Original artwork, not a still
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Shedd's ship is safe at the dock and useless there, a one-sentence argument for taking the risk. The line is passed around constantly on posters, in graduation speeches and in mentoring talks, and it is often credited to someone more famous, which is why the real 1928 source and its author matter.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Salt from My AtticShow the scene
John A. Shedd (1859 to 1928) was an American author and professor, and the sentence is traced to his book Salt from My Attic, published by The Mosher Press of Portland, Maine, in 1928, the year he died. Stevenson's Book of Quotations (ninth edition, 1958) cites it as page 20 of that book, and The Yale Book of Quotations lists another Shedd line from the same volume. It is a standalone saying, so there is no scene behind it.
Sources (1)
- John Augustus Shedd on WikiquoteQuotesReference checked
Context reviewed
