| Sundae |
11-12-2008 02:31 PM |
Very Ponting.
I was overwhelmed by Scott's journey, even before I really understood it. now I gobble up everything I can find.
Quote:
There are many reasons which send men to the Poles, and the Intellectual Force uses them all. But the desire for knowledge for its own sake is the one which really counts and there is no field for the collection of knowledge which at the present time can be compared to the Antarctic.
Exploration is the physical expression of the Intellectual Passion.
And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore. If you are a brave man, you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but cowards have need to prove their bravery. Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say ‘What is the use?’ For we are a nation of shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not promise him a financial return within a year. And so you will sledge nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers: that is worth a good deal. If you march your Winter Journeys, you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin’s egg.
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I've quoted it before and no doubt will again. Sod Morgan Freeman - Apsley Cherry-Gerrard was willing to give his life for this. He was a Christian, and still thought that biology would learn something from the development of prehistoric birds by studying a penguin's egg. He was near as blind without the glasses he couldn't wear in the cold of an antarctic winter,
Sorry. I will shush. But read or borrow The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Gerrard. Get past the stiff upper lp and it will amaze you. |
