For all that has been said of the love that certain natures (on shore) have professed to feel for it, for all the celebrations it had been the object of in prose and song, the sea has never been friendly to man. At most it has been the accomplice of human restlessness.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The sea is not inherently friendly to humans despite human praise.
- In plain terms
- The sea is not really friendly despite how people treat it.
- What can you take from it?
- Nature remains indifferent to human affection.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is nature ever truly friendly?
- Why do humans romanticize danger?
Another view
The sea provides essential resources for life.
More from Joseph Conrad
The East Wind, an interloper in the dominions of Westerly weather, is an impassive-faced tyrant with a sharp poniard held behind his back for a treacherous sta…
Permalink to quote #48 The sea - this truth must be confessed - has no generosity. No display of manly qualities - courage, hardihood, endurance, faithfulness - has ever been known t…
Permalink to quote #50 To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence.
Permalink to quote #47
Related quotes
3) Mother Nature doesn't care if you're having fun.
Larry NivenLarry Niven quote #41 The sea - this truth must be confessed - has no generosity. No display of manly qualities - courage, hardihood, endurance, faithfulness - has ever been known t…
Joseph ConradJoseph Conrad quote #50 I walked beside the evening sea And dreamed a dream that could not be; The waves that plunged along the shore Said only: 'Dreamer, dream no more!'
George William CurtisGeorge William Curtis quote #1