1/ Dante, Inferno 26.112-120

Brothers…who through a hun­dred thou­sand
Dan­gers have reached the chan­nel to the west,
To the short evening watch which your own senses

Still must keep, do not choose to deny
The expe­ri­ence of what lies past the sun
And of the world yet uninhabited.

Con­sider the seed of your gen­er­a­tion:
You were not born to live like ani­mals
But to pursue virtue and pos­sess knowledge.

2/ Louis Mac­Ne­ice, “Thalassa”

Run out the boat, my broken com­rades;
Let the old sea­weed crack, the surge
Bur­geon obliv­i­ous of the last
Embarka­tion of feck­less men,
Let every adverse force con­verge–
Here we must needs embark again.

Run up the sail, my heart­sick com­rades;
Let each hori­zon tilt and lurch–
You know the worst: your wills are fickle,
Your values blurred, your hearts impure
And your past life a ruined church–
But let your poison be your cure.

Put out to sea, igno­ble com­rades,
Whose record shall be noble yet;
Butting through scarps of moving marble
The nar­whal dares us to be free;
By a high star our course is set,
Our end is Life. Put out to sea.