Without this, only an animal

So the story of Lucanus, or St. Luke, is the story of every man’s pilgrimage through despair and life-darkness, through suffering and anguish, through bitterness and sorrow, through doubt and cynicism, through rebellion and hopelessness to the feet and the understanding of God. This search for God and the final revelation are the only meaning in life for men. Without this search and revelation man lives only as an animal, without comfort and wisdom, and his life is futile, no matter his station or power or birth.  (Taylor Caldwell [1900-1985], from the preface to her Dear and Glorious Physician: A Novel about Saint Luke)