I fear we have shot our bolt - but we have been to Pole and done the longest journey on record.
Robert Falcon ScottRead
Had we lived I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the bravery and resilience of companions during hardships.
In this poignant reflection, Scott expresses a deep admiration for the courage and endurance of his team in facing adversity. He suggests that their struggles and sacrifices should not go unnoticed, even if he himself does not survive to narrate their story. The essence of the quote captures the importance of recognizing and honoring the bravery of those who fight valiantly, even in the face of dire consequences.
In practice
This quote could be used in a motivational speech about resilience in challenging times.
I fear we have shot our bolt - but we have been to Pole and done the longest journey on record.
I can imagine few things more trying to the patience than the long wasted days of waiting.
We are weak, writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past.
As one looks across the barren stretches of the pack, it is sometimes difficult to realise what teeming life exists immediately beneath its surface.
But if we have been willing to give our lives to this enterprise, which is for the honour of our country, I appeal to our countrymen to see that those who depend on us are properly cared for.
But we have been to the Pole and we shall die like gentlemen. I regret only for the women we leave behind.
I've always felt that if you back down from a fear, the ghost of that fear never goes away. It diminishes people. So I've always said 'yes' to the thing I'm most scared about. The fear of letting myself down - of saying 'no' to something that I was afraid of and then sitting in my room later going, 'I wish I'd had the guts to say this or that' - that galvanizes me more than anything.
Look how fears have presented themselves, so have supports and encouragements; yea, when I have started, even as it were at nothing else but my shadow, yet God, as being very tender of me, hath suffered me to be molested, but would with one Scripture or another, strengthen me against all; insomuch that I have often said, Were it awful, I could pray for greater trouble, for the greater comfort's sake.
Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer. It is more important than competence or vision. It can never be an elective in any law school. It can never be de-limited, dated or outworn, and it should pervade the heart, the halls of justice and the chambers of the mind.
But now with the living conditions deteriorating, and with the sure knowledge that we are slated for destruction, we have been transformed into an implacable army of liberation.
We have not journeyed all this way because we are made of sugar candy.
I'm not afraid to look bad on the screen.
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