'm afraid I'm not sufficiently inhibited about the things that other women are inhibited about for me. They feel that you've given away trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/i-m-afraid-i-m-not-sufficiently-inhibited-about-the-things-that-other/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Be truthful... and pay attention. I would also recommend the avoidance of credit cards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/be-truthful-and-pay-attention-i-would-also-recommend-the-avoidance-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [All ideas advanced to deal with the Florentine noise problem, the Florentine traffic problem, are Utopian, and nobody believes in them, just as nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/all-ideas-advanced-to-deal-with-the-florentine-noise-problem-the/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) [Explore all 154 Mary McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) ## More Beast quotes > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. 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If he is eaten, he no longer functions as an instrument of labour, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-a-beast-of-toil-an-ox-is-fixed-capital-if-he-is-eaten-he-no-longer/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [« He squeezed his hands into fists. I picked up a grapefruit-sized rock and handed it to him. It went flying. Home run, Beast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-squeezed-his-hands-into-fists-i-picked-up-a-grapefruit-sized-rock/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Was man made stupid to see his own stupidity? Is God by definition indifferent, beyond us all? Is the eternal truth man's fighting soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-eberhart/was-man-made-stupid-to-see-his-own-stupidity-is-god-by-definition/) [Richard Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-eberhart/) > [When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' 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