Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts, the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three the only trustworthy one is the last.

John Ruskin (1819-1900) English art critic, painter, writer, social thinker

St. Mark’s Rest: The History of Venice, Preface (1885)