The impression one gets after reading several nautical novels is that man, in order to embark on a sailing ship, had to suffer from at least one serious mental disorder. It is very amusing to see how absurd the navigations of the past seem to us today, when ships were like toys exposed to the fury of the sea and travelers, harassed by the terrors of the storms, were on their knees before fate. This voluntary exposure to the unknown seems irrational to us, although it expresses a courage that we lack today. But the clash of the man with the irrational, the powerful and uncontrollable still exists; although we no longer learn lessons as before, nor do we leave with the same dignity.
The Impression One Gets After Reading…
