Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage Quotes
"The order to abandon ship was given at 5 P.M. They accepted their defeat almost apathetically. They were simply too tired to care."
"She was being crushed. Not all at once, but slowly, a little at a time."
"The impression of its titanic power was heightened by the unhurried deliberateness of the motion."
"In this universe of ice, nowhere was the movement greater or the pressure more intense than in the floes that were attacking the ship."
"But when you are in a hopeless situation, when there seems no way out, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton."
"It was a return to the Ice Age—no warmth, no life, no movement."
"In all the world there is no desolation more complete than the polar night."
"They had come to know one another very well indeed. And with few exceptions, they had come to like one another, too."
"If anything held the ship from rising to such pressure she would crush up like an empty eggshell."
"It is beginning to be an anxious time for us."
"May the new one bring us good fortune, a safe deliverance from this anxious time & all good things to those we love so far away."
"I cannot help feeling sorry for Worsley at the mouth of our tent."
"I pray God I can manage to get the whole party safe to civilization."
"The rapidity with which one can completely change one’s ideas... and accommodate ourselves to a state of barbarism is wonderful."
"The will to survive soon dispelled any hesitancy to obtain food by any means."
"It has been a lovely day, and it is hard to think we are in a frightfully precarious situation."
"A man on foot in soft, deep snow and unarmed would not have a chance against such an animal as they almost bound along with a rearing, undulating motion at least five miles an hour."
"Shackleton was not an ordinary individual. He was a man who believed completely in his own invincibility, and to whom defeat was a reflection of personal inadequacy."
"This indomitable self-confidence of Shackleton’s took the form of optimism. It set men’s souls on fire; just to be in his presence was an experience."
"They attack without provocation, looking on man as a penguin or seal."
"The hunting parties continued to operate the next day, though the warm, muggy weather kept the surface of the ice soggy."
"The monotony of life here is getting on our nerves. Nothing to do, nowhere to walk, no change in surroundings, food or anything."
"We are still in hope of a sw breeze to relieve us before the winter sets in."
"The food now is pretty well all meat. Seal steaks, stewed seal, penguin steaks, stewed penguin, penguin liver, the latter being very good indeed."
"We make all kinds of theories based sometimes on what we see about us of ice conditions, but more of this based on nothing at all."
"Watching it, many of them sought to put their feeling into words, but they could find no words that were adequate."
"The defiant line of his chin was accentuated, but the tired circles around his eyes told of the strain he was under."
"The berg was smaller, but the ice was just as close."
"The men made feeble jokes about it, tried to resign themselves, or simply tried not to think about it."
"A freak current had apparently risen from the depths of the sea and been deflected against the deep underside of the berg."
"They would abandon the effort to reach Clarence or Elephant Island and take advantage of the following wind to make for King George Island."
"Sleep was out of the question, for there was nowhere to lie down."
"The ability of a whale to discriminate between the underside of a floe and the white bottoms of the boats was open to serious question."
"We want to be overfed, grossly overfed, yes, very grossly overfed on nothing but porridge and sugar, black currant and apple pudding and cream, cake, milk, eggs, jam, honey and bread and butter till we burst."
"The craving for sweets was almost unanimous, and the sweeter the better."
"In short, we want to be overfed, grossly overfed, yes, very grossly overfed."
"Every morning, I go to the top of the hill, and in spite of everything I cannot help hoping to see a ship coming along to our relief."
"If there were only some duties, useful or otherwise, to be performed, the burden of time would be more pleasant."
"The watching day by day and the anxiety for the safety of our comrades lay a holding hand on the already retarded passage of time."
"Their plight was known only to the six men in this ridiculously little boat, whose responsibility now was to prove that all the laws of chance were wrong—and return with help."
"To sit motionless in a 22-foot boat in a heavy sea can be difficult indeed."
"We’ve done it," he said, and his voice was strangely unsteady.
"She’s clearing it!" he screamed. "She’s clearing it!"
"Now it was over, and they knew only that they were unutterably tired—too tired even to savor much more than the dim awareness that they had won."
"It was a long climb, however, nearly 3,000 feet in all, and they were very, very tired."
"What a sight it was. In its light the edges of the crevasses were now easily discernible, and every ridgeline in the snow cast its shadow."
"In that instant, they felt an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment."
"The sails were lowered, and with Shackleton at the helm, the other men took turns rowing, two at a time."
"It was the beginning of a maddeningly frustrating series of rescue attempts lasting more than three months."
"Shackleton knew it—and yet there was no choice."
"They had to continue to bail almost until midnight before they had reduced the Caird’s burden of water to the extent that three men could handle it."
"They heard a trickling sound. Only a few yards away a little stream of fresh water was running down from the glaciers high above."
"They kept on, guided by the friendly moon, until after midnight, stopping at intervals to rest, for their weariness was now becoming a real burden."