Virginia Postrel Quotes

The statues are no big issue. They are only objects made of mud or stone.

I want the Dead Sea, like Masada, to be part of UNESCO's world heritage.

Pompeii is an extraordinary place to be because it was preserved exactly as it was. There are many other sites. If you visit any other antiquity-type sites throughout the world, they're very damaged with what's gone on over the centuries since they were abandoned. But this one was just, like, sealed, so you're looking at rock surfaces and the carving of letters and names in the stones looks like it was done yesterday.

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

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 similar to a museum. My function is to present old masterpieces in modern frames.

When smashing monuments, save the pedestals - they always come in handy.

When we find something new at Giza, we announce it to the world. The Sphinx and the Pyramids are world treasures. We are the guardian's of these treasures, but they belong to the world.

You don't restore 'The Last Supper' by filling in the missing bits - you preserve. You accept the material that has somehow survived.

The Parthenon without the marbles is like a smile with a tooth missing.

In archaeology, context is everything. Objects allow us to reconstruct the past. Taking artifacts from a temple or an ancient private house is like emptying out a time capsule.

Archaeology is not only the hand maid of history, it is also the conservator of art.

I do love these ancient ruins. We never tread upon them but we set Our foot upon some reverend history.

It is important never to forget our history, but parts of our history are more appropriately displayed in museums, not on government property.

A museum is a spiritual place. People lower their voices when they get close to art.

Greece is so beautiful and inspiring.

The physical world is not going away, just items take on different meaning. Paper takes on this archival, very important meaning now that it's not the only way to communicate something.

I adore the classical pieces of our culture. The Greek and Roman are still inside and everywhere; it's impossible to disconnect.

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

Washington and Lincoln mean as much to us as any two men could mean to a civilization, a people, and age, but I told Mr. Coolidge when he dedicated this monument that this rock is being carved with a monument that will outlive our government.

The world that birthed that story is long gone, all its people are dead, but it continues to touch the present and future because someone cared enough about that world to keep it. To put it in words. To remember it.

I preserve things that are significant to me. Only time will determine what is important in the long term. But something can be rediscovered only if someone has collected and preserved it.

The past which is not recoverable in any other way is embedded, as if in amber, in the music, and people can regain a sense of identity.

The basic Roman ruin design is a pile of rocks with a little plaque saying "Roman Ruins" and a group of tourists frowning at it and wishing they were back at the hotel bar.

Hold those things that tell your history and protect them.