Top 34 Quotes & Sayings by Robert Falcon Scott

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a British explorer Robert Falcon Scott.
Last updated on April 14, 2025.
Robert Falcon Scott

Captain Robert Falcon Scott,, was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1910–1913. On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Antarctic Plateau, on which the South Pole is located. On the second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, less than five weeks after Amundsen's South Pole expedition.

Had we lived I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale.
We are showing that Englishmen can still die with a bold spirit, fighting it out to the end.
To wait idly is the worst of conditions. — © Robert Falcon Scott
To wait idly is the worst of conditions.
The dog is almost human in its demand for living interest, yet fatally less than human in its inability to foresee.
But we have been to the Pole and we shall die like gentlemen. I regret only for the women we leave behind.
As one looks across the barren stretches of the pack, it is sometimes difficult to realise what teeming life exists immediately beneath its surface.
Slowly but surely the sea is freezing over.
Hunger and fear are the only realities in dog life: an empty stomach makes a fierce dog.
I can imagine few things more trying to the patience than the long wasted days of waiting.
We are very near the end, but have not and will not lose our good cheer.
I fear we have shot our bolt - but we have been to Pole and done the longest journey on record.
Certainly dog driving is the most terrible work one has to face in this sort of business.
But if we have been willing to give our lives to this enterprise, which is for the honour of our country, I appeal to our countrymen to see that those who depend on us are properly cared for.
The events of the day's march are now becoming so dreary and dispiriting that one longs to forget them when we camp; it is an effort even to record them in a diary.
The dog lives for the day, the hour, even the moment.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. For God's sake, look after our people.
Each man in his way is a treasure.
But take comfort in that I die at peace with the world and myself - not afraid.
I may not have proved a great explorer, but we have done the greatest march ever made and come very near to great success.
Every day some new fact comes to light - some new obstacle which threatens the gravest obstruction. I suppose this is the reason which makes the game so well worth playing.
We are weak, writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past.
Make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better than games; they encourage it in some schools.
It seems a pity, but I do not think that I can write more. For God's sake look after our people.
Great God! This is an awful place.
I have come to the conclusion that life in the Antarctic Regions can be very pleasant. — © Robert Falcon Scott
I have come to the conclusion that life in the Antarctic Regions can be very pleasant.
I have huge questions about Vision Appraisal - you bet I do. I'm very worried about what happens when we hand over our destiny to an outside company.
I do no think human beings ever came through such a month as we have…We are weak, writing is difficult, but for my own sake I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in the past.
Jurors realize that instead of having to make that terrible decision (voting for the death penalty), they can vote to put someone in prison and ensure that defendant is no longer a harm to society. It makes it easier for them to return a verdict of life without the possibility of parole.
We took risks. We knew we took them. Things have come out against us. We have no cause for complaint.
Winners are born, Champions are made.
It is better that the law should be certain than that every judge should speculate upon improvements in it.
With great care we might have a dog's chance, but no more.
Keep engaged in the all new popular and fancy, positive side of things!
Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for.
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