"The Sea! the Open Sea!" 



carried a hundred-fold deeper meaning, both to 

 the brave fellows who ventured on the stormy 

 main, and to the waiting wives and mothers on 

 land. 



All the more honour to them that they were 

 not daunted. Each man's victory or failure in 

 life's battle cannot but help to shape the 

 course which his descendants in future ages 

 will pursue. 



The Sea for us has a vivid personality. We 

 know grand old Neptune so well, with his trident 

 and his snowy hair, his dashing waves and his 

 impenetrable depths, his gentle breezes and his 

 furious gales, his moods of mild serenity and 

 his fits of vehement wrath. He has his faults ; 

 but in spite of all we love him. 



At one time the Sea was for men a type of 

 the Infinite, of the Immeasurable, of the Bound- 

 less. We use still the same words ; but they 

 have lost some of their force. 



In these days the whole ocean has been 

 mapped out from shore to shore. We know 

 exactly what countries lie round each part of it. 

 We can tell how long and how wide it is in any 

 direction. As we stand on the shore, and talk 

 of the " boundless ocean," we are perfectly well 

 aware that we are looking across to France or 



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