--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Smoke poured from every chimney, for the…" description: "\"“Smoke poured from every chimney, for the day was cold. The thought of all those coal-grates and wood-stoves made me wary of fire, for these buildings ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/robert-charles-wilson-4900_architecture_smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the_1753953.png" --- # Smoke poured from every chimney, for the day was cold. The… ![“Smoke poured from every chimney, for the day was cold. The thought of all those coal-grates and wood-stoves made me wary of fire, for these buildings were little more than tinder and brown paper, putting on airs of architecture.” quote by Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/robert-charles-wilson-4900_architecture_smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the_1753953.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/robert-charles-wilson-4900_architecture_smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the_1753953.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/robert-charles-wilson-4900_architecture_smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the_1753953.png) > ““Smoke poured from every chimney, for the day was cold. The thought of all those coal-grates and wood-stoves made me wary of fire, for these buildings were little more than tinder and brown paper, putting on airs of architecture.”” [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cold weather makes people view fire as dangerous, yet architecture hides its true nature, creating tension. **In simple terms:** Fire is feared but essential in building. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden dangers in familiar settings. Themes environment perception danger Mood reflective cautionary Type literary analytical When to use this quote - architecture criticism - fire safety training - creative writing Key Concepts urban design psychology of fear Questions to Reflect On - What hidden risks do you overlook? - How does perception shape safety? A Different Perspective Focusing on fear may ignore benefits of fire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Chimney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimney/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) ## Related quotes > [I'd like to start with the chimney jokes - I've got a stack of them. The first one is on the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/i-d-like-to-start-with-the-chimney-jokes-i-ve-got-a-stack-of-them-the/) [Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/) > [Every year, dads will dress up as Santa and try to surprise their kids by coming down the chimney, and every year, a dad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-dunnigan/every-year-dads-will-dress-up-as-santa-and-try-to-surprise-their-kids/) [Kyle Dunnigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-dunnigan/) > [We climb up the chimney. We ain't ducking no smoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-morant/we-climb-up-the-chimney-we-ain-t-ducking-no-smoke/) [Ja Morant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-morant/) > [Almost every labourer has his Sunday suit, very often really good clothes, sometimes glossy black, with the regulation 'chimney pot'. His unfortunate walk betrays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jefferies/almost-every-labourer-has-his-sunday-suit-very-often-really-good/) [Richard Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jefferies/) > [And so there would always be more to remember that could no longer be seen...our history is always returning to a little patch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/and-so-there-would-always-be-more-to-remember-that-could-no-longer-be/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul and yet no one ever come to sit by it. Passersby see only a wisp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/one-may-have-a-blazing-hearth-in-one-s-soul-and-yet-no-one-ever-come/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Choked Chimney I am a chimney which has been smoked. Out of breath and out of warmth. My air carries murky whispers and inky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iqra-iqbal/choked-chimney-i-am-a-chimney-which-has-been-smoked-out-of-breath-and/) [Iqra Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iqra-iqbal/) > [Golden lads and girls all must as chimney sweepers come to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/golden-lads-and-girls-all-must-as-chimney-sweepers-come-to-dust/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Where you thinke there is bacon, there is no Chimney.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/where-you-thinke-there-is-bacon-there-is-no-chimney/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [There's no way the new chimney will fall down, Lu. Not with you in charge. It wouldn't dare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-sage/there-s-no-way-the-new-chimney-will-fall-down-lu-not-with-you-in/) [Angie Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-sage/) > [A seventeenth-century house can be recognized by its steep roof, massive central chimney and utter porchlessness. Some of those houses have a second-story overhang,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/a-seventeenth-century-house-can-be-recognized-by-its-steep-roof/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“I am a chimney which has been smoked. Out of breath and out of warmth. My air carries murky whispers and inky phantoms. Loneliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iqra-iqbal/i-am-a-chimney-which-has-been-smoked-out-of-breath-and-out-of-warmth/) [Iqra Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iqra-iqbal/) > [“The whole concept of some stranger making his way down our chimney - not that we had one - suggested burglary more readily than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/the-whole-concept-of-some-stranger-making-his-way-down-our-chimney/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) > [I dont have to look to see. Today its all so clear. Chimney tops start to glow and thats when I will disappear...