Comments on: Admiral Nelson’s Advice to Artists

By: Hometownlocator.Com

Hometownlocator.Com — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:32:12 +0000

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By: Mark Wynn

Mark Wynn — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 01:06:59 +0000

Agree. He was saying, you will not be faulted for engaging the enemy.

By: Amanda Vella

Amanda Vella — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 04:30:58 +0000

Yes, yes, yes. The Gita. Onward and upward for us all!

By: P.L. Bowler

P.L. Bowler — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 23:41:13 +0000

Andrew, your comment reminds me of great military figure’s assessment of the zeitgeist. General Douglas MacArthur observed: “There is no security on this planet . . . only opportunity.”

By: Symdaddy

Symdaddy — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 07:41:37 +0000

In those days, inaccurate weaponry meant that the best chance of success was to be as close as possible to the enemy. Obviously, as they are so close, it was also a captains best chance of failure.

I think some modern day equivalents would be “Give ‘em hell!” (certainly used by John Wayne in one or two movies) or, in later years, “Let’s kick ass!”

They are, I think, merely reminders; very much the same as “You know what we have to do and how to do it, so do it!”

By: David Schofield

David Schofield — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 03:21:51 +0000

Hi John,

I think that Nelson’s message was that, when everything became confused and commanders had to make decisions with limited or no information beyond what was going on in their immediate surrounds, Nelson’s order to the commander was to engage the enemy.

My interpretation of the ‘I shall fault no commander who…’ element of the statement is that, if a commander took terrible losses or even lost his ship through engaging directly the enemy, then he would be recognised as having done his job.

If that commander took those losses sailing around trying to make a decision or, worse, turned up at the end of the battle having avoided contact with the enemy, then Nelson would indeed find fault. Or, as it turned out, Nelson’s successor would find fault…

I think that interpreting that to mean that Nelson said no act is wrong in battle would be to infer incorrectly.

Regards,

David

By: Jason Wittman

Jason Wittman — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 04:07:00 +0000

There is a down-home country folk statement that sums this all up: “When you are knee deep in alligators, it is very hard to remember that the original mission was to drain the swamp!”

My way of defusing in my mind, all those oppositions to where I want to get to, is to say to myself, “It’s just another alligator!” and get back to doing the foot work.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 02:44:49 +0000

I recently post my family crest – McGregor – on the wall by where I work. The motto “even do and spare none” is at the bottom of it to remind me to step into the danger and uncertainty. To be bold. Or as Nelson suggests to pull alongside the enemy.

By: vldixon1701

vldixon1701 — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:37:52 +0000

Thanks so much for this! I needed to hear it.

By: Ulla Lauridsen

Ulla Lauridsen — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:37:57 +0000

Brilliant. Strangely, when you wrote “But in crunch time, the skipper who remembers what he’s trying to do is the one who survives,” I thought not of my writing but of the larger perspective: Raising af family. That’s what I’m REALLY doing, and I do it by writing, but it makes a difference which is the actual aim.