I have known its (the sea) fascination since; i have seen the mysterious shores, the still water, the lands of brown nations, where a stealthy Nemesis lies in wait, pursues, overtakes so many of the conquering race, who are proud of their wisdom, of their knowledge, of their strength. But for me, all the East is contained in that vision of my youth. It is all in that moment when I opened my young eyes on it. I came upon it with a tussle with the sea — and I was young — and I saw it looking at me. And this is all that is left of it! Only a moment, a moment of strength, of romance, of glamour — of youth!…A flick of sunshine on a strange shore, the time to remember, the time for a sigh, and — good bye — Night — Good Bye!

Joseph Conrad, “Youth, a Narrative”