Appreciation …

… A Hymn to Notre-Dame | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

Notre-Dame had always seemed eternal, and the medieval builders certainly thought it would last until the Day of Judgment; but suddenly we saw that it could be destroyed. In the life of every boy there is a painful moment when he realizes that his father is not all-powerful and invulnerable. The fall of the spire made me think of that moment.