--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The old cathedrals are good, but the…" description: "\"The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better.\" — Thomas Carlyle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/thomas-carlyle-207_blue_the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-grea_859010.png" --- # The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that… ![“The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/thomas-carlyle-207_blue_the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-grea_859010.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/thomas-carlyle-207_blue_the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-grea_859010.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/thomas-carlyle-207_blue_the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-grea_859010.png) > “The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote praises the grandeur of the sky over man‑made structures, suggesting nature's vastness surpasses human architecture. **In simple terms:** Nature’s sky is greater than buildings. Key Takeaway Appreciate natural wonder over material achievements. Themes nature perspective humility Mood reverent inspired Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - travel photography - urban planning - environmental education - spiritual reflection Key Concepts aesthetic cosmology Questions to Reflect On - How does your environment shape your sense of awe? - What can you do to protect the sky’s beauty? A Different Perspective The sky can be obscured by pollution, limiting its impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Blue Dome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-dome-831047/) [Cathedrals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedrals/) [Cathedrals Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedrals-good-831046/) [Dome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dome/) [Old Cathedrals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-cathedrals-831048/) ## Related quotes > [Whenever I traveled abroad and went into these old cathedrals and churches, I would feel so peaceful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zak-bagans/whenever-i-traveled-abroad-and-went-into-these-old-cathedrals-and/) [Zak Bagans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zak-bagans/) > [This London City, with all of its houses, palaces, steam-engines, cathedrals, and huge immeasurable traffic an tumult, what is it but a Thought, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/this-london-city-with-all-of-its-houses-palaces-steam-engines/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Yo I was, raised on a seperate side of the track in a land where the wild things roam. Open up my closet see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yo-i-was-raised-on-a-seperate-side-of-the-track-in-a-land-where-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Opening up the Capitol dome and giving the public a look at the inner workings of Congress - however messy they may be -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-quigley/opening-up-the-capitol-dome-and-giving-the-public-a-look-at-the-inner/) [Mike Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-quigley/) > [Once in awhile, I'mma cheat and get dome, But best believe that I'mma always come home. Shorty, I luv you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meyhem-lauren/once-in-awhile-i-mma-cheat-and-get-dome-but-best-believe-that-i-mma/) [Meyhem Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meyhem-lauren/) > [When I'm in the shower I'll sit down on the floor, and I'm like: No one chat to me. In my little dome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raye/when-i-m-in-the-shower-i-ll-sit-down-on-the-floor-and-i-m-like-no-one/) [Raye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raye/) > [When I'm building my dome in my chapel, and I had a vision - I've worked on perpetual motion and I haven't never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-finster/when-i-m-building-my-dome-in-my-chapel-and-i-had-a-vision-i-ve-worked/) [Howard Finster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-finster/) > [The dome of thought, the palace of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/the-dome-of-thought-the-palace-of-the-soul/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Give me dome dome da-da-da-da-da dome dome dome I aint trippin on ya money money long long long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/give-me-dome-dome-da-da-da-da-da-dome-dome-dome-i-aint-trippin-on-ya/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [“Welcome to the pleasure dome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-ellen-malpas/welcome-to-the-pleasure-dome/) [Jodi Ellen Malpas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-ellen-malpas/) > [The Iron Dome is great for the U.S.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/the-iron-dome-is-great-for-the-u-s/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [On Staten Island, there's a ship graveyard. I'm using that a lot, even for 'Under the Dome.' When I'm dissatisfied with a location scout,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-arden-oplev/on-staten-island-there-s-a-ship-graveyard-i-m-using-that-a-lot-even/) [Niels Arden Oplev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-arden-oplev/) > [If you want to have a Super Bowl, put a retractable dome on your stadium, then you can get one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-flacco/if-you-want-to-have-a-super-bowl-put-a-retractable-dome-on-your/) [Joe Flacco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-flacco/) > [Aside from ROH, just getting a taste of Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome with NJPW has me really excited at the prospect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/aside-from-roh-just-getting-a-taste-of-wrestle-kingdom-at-the-tokyo/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [A city where the Capitol Dome, perforated like a kitchen colander, is the symbol of how secrets are kept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-ford/a-city-where-the-capitol-dome-perforated-like-a-kitchen-colander-is/) [Leslie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-ford/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! The fairest love from heaven above, That love of yours was mine, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/let-time-and-chance-combine-combine-let-time-and-chance-combine-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The public is anold woman.Let her maunderand mumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-public-is-anold-woman-let-her-maunderand-mumble/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/does-not-every-true-man-feel-that-he-is-himself-made-higher-by-doing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The press is the fourth estate of the realm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-press-is-the-fourth-estate-of-the-realm/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Explore all 917 Thomas Carlyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More Blue quotes > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. 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Honestly, if I see a red-haired person with blue eyes now, I say, 'Is your granny black?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/human-beings-should-stick-together-honestly-if-i-see-a-red-haired/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [We live in a state with a wonderful climate and plenty of natural beauty, from the shores of Cumberland Island to the Chattahoochee River…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-barnes/we-live-in-a-state-with-a-wonderful-climate-and-plenty-of-natural/) [Roy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-barnes/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Mother, she likes the blue material just fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/mother-she-likes-the-blue-material-just-fine/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [You know, I'm the only one in this family who has no problems, . . . And you know why? Because any time I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-i-m-the-only-one-in-this-family-who-has-no-problems-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [The grape Hyacinth is the favorite spring flower of my garden - but no! I though a minute ago the Scilla was! and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/the-grape-hyacinth-is-the-favorite-spring-flower-of-my-garden-but-no/) [Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/) > [I swam with my first shark in the 1980s. I was 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, working with a group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/i-swam-with-my-first-shark-in-the-1980s-i-was-20-miles-off-the-coast/) [Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/) [Browse all 3,452 Blue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Carlyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-great-blue-dome-that-hangs-over/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blue" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-great-blue-dome-that-hangs-over/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/thomas-carlyle-207_blue_the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-grea_859010.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/thomas-carlyle-207_blue_the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-grea_859010.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ceb/thomas-carlyle-207_blue_the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-grea_859010.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better.” — Thomas Carlyle", "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": "Thomas Carlyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The old cathedrals are good, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-great-blue-dome-that-hangs-over/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-old-cathedrals-are-good-but-the-great-blue-dome-that-hangs-over/#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 } } ] } ```