The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.
thomas paine
"THOUGH WE TRAVEL THE WORLD OVER TO FIND THE BEAUTIFUL,
WE MUST CARRY IT WITH US OR WE FIND IT NOT."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“He who has seen one cathedral ten times has seen something; he who has seen ten cathedrals once has seen but little; and he who has spent half an hour in each of a hundred cathedrals has seen nothing at all.” Sinclair Lewis
I think I may have to disagree with Mister Lewis on this one. Every city or village or town we visit, I have stopped in almost every cathedral, church or basilica we have come across. I am quite sure that I have visited four to five hundred places of worship, probably closer to the latter. Some day I must take the time and count the photos I have taken in them. I know I could easily have spent more than the half hour he speaks of, and in many cases I have, and others, I wish I could have. But in the end, I am glad for all the time I was able to visit. I think I might like to reword the quote of Sinclair Lewis to this;
"He who has seen one cathedral ten times has seen nothing; he who has seen ten cathedrals once has seen but little; and he who has spent half an hour in each of a hundred cathedrals has seen something" Dave Sinnott
I am sure there is an argument to made for both sides!
Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.
maya angelou
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.
anonymous
“I never weary of great churches. It is my favorite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
statue of the cathedral builders at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, the Cathedral of our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium
Innsbruck, Austria
Walking at random through the streets, we came by chance upon the Cathedral of Notre Dame. I shall long remember my first impression of the scene within. The lofty gothic ceiling arched far above my head and through the stained windows the light came but dimly - it was all still, solemn and religious.
Bayard Taylor