The power which the sea requires in the sailor makes a man of him very fast, and the change of shores and population clears his head of much nonsense of his wigwam.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1870Quotes
The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.
—Edward Gibbon, 1788In all the ancient states and empires, those who had the shipping, had the wealth.
—William Petty, 1690The most advanced nations are always those who navigate the most.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1870Without a decisive naval force, we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.
—George Washington, 1781It is He who has subdued the ocean so that you may eat of its fresh fish and bring up from its depth ornaments to wear. Behold the ships plowing their course through it. All this, that you may seek His bounty and render thanks.
—The Qur’an, c. 625Seafarers go to sleep in the evening not knowing whether they will find themselves at the bottom of the sea the next morning.
—Jean de Joinville, c. 1305Being thus arrived in good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stale earth, their proper element.
—William Bradford, 1630Tomorrow we take to the mighty sea.
—Horace, 23 BCNever trust her at any time when the calm sea shows her false alluring smile.
—Lucretius, c. 60 BCBe not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so shall you come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1838I’ve been bathing in the poem / Of star-infused and milky sea / Devouring the azure greens.
—Arthur Rimbaud, 1871Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
—Publilius Syrus, c. 30 BC