<blockquote>Wandering past vacant pews and pulpits among guidebook-toting spectators, I become briefly nostalgic for the cathedrals' sacred past, until, opening my guidebook, I study that past and find nothing sacred. The glittering walls and shrines are decorated with ill-gotten gold, stolen relics, and war booty. The soaring domes and spires were raised to heaven not from piety but ambition, to outdo nearby cathedrals and show that Florence was better than Pisa,</blockquote>
via <a href="http://www.brianjaystanley.com/aphorisms/empty-cathedrals-of-europe?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+brianjaystanley+%28Aphorisms+and+Paradoxes%29">The Empty Cathedrals of Europe - Aphorisms and Paradoxes</a>.