Elizabethan seamen upon our long career of adventure across the seas: adventure leading to discovery, discovery to exploration, exploration to colonisation and settlement, and so to Empire. So that you might say the British Empire was a product — almost a by-product — of adventure. It certainly was not planned; it came into being naturally, gradually, as the result of the adventurous spirit, the stout heart and courage of our forefathers looking for a livelihood and an outlet for their energy and spirits across the ocean." - Meaning and context.">
'The Spirit of Adventure: The British Interpretation', broadcast to schools (October 1940), in The English Spirit: Essays in History and Literature (1944), p. 55
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So we were launched by the Elizabethan seamen upon our long career of adventure across the seas: adventure leading to discovery, discovery to exploration, exploration to colonisation and settlement, and so to Empire. So that you might say the British Empire was a product — almost a by-product — of adventure. It certainly was not planned; it came into being naturally, gradually, as the result of the adventurous spirit, the stout heart and courage of our forefathers looking for a livelihood and an outlet for their energy and spirits across the ocean.

— A. L. Rowse

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "So we were launched by the Elizabethan seamen upon our long career of adventure across the seas: adventure leading to discovery, discovery to exploration, exploration to colonisation and settlement, and so to Empire. So that you might say the British Empire was a product — almost a by-product — of adventure. It certainly was not planned; it came into being naturally, gradually, as the result of the adventurous spirit, the stout heart and courage of our forefathers looking for a livelihood and an outlet for their energy and spirits across the ocean." in the context of "'The Spirit of Adventure: The British Interpretation', broadcast to schools (October 1940), in The English Spirit: Essays in History and Literature (1944), p. 55" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "A. L. Rowse" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
A. L. Rowse

About A. L. Rowse

Alfred Leslie Rowse CH FBA FRSL FRHistS (4 December 1903 – 3 October 1997) was a British historian and author of books about England's Elizabethan era.