He that commands the sea is at great liberty and may take as much and as little of the war as he will.
—Francis Bacon, c. 1600Quotes
Ocean. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man—who has no gills.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1906The wonderful sea charmed me from the first.
—Joshua Slocum, 1900Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
—Publilius Syrus, c. 30 BCThe most advanced nations are always those who navigate the most.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1870Ashore it’s wine, women, and song; aboard it’s rum, bum, and concertina.
—British naval saying, c. 1800He who travels by sea is nothing but a worm on a piece of wood, a trifle in the midst of a powerful creation. The waters play about with him at will, and no one but God can help him.
—Muhammad as-Saffar, 1846Be 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 must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.
—Anaïs Nin, 1950I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way.
—John Paul Jones, 1778The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.
—Vladimir Nabokov, 1941Tomorrow we take to the mighty sea.
—Horace, 23 BCThe sea hath no king but God alone.
—Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1881