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-elektricity/i-dont-have-to-look-to-see-today-its-all-so-clear-chimney-tops-start/) [London Elektricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-elektricity/) > [Someone has a great fire in his soul and nobody ever comes to warm themselves at it, and passers-by see nothing but a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/someone-has-a-great-fire-in-his-soul-and-nobody-ever-comes-to-warm/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## More by Robert Charles Wilson > [Consciousness," according to current scientific thought, was something the higher mammals had evolved in order to help them reproduce, much the way a garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/consciousness-according-to-current-scientific-thought-was-something/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding for twenty years, and it was exactly as awful as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/here-she-was-back-in-the-brightly-lit-world-she-had-been-avoiding-for/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [These movies belonged to the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries that period of great, unsustainable, and hedonistic prosperity, driven by the burning of Earth's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/these-movies-belonged-to-the-twentieth-and-early-twenty-first/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [When does loyalty become martyrdom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/when-does-loyalty-become-martyrdom/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“I thought of Einstein, and his insistence that no particular point of view was more privileged than any other: in other words his ‘general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/i-thought-of-einstein-and-his-insistence-that-no-particular-point-of/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [What we cannot remember, we must rediscover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/what-we-cannot-remember-we-must-rediscover/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“The universe, it seemed, was full to brimming with lonesome places.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/the-universe-it-seemed-was-full-to-brimming-with-lonesome-places/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“Fifteen minutes shy of two o’clock. The thick of the night. The zone of lost objectivity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/fifteen-minutes-shy-of-two-o-clock-the-thick-of-the-night-the-zone-of/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [It was the kind of experience, Molly said, that would grow calluses on an angel's ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/it-was-the-kind-of-experience-molly-said-that-would-grow-calluses-on/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“I appreciated her bluntness. Maybe it came with her sudden sobriety. Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/i-appreciated-her-bluntness-maybe-it-came-with-her-sudden-sobriety/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“I had an idea that sobriety was a weapon. I thought it would give me an advantage over my enemies. I wasn't sober for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/i-had-an-idea-that-sobriety-was-a-weapon-i-thought-it-would-give-me/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [John Scalzi is a fresh and appealing new voice, and Old Man's War is classic SF seen from a modern perspective—a fast-paced tour of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/john-scalzi-is-a-fresh-and-appealing-new-voice-and-old-man-s-war-is/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“Certainly it's a rare glimpse into the lives of the Secular Ancients. They don't seem as bad as the Dominion histories make them out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/certainly-it-s-a-rare-glimpse-into-the-lives-of-the-secular-ancients/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [We spent a lot of time discussing cosmology first. I think that was your father's unique way of evaluating people. You can tell a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/we-spent-a-lot-of-time-discussing-cosmology-first-i-think-that-was/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [It was possible at last to hear the silence to appreciate that there was a silence, deep and potent, out there beyond the pretension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/it-was-possible-at-last-to-hear-the-silence-to-appreciate-that-there/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) [Explore all 105 Robert Charles Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) ## More Architecture quotes > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-just-think-structure-can-make-a-book-feel-so-much-bigger-it-s-the/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [Architecture is not a profession for the faint-hearted, the weak-willed, or the short-lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architecture-is-not-a-profession-for-the-faint-hearted-the-weak/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/winning-a-competition-in-architecture-is-a-ticket-to-oblivion-it-s/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [It's not so much about form versus functionality. Rather, it's about doing both and doing them a lot and doing them well-and that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-prince-ramus/it-s-not-so-much-about-form-versus-functionality-rather-it-s-about/) [Joshua Prince-Ramus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-prince-ramus/) > [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) [Browse all 3,013 Architecture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Smoke poured from every chimney, for the day was cold. The thought of all those coal-grates and wood-stoves made me wary of fire, for these buildings were little more than tinder and brown paper, putting on airs of architecture.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Charles Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the-day-was-cold-the-thought-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Architecture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the-day-was-cold-the-thought-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/robert-charles-wilson-4900_architecture_smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the_1753953.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/robert-charles-wilson-4900_architecture_smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the_1753953.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/robert-charles-wilson-4900_architecture_smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the_1753953.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Smoke poured from every chimney, for the day was cold. The thought of all those coal-grates and wood-stoves…” — Robert Charles Wilson", "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": "Robert Charles Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Smoke poured from every chimney, for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the-day-was-cold-the-thought-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/smoke-poured-from-every-chimney-for-the-day-was-cold-the-thought-of/#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 } } ] } ```