--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to…" description: "\"It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to the rites of travel.\" — Robert Hughes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-hughes-9113_cathedral_it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to_204111.jpg" --- # It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to the rites of… ![“It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to the rites of travel.” quote by Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-hughes-9113_cathedral_it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to_204111.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-hughes-9113_cathedral_it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to_204111.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-hughes-9113_cathedral_it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to_204111.jpg) > “It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to the rites of travel.” [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a place as a "secular cathedral" that celebrates travel, implying reverence for movement and exploration. **In simple terms:** Travel is revered like a cathedral. Key Takeaway Travel with reverence and curiosity. Themes travel exploration secular spirituality Mood reflective inspirational Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - tourism - personal growth - pilgrimage Key Concepts architecture culture journey Questions to Reflect On - How does travel shape identity? - What makes a place sacred? A Different Perspective Travel may be idealized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cathedral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedral/) [Dedicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedicated/) [Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [Whence, then, did the cathedral derive its power? Clearly here: It took back the family into the confidences of religion. It taught man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenkin-lloyd-jones/whence-then-did-the-cathedral-derive-its-power-clearly-here-it-took/) [Jenkin Lloyd Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenkin-lloyd-jones/) > [You can't build a cathedral in a day. A look at the club's history tells you these things take time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-houllier/you-can-t-build-a-cathedral-in-a-day-a-look-at-the-club-s-history/) [Gerard Houllier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-houllier/) > [“The rooks were sailing about the cathedral towers; and the towers themselves, overlooking many a long unaltered mile of the rich country and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-rooks-were-sailing-about-the-cathedral-towers-and-the-towers/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If it wasn't for Durham Cathedral I probably wouldn't be an architect. I was taken there when I was about seven and I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clarke/if-it-wasn-t-for-durham-cathedral-i-probably-wouldn-t-be-an-architect/) [George Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clarke/) > [“When we look at a perfect cathedral, two different emotions emerge in us: On the one hand, the feeling of admiration for the architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-we-look-at-a-perfect-cathedral-two-different-emotions-emerge-in/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I'm not a religious person. But, when I look at a beautiful cathedral, what brings awe, what induces awe is the idea that architecture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/i-m-not-a-religious-person-but-when-i-look-at-a-beautiful-cathedral/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral: a thing as simple and specious as a statue to the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mankind-was-never-so-happily-inspired-as-when-it-made-a-cathedral-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [As a boy soprano in the high school choir, I later sang a solo during the carol service at Canterbury Cathedral, but I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/as-a-boy-soprano-in-the-high-school-choir-i-later-sang-a-solo-during/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) > [He who bears in his heart a cathedral to be built is already victorious. 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If it is not just a donation, it can be a divine talent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/love-can-be-a-natural-endowment-a-present-or-a-gift-if-it-is-not-just/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [The Sabbath is a weekly cathedral raised up in my dining room, in my family, in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/the-sabbath-is-a-weekly-cathedral-raised-up-in-my-dining-room-in-my/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Christian faith is a grand cathedral, with divinely pictured windows. Standing without, you see no glory, nor can possibly imagine any; standing within, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/christian-faith-is-a-grand-cathedral-with-divinely-pictured-windows/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The sun appeared between the twin spires of the cathedral as its light reflected off the crescent and star that rose out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/the-sun-appeared-between-the-twin-spires-of-the-cathedral-as-its/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [We thought of universities as the cathedrals of the modern world. In the middle ages, the cathedral was the center and symbol of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-revelle/we-thought-of-universities-as-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-world-in/) Roger Revelle ## More by Robert Hughes > [“Most of the time they buy what other people buy. They move in great schools, like bluefish, all identical. There is safety in numbers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/most-of-the-time-they-buy-what-other-people-buy-they-move-in-great/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [The basic project of art is always to make the world whole and comprehensible, to restore it to us in all its glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-basic-project-of-art-is-always-to-make-the-world-whole-and/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [Confidence is the prize given to the mediocre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/confidence-is-the-prize-given-to-the-mediocre/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [There's no geist like the Zeitgeist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/there-s-no-geist-like-the-zeitgeist/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [A Gustave Courbet portrait of a trout has more death in it than Rubens could get in a whole Crucifixion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/a-gustave-courbet-portrait-of-a-trout-has-more-death-in-it-than/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“In one sense, (Duchamp's) “The Large Glass” is a glimpse into Hell; a peculiarly modernist Hell of repetition and loneliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/in-one-sense-duchamp-s-the-large-glass-is-a-glimpse-into-hell-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“Indeed, the idea that doubt can be heroic, if it is locked into a structure as grand as that of the paintings of Cezanne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/indeed-the-idea-that-doubt-can-be-heroic-if-it-is-locked-into-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [One thing is sure: the Sagrada Familia is the first Catholic temple whose bacon was ever saved by Shinto tourism. Not even Gaudi, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/one-thing-is-sure-the-sagrada-familia-is-the-first-catholic-temple/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [What strip mining is to nature the art market has become to culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/what-strip-mining-is-to-nature-the-art-market-has-become-to-culture/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [For the machine meant the conquest of horizontal space. It also meant a sense of that space which few people had experienced before –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/for-the-machine-meant-the-conquest-of-horizontal-space-it-also-meant/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“The World's Fair audience tended to think of the machine as unqualifiedly good, strong, stupid and obedient. They thought of it as a giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-world-s-fair-audience-tended-to-think-of-the-machine-as/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [What has our culture lost in 1980 that the avant-garde had in 1890? Ebullience, idealism, confidence, the belief that there was plenty of territory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/what-has-our-culture-lost-in-1980-that-the-avant-garde-had-in-1890/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [On the whole, money does artists much more good than harm. The idea that one benefits from cold water, crusts and debt collectors is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/on-the-whole-money-does-artists-much-more-good-than-harm-the-idea/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [Popular in our time, unpopular in his. So runs the stereotype of rejected genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/popular-in-our-time-unpopular-in-his-so-runs-the-stereotype-of/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [The greater the artist, the greater the doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-greater-the-artist-the-greater-the-doubt/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) [Explore all 75 Robert Hughes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## More Cathedral quotes > [Whence, then, did the cathedral derive its power? Clearly here: It took back the family into the confidences of religion. It taught man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenkin-lloyd-jones/whence-then-did-the-cathedral-derive-its-power-clearly-here-it-took/) [Jenkin Lloyd Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenkin-lloyd-jones/) > [“The sun appeared between the twin spires of the cathedral as its light reflected off the crescent and star that rose out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/the-sun-appeared-between-the-twin-spires-of-the-cathedral-as-its/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [Christian faith is a grand cathedral, with divinely pictured windows. Standing without, you see no glory, nor can possibly imagine any; standing within, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/christian-faith-is-a-grand-cathedral-with-divinely-pictured-windows/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The Sabbath is a weekly cathedral raised up in my dining room, in my family, in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/the-sabbath-is-a-weekly-cathedral-raised-up-in-my-dining-room-in-my/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [“Love can be a natural endowment, a present, or a gift. If it is not just a donation, it can be a divine talent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/love-can-be-a-natural-endowment-a-present-or-a-gift-if-it-is-not-just/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [When I started to build this cathedral, the word on the street was that I was crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justo-gallego/when-i-started-to-build-this-cathedral-the-word-on-the-street-was/) [Justo Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justo-gallego/) > [He who bears in his heart a cathedral to be built is already victorious. He who seeks to become sexton of a finished cathedral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/he-who-bears-in-his-heart-a-cathedral-to-be-built-is-already/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [As a boy soprano in the high school choir, I later sang a solo during the carol service at Canterbury Cathedral, but I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/as-a-boy-soprano-in-the-high-school-choir-i-later-sang-a-solo-during/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) > [Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral: a thing as simple and specious as a statue to the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mankind-was-never-so-happily-inspired-as-when-it-made-a-cathedral-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [I'm not a religious person. But, when I look at a beautiful cathedral, what brings awe, what induces awe is the idea that architecture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/i-m-not-a-religious-person-but-when-i-look-at-a-beautiful-cathedral/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [“When we look at a perfect cathedral, two different emotions emerge in us: On the one hand, the feeling of admiration for the architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-we-look-at-a-perfect-cathedral-two-different-emotions-emerge-in/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [If it wasn't for Durham Cathedral I probably wouldn't be an architect. I was taken there when I was about seven and I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clarke/if-it-wasn-t-for-durham-cathedral-i-probably-wouldn-t-be-an-architect/) [George Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clarke/) > [“The rooks were sailing about the cathedral towers; and the towers themselves, overlooking many a long unaltered mile of the rich country and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-rooks-were-sailing-about-the-cathedral-towers-and-the-towers/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [You can't build a cathedral in a day. A look at the club's history tells you these things take time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-houllier/you-can-t-build-a-cathedral-in-a-day-a-look-at-the-club-s-history/) [Gerard Houllier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-houllier/) > [We thought of universities as the cathedrals of the modern world. In the middle ages, the cathedral was the center and symbol of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-revelle/we-thought-of-universities-as-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-world-in/) Roger Revelle [Browse all 111 Cathedral quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedral/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to the rites of travel.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Hughes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to-the-rites-of-travel/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cathedral" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to-the-rites-of-travel/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-hughes-9113_cathedral_it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to_204111.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-hughes-9113_cathedral_it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to_204111.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/robert-hughes-9113_cathedral_it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to_204111.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to the rites of travel.” — Robert Hughes", "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 Hughes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It was a secular cathedral, dedicated...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to-the-rites-of-travel/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to-the-rites-of-travel/#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 } } ] } ```