--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a love for structure in them…" description: "\"“There is a love for structure in them that I recognize, and a desire to worship correctness that I know and I share. When I look at them, I think: to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/patricia-lockwood-20254_catholicism_there-is-a-love-for-structure-in-them-th_2123610.jpg" --- # There is a love for structure in them that I recognize… ![“There is a love for structure in them that I recognize, and a desire to worship correctness that I know and I share. When I look at them, I think: to prize traditionalism above all else in a church that began in revolution is to do a great violence to it. But I feel that same ache for the past in…” quote by Patricia Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/patricia-lockwood-20254_catholicism_there-is-a-love-for-structure-in-them-th_2123610.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/patricia-lockwood-20254_catholicism_there-is-a-love-for-structure-in-them-th_2123610.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/patricia-lockwood-20254_catholicism_there-is-a-love-for-structure-in-them-th_2123610.jpg) > ““There is a love for structure in them that I recognize, and a desire to worship correctness that I know and I share. When I look at them, I think: to prize traditionalism above all else in a church that began in revolution is to do a great violence to it. But I feel that same ache for the past in myself: to uphold the columns of literature, grammar, the Western tradition. The English language began as an upheaval; I am not protecting it when I try to guard it against change. The Jesus Christ of it, Chaucer, walked across the water telling dirty jokes, made twenty stories stretch to feed a million people, spelled the word "cunt" five ways, performed miracles. Any innovation I put down on paper is an attempt to remind myself of this. I am not modern. I was not born to blaze new paths or bring down walls. I break form against my nature to tell myself that revolution, too, is a tradition that must be upheld.”” [Patricia Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-lockwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author wrestles with tension between reverence for tradition and the need for change, seeing both as revolutionary acts rooted in history. **In simple terms:** Balancing respect for tradition with embracing change. Key Takeaway Honor past while allowing evolution. Themes tradition change literature language identity Mood reflective conflicted introspective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - Writing - teaching - editing - literary analysis - personal growth Key Concepts Cultural criticism paradox self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile love for tradition with desire for change? - What traditions serve you versus hinder you? A Different Perspective Tradition can stifle innovation if clung to rigidly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catholicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholicism/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Dirty joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty-joke/) [Dirty jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty-jokes/) [English language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Traditionalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditionalism/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“It was possible to explore the 'great tradition' of the English novel and believe that in doing so you were addressing questions of fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/it-was-possible-to-explore-the-great-tradition-of-the-english-novel/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“It is necessary to have “watchers” at hand who will bear witness to the values of Tradition in ever more uncompromising and firm ways,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/it-is-necessary-to-have-watchers-at-hand-who-will-bear-witness-to-the/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [But that is not because these principles are traditional; it is because they are biblical. 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Weller > [“The danger lies not in the imaginary hydra of revolution, but in a stubborn traditionalism that impedes progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-danger-lies-not-in-the-imaginary-hydra-of-revolution-but-in-a/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I'm very optimistic that there are sincere believers out there that are okay with tradition but don't want to endorse traditionalism for the sake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-m-very-optimistic-that-there-are-sincere-believers-out-there-that/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. 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He believes them to be Democrats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-lockwood/my-father-despises-cats-he-believes-them-to-be-democrats/) [Patricia Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-lockwood/) > [“When I was a child, I always hated being used in my father's sermons, shrunk to a symbol to illustrate some larger lesson, flattened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-lockwood/when-i-was-a-child-i-always-hated-being-used-in-my-father-s-sermons/) [Patricia Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-lockwood/) [Explore all 31 Patricia Lockwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-lockwood/) ## More Catholicism quotes > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/jesus-said-unto-her-i-am-the-resurrection-and-the-life-he-that/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-and-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [“In a fallen world, it was hard to do unambiguous good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keneally/in-a-fallen-world-it-was-hard-to-do-unambiguous-good/) [Thomas Keneally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keneally/) > [Anti-Catholicism has always been the pornography of the Puritan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hofstadter/anti-catholicism-has-always-been-the-pornography-of-the-puritan/) [Richard Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hofstadter/) > [I was raised in a Catholic household and went to a Catholic school, and my childhood brain perceived medieval Catholicism as an action movie:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/i-was-raised-in-a-catholic-household-and-went-to-a-catholic-school/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [Forgive my friends and me for every time we have looked at someone different and considered her or him to be of lesser quality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-chp-2/forgive-my-friends-and-me-for-every-time-we-have-looked-at-someone/) Jos Chp 2 > [As a precocious teen I dreamed of being Graham Greene. 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The Jesus Christ of it, Chaucer, walked across the water telling dirty jokes, made twenty stories stretch to feed a million people, spelled the word \"cunt\" five ways, performed miracles. Any innovation I put down on paper is an attempt to remind myself of this. I am not modern. I was not born to blaze new paths or bring down walls. 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