proverb · Words worth keeping
Do not hope to reach a destination without ever leaving the shore.
Do not hope to reach a destination without ever leaving the shore.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Reaching a destination without leaving shore is rejected as an expectation. The saying contrasts wanting a result with undertaking the journey it requires.
What the words are saying
The voyage image is figurative rather than a navigation procedure or a reason to take every risk. A useful application identifies a feasible necessary step and the support it needs. Leaving alone does not guarantee arrival, and a person may reasonably change an aim or wait for suitable conditions.
Everyday example
Someone identifies what practical action a feasible goal needs before treating hope as progress.
When to use it
Use it to discuss an aim’s required action with limits assessed.
What it does not mean
No travel method, guaranteed destination or duty to take an unsuitable risk is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
China
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 246; PDF page 29; collection label: China
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- China