“The pilot cannot mitigate the billows or calm the winds.”
Plutarch (46–127) ancient Greek historian and philosopher
On the Tranquillity of the Mind
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
Related quotes
“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.”
In tranquillo esse quisque gubernator potest.
Publilio Siro Latin writer
Maxim 358
Sentences
“Finally, by the sea, where God is everywhere, I gradually calmed.”
Patti Smith (1946) American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist
“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America
Letter to his Italian friend, Philip Mazzei (1796)
1790s
“Two there on the beach / as close together as nostrils. / Calm sea day.”
Mirkka Rekola (1931–2014) Finnish writer
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Austrian-British philosopher
Source: Culture and Value (1980), p. 53e
“When times are stable, and the sea is calm and secure, no one is really tested.”
T. B. Joshua (1963) Nigerian Christian leader
Inspiration from his late mother - "'ATTRIBUTING THE SATELLITES SUCCESS TO ME IS BLASPHEMY' – T.B. JOSHUA" http://www.modernghana.com/print/247180/1/attributing-the-satellites-success-to-me-is-blasph.html Modern Ghana (November 4 2009)
Max Beckmann (1884–1950) German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor and writer
12 April 1944 <br class="br">notes in his diary, 1944, Amsterdam; as quoted on: 'Arts in exile' http://kuenste-im-exil.de <br class="br">1940s
Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945) Nazi politician and Propaganda Minister
Abends sitze ich auf meinem Zimmer und lese die Bibel. In der Ferne braust das Meer. Dann liege ich noch lange wach und denke an den stillen, bleichen Mann von Nazareth.
Michael: a German fate in diary notes (1926)
“Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer
April 10, 1778
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol III