From the shores of Sicily to Pessoa’s pen
The precision of navigation & the uncertainty of life
“Navegar é preciso, viver não é preciso” (to sail is necessary; to live is not) is a well-known phrase in Portuguese culture, borrowed by famed poet Fernando Pessoa. One might think it derives from the historical tradition of the Portuguese navigators of the 15th century, but instead it comes from Greek historian Plutarch who in turn got it from Roman general Pompey in the 1st century BC.
The journey
According to Plutarch in Parallel Lives, his biographical series of famous men, Pompey spoke the phrase “Navigare necesse; vivere non est necesse” while faced with the task of transporting wheat on merchant ships from Sicily back to Rome.
In Imperial Rome, the Cura Annonae was the import and distribution of grain for Rome's population, including a government program giving free grain - and later bread - to the people. This is the origin of the “bread” in the term “bread & circuses”. Whoever controlled the grain supply had effective control over Rome since a lack of it could lead to riots and worse.
Navigation was risky due to limitations in technology, the probability of pirate attacks and, in this particular case, an approaching storm. Danger also lurked back in Rome as there was a slave rebellion led by Spartacus causing a supply crisis, so the choice was between risking it all or staying safe where he was. Despite the storm, the usual headwinds (which could easily quintuple the travel time), and the fear of dying at sea, the general ordered his soldiers to board the ships for the long journey.
Interpretations
The Roman general’s words suggest that if the cause is just, the risk of death is acceptable. For Pessoa, writing in 1914 Lisbon far removed from such immediate dangers, the phrase took on a symbolic meaning. Sailing became a metaphor for the act of creation, imbued with risk, discovery, purpose, and meaning - contrasting with the mere survival that defines living.
In Portuguese, “é preciso” has the double meaning of “is needed” and “is precise”. Here, Pessoa expertly offers up ambiguity in the phrase, between one of necessity and one of precision (from the original Latin “necesse” to the Portuguese “preciso”). One interpretation is that navigating a ship requires precise instrumentation, but navigating life is uncertain.
The phrase, no matter when it was used, serves as a meditation on the balance between peril and purpose, between action and survival. The unpredictability and uncertainty of life involves taking risks, in addition to making decisions and learning, all while knowing that new challenges will continue to come.
Notes: Poem in Portuguese & English & a cover of a Caetano Veloso song by Lula Pena
