Cathedrals of the Mind, Hospitals of the Soul.

I'm talking about libraries.

I simply love quotations. I use them liberally in everything I write. I carry my favorites around with me. Those words that were spoken or written centuries, or perhaps even millennia ago, and that still resonate deeply with us today demonstrate that some things never change, including human nature! And they show us how important and relevant many of our ancient wisdom still is - why we should listen to the sages and prophets of long ago.

But here is a lovely modern quote brought to my attention by Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in a piece he wrote recently for the superb Credo column in The Times. It is from Caitlin Moran:

Libraries, she wrote, are "cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold, rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen instead. A human with a brain and a heart and a desire to be uplifted, rather than a customer with a credit card."

Wonderful! But actually our brilliant art galleries and museums serve a very similar healing function, as long as we resist the shop on the way out!

This is Funchal cathedral in Madeira