Wanderers through time; Ancient Travel Wisdom. 10 quotes.

byMCicch1

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3 months ago

Title: Wanderers Through Time: Ancient Travel Wisdom from 500 BCE to 1800 CE .Introduction: Travel has long stirred the hearts of poets, philosophers, pilgrims, and conquerors. From the dusty roads of ancient China to the windswept coasts of Enlightenment Europe, journeys have inspired reflection on the human spirit, nature, society, and self. This manuscript offers a curated collection of travel-related quotes spanning over two millennia, drawn from diverse civilizations and traditions. Each quote is accompanied by cultural context to illuminate its significance in its time and place:

---1. Laozi (Lao Tzu), China, ~6th Century BCE> "A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving."— Tao Te Ching, Chapter 27. Context: Laozi, a foundational figure in Daoism, emphasized harmony with nature and the art of yielding. In Daoist philosophy, travel is less about destination and more about surrendering to the flow of the universe. This quote reflects an ideal of detached, contemplative wandering.---

2. Herodotus, Greece, ~5th Century BCE> "The world is the stage of change. Nothing stays the same."— Histories. Context: Often called the “Father of History,” Herodotus traveled extensively across the ancient world, documenting the customs of peoples from Egypt to Persia. His quote reflects the Greek fascination with diversity and the mutability of human affairs.---

3. Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), India, ~5th Century BCE> "It is better to travel well than to arrive."— Dhammapada, Verse 91. Context: In Buddhist thought, the journey of life is one of mindfulness and awakening. The Buddha’s emphasis on the path, rather than the goal, echoes in many spiritual traditions. Travel, in this view, is both metaphor and method for spiritual growth.---

4. Aristotle, Greece, ~4th Century BCE> "Adventure is worthwhile." Context: While the exact phrasing is debated, this quote encapsulates Aristotle's belief in the value of experience for cultivating virtue. For the ancient Greeks, travel was an opportunity to test courage, curiosity, and intellect.---

5. Pliny the Elder, Rome, ~1st Century CE> "Home is where the heart is."— Naturalis Historia. Context: As a Roman encyclopedist and naval commander, Pliny explored the natural world and recorded knowledge from far-flung provinces. This quote reflects a Roman tension between cosmopolitanism and the emotional pull of one's roots.---

6. St. Augustine, Roman North Africa, ~4th Century CE> "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." Confessions. Context: A bishop and philosopher, Augustine saw the physical world as both a divine creation and a metaphor. Travel, to him, opened the soul to the diversity of God’s creation and the complexity of the human experience.---

7. Ibn Battuta, Morocco, ~14th Century> "Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."— Rihla . (The Travels). Context: One of the greatest travelers in history, Ibn Battuta journeyed over 70,000 miles across the Islamic world. His writings are a trove of cultural insights and personal anecdotes. The quote captures the transformative and narrative power of travel.---

8. Geoffrey Chaucer, England, ~14th Century> "He who would travel happily must travel light." This is one I have really taken t heart. (Popular paraphrase; similar sentiments appear in medieval travel lore). Context: As author of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer captured the voices of medieval pilgrims. Lightness, both physical and spiritual, was a recurrent theme in medieval journeying.

9. Marco Polo. Italy, - 14th Century > "I have not told the half of what I saw." This is something Marco Polo stated as an elder. The quote captures the wonder of his travels and the skepticism his writings provoked in Europe. He spent more than two decades traveling through Persia, China, and other areas of Asia. When he returned to his home base of Venice Italy, his stories were thought of as mere fantasies and exaggerations. Coal used for fuel? Unbelievable. The huge expanse of the Mogul Empire? Outrageous. The large cities of China? Impossible exaggerations. This quote speaks of the fact that even his most astonishing accounts were only a fraction of what he witnessed. The world is far more expansive, diverse, and surprising than we can often express in words. It is humbling that no book, no matter how detailed, can truly contain the full breath of a journey, especially of a life long journey. I guess it is a good thing we have instagram now. I have more than 20 travel journals and I know that I did not include even half of what I experienced.

10. Sir John Mandeville. England. - 14th Century > "A man that will pass the land of Cathay, he shall come to a city that men call Sugarmagastre." Context: Now here is a quote that CAN be met with skepticism. The city is misinterpreted or even imagined. It refers to a travelers' journey through an Asia that was as mythical as it was real. But it was a wondrous land nonetheless. Mandeville's writings, though often inaccurate, ignited centuries of exploration by inviting readers to dream beyond the edges of known maps. The quote highlights the blurred line between travel and imagination in the medieval mind and sets the tone for a world that is as much discovered within as it is found without.

Thank you for reading my treatment of ancient travel quotes, and in closing, I would like to add my own travel quote since I am almost as ancient as those quoted above:

1. Michael Anthony Cicchi. 20th - 21st Century > "Work with dreams in your heart, tuck away coins like whispered secrets, wander where your heart leads, then return and repeat." MAC.
2. A second version of my quote is; "Work with constancy, save your coins with diligence, travel where your heart leads. then return and repeat." MAC.
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