Ships are to little purpose
“Ships are to little purpose without skillful Sea Men.” Richard Hakluyt, 1589. As a piloting quote, these words ring true across five centuries. And as a quick social media meme they seem true for many activities we humans want to feel important about. And that’s good. But there’s a lot more here than just a two-second meme. Richard Hakluyt (1553 – 1616) was an English writer known for promoting the English colonization of North America. He wrote (with Edmund Goldsmid) the 16 volume opus The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation (online Gutenberg). It was in here he wrote … Continue reading Ships are to little purpose