--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great museums may harbour the…" description: "\"“The great museums may harbour the conscience for the natural world, not merely provide its catalogue.”\" — Richard Fortey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/richard-fortey-24595_museums_the-great-museums-may-harbour-the-consci_3008348.png" --- # The great museums may harbour the conscience for the… ![“The great museums may harbour the conscience for the natural world, not merely provide its catalogue.” quote by Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/richard-fortey-24595_museums_the-great-museums-may-harbour-the-consci_3008348.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/richard-fortey-24595_museums_the-great-museums-may-harbour-the-consci_3008348.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/richard-fortey-24595_museums_the-great-museums-may-harbour-the-consci_3008348.png) > ““The great museums may harbour the conscience for the natural world, not merely provide its catalogue.”” [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Museums should inspire ethical responsibility toward nature, not just display specimens. **In simple terms:** Museums must foster environmental conscience. Key Takeaway Support museums that educate responsibly. Themes environment ethics education Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - school trips - family outings - policy discussions Key Concepts conservation public awareness Questions to Reflect On - Can museums influence personal environmental actions? - How to balance entertainment and education? A Different Perspective Museums may lack resources to address deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience-natural-3046474/) [Great Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-museums-4811520/) [Harbour Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harbour-conscience-4811521/) [Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museums/) [Natural world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-world/) ## Related quotes > [By and large, most of the work that we see in the great museums throughout the world are populated with people who don't happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/by-and-large-most-of-the-work-that-we-see-in-the-great-museums/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Freedom of conscience is a natural right, both antecedent and superior to all human laws and institutions whatever; a right which laws never gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goodwin/freedom-of-conscience-is-a-natural-right-both-antecedent-and-superior/) [John Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goodwin/) > [The number of great museums and nonprofits versus the number of corporate headquarters is incredibly out of whack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stengel/the-number-of-great-museums-and-nonprofits-versus-the-number-of/) [Richard Stengel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stengel/) > [“Just as junk food and lack of exercise can ruin an athlete’s condition, those things that are obscene, crude, or pornographic can breed an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/just-as-junk-food-and-lack-of-exercise-can-ruin-an-athlete-s/) [Stephen R. 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We must turn all our resources to repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) ## More by Richard Fortey > [“Every new discovery about the genome is consistent with evolution having happened. Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/every-new-discovery-about-the-genome-is-consistent-with-evolution/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the absence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/without-death-there-is-little-innovation-extinction-death-of-a/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“But, for now, I retreated back down the little hidden staircase into the familiar world of the basement of the Natural History Museum, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/but-for-now-i-retreated-back-down-the-little-hidden-staircase-into/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [The great proliferation of museums in the nineteenth century was a product of the marriage of the exhibition as a way of awakening intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/the-great-proliferation-of-museums-in-the-nineteenth-century-was-a/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally I like being fourth cousin to a mushroom and having a bonobo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/whether-we-find-it-appealing-or-not-is-another-question-but/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“There is no final truth in palaeontology. 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We are all our own curators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/a-life-accumulates-a-collection-of-people-work-and-perplexities-we/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“When I meet some of my commuting acquaintances on the 6.21 home to Henley-on-Thames they occasionally enquire what I have done that day. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/when-i-meet-some-of-my-commuting-acquaintances-on-the-6-21-home-to/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“Trilobites survived for a total of three hundred million years, almost the whole duration of the Palaeozoic era: who are we johnny-come-latelies to label…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three-hundred-million-years-almost/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“There might be symphonies of perfume, Mozarts of musk. Novelists might construct nasal narratives, versifiers sonnets of scent. Sculpture would entail subtleties of shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/there-might-be-symphonies-of-perfume-mozarts-of-musk-novelists-might/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) > [“In the Spirit Building there are thousands upon thousands of jars containing fish or snake, octopus or lobster, pickled to the life. ... As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/in-the-spirit-building-there-are-thousands-upon-thousands-of-jars/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) [Explore all 24 Richard Fortey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) ## More Museums quotes > [A home is not a museum. 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Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [Individually, museums are fine institutions, dedicated to the high values of preservation, education and truth; collectively, their growth in numbers points to the imaginative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hewison/individually-museums-are-fine-institutions-dedicated-to-the-high/) [Robert Hewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hewison/) > [We have created indoor installations inside museums, like the Wrapped Floor at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago in 1968, and not monumental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christo/we-have-created-indoor-installations-inside-museums-like-the-wrapped/) [Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christo/) > [I do not exactly remember at what period I started my museum which absorbed so much of my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-loti/i-do-not-exactly-remember-at-what-period-i-started-my-museum-which/) [Pierre Loti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-loti/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [The current demoralization of the art world is attributable at least in part to museum interference, ideological and practical, with ongoing creation in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/the-current-demoralization-of-the-art-world-is-attributable-at-least/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) > [I love doing normal things - movies, shopping, going out with friends, writing, reading, taking hot bubble baths - that's a big one for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/i-love-doing-normal-things-movies-shopping-going-out-with-friends/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) > [Museums, I think, are becoming more and more aware of how to turn themselves into a must-see spectacle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-barton/museums-i-think-are-becoming-more-and-more-aware-of-how-to-turn/) [Jake Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-barton/) > [I think movies are now like going to a museum and seeing the latest exhibit - people just aren't going. 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