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From The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard3

Never Again

(Apsley Cherry-Garrard was one of Scott’s expedition members. He

formed a search party and eventually found the bodies of Scott and his

companions, along with Scott’s journal entries.)

There are many reasons which send men to the poles, and the Intellectual Force uses them all. But the desire for knowledge for its own sake is the one which really counts and there is no field for the collection of knowledge which at the present time can be   compared to the Antarctic.

Exploration is the physical expression of the Intellectual Passion.

And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore. If you are a brave man you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but cowards have need to prove their bravery. Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say, ‘What is the use?’ For we are a nation of shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not promise him a financial return within a year. And so you will sledge nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers: that is worth a good deal. If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin’s egg.

THINK

“I took all this in and thought it through, inside and out.” (Ecclesiastes 9:1)

• Do you think believers today could be described as “shopkeepers”?

• When you think of the word stalwart and the idea of “strongly and stoutly built; sturdy and robust,” what words or phrases in this passage mean something to you?

• Go back through the passage and substitute the word “God” for the words “knowledge” and “a penguin’s egg.” With these substitutions, what are your reactions to the passage?

Keep in mind the word stalwart and its definition.

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From Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez4