Anatole France Quotes

I'd rather be at the end of a dying tradition, which I admire, than at the beginning of a tradition which I deplore.

As far as Germany extends it ruins culture.

A man will not need to study history to find out what is best for his own culture.

Some of our greatest historical and artistic treasures we place in museums; others, we take for walks.

I really hold on to my culture because it is what made me.

The music is just so rich and part of the culture there. I suddenly felt like I needed to go on this mission to make sure we save New Orleans because - not that I can save anything - but it's so much part of what this country is, this whole mix of people coming together and doing this thing.

Everyone who's born in the Western Hemisphere is a Native American. We are all Native Americans.

We've got to map all of our ancient history before it's gone because, let's face it, if we don't have a common heritage to share, something to get excited about, then what are we living for?

We are the only ones who really can care about the preservation Foreigners who come to excavate, maybe some of them care about preservation, but the majority care about discoveries.

Museums are western inventions where the rich and the powerful or the government and the state tend to exhibit the signs and symbol and images of their culture.

One of the saddest things I've seen in Amazonian cultures is people who were self-sufficient and happy that now think of themselves as poor and become dissatisfied with their lives. What worries me is outsiders trying to impose their values and materialism on the Piraha.

This country, and the West Coast, especially, is bad at preserving any cultural legacy.

Museums, I love museums.

Museums are managers of consciousness. They give us an interpretation of history, of how to view the world and locate ourselves in it. They are, if you want to put it in positive terms, great educational institutions. If you want to put it in negative terms, they are propaganda machines.

A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, and economic legacies - all of the things that quite literally make us who we are.

Culture's worth huge, huge risks. Without culture we're all totalitarian beasts.

If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.

I don't have space to enter into the examples or the history of this, so I'm left with having to make the bold statement that culture is extinct.

It may not be art, but it is history.

What will remain of our cultural identity if audiovisual Europe consists of ... sitting in front of Japanese TV sets showing American programs.

With population pressures, urbanization, and modernization encroaching, we're in a race against time. Why not use the most advanced tools we have to map, quantify, and protect our past?

Cultural concepts are one of the most fascinating things about historical fiction.

Use it, enjoy it, but always handle history with care.

Culture is important. Wars are fought over culture. It's not just about folks showing up and being hoity-toity. Culture is about definition.

I believe history and tradition is something solid and something we can rest on. I am not crazy about putting new spices in chocolate.