In my Commonplace...

"( A Parenthesis here about quotations and credits. I was taught in college how to footnote, ow to give credit where credit is due, and in the accepted, scholarly way. But most of the writers I want to quote in this book are writers whose words I've copied down in a big brown, Mexican notebook, what is called a commonplace book. I copy down words and thoughts upon which I want to meditate, and footnoting is not my purpose; this is a devotional, not a scholarly notebook. I've been keeping it for many years, and turn to it for help in prayer, in understanding. All I'm looking for in it is meaning, meaning which will help me to live life lovingly, and I am only now beginning to see the usefulness of noting book title and page, rather than simple jotting down, 'Francis of Assissi.')" 
​Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art