Everything is worthwhile if the soul is not small.
Genuine
Yes. In Message (1934), Second part, Mar Portuguez; poem X, “Mar Portuguez”, second stanza, lines 7–10 (1934 edition, p. 64).
Found word for word by program in the Portuguese original.
The English is our own translation, not yet reviewed: there is no public-domain translation of this text in our sources.
The wording people share comes from another translation than ours.
- Work
- Message (Mensagem), 1934
- Where
- Second part, Mar Portuguez; poem X, “Mar Portuguez”, second stanza, lines 7–10 (1934 edition, p. 64)
- Found at
- Paragraph 398 of the Portuguese text
- Translation
- Our own, not yet reviewed (no public-domain translation in our sources)
Researched by AI; checked by program against the full text on 31 October 2026. Editorial review: pending. How we check
On the page
Para que fosses nosso, ó mar!
Valeu a pena? Tudo vale a pena
Se a alma não é pequena.1
Quem quer passar além do Bojador
Tem que passar além da dor.
Deus ao mar o perigo e o abysmo deu,
Mas nelle é que espelhou o céu.
Was it worth the cost? Everything is worth the cost if the soul is not small. Whoever wants to go beyond Bojador must go beyond pain.
The scene
The poem first counts the mothers’ tears, the children’s unanswered prayers and the brides left unmarried by Portuguese seafaring. It then asks whether this cost was worthwhile and answers with the condition about the soul. Passing Cape Bojador becomes an image for passing beyond suffering; the closing lines join the sea’s danger to its reflection of heaven.
What it means
An undertaking’s suffering can be justified by the greatness of the aspiration behind it. The answer follows an explicit reckoning of losses rather than a denial that the losses matter.
Often misread
Often used as a generic message that any effort is worthwhile. Here it is part of a national poem about Portuguese maritime expansion and its human cost, not an unconditional endorsement of every undertaking.
Topics
Related quotes
- God wills, man dreams, the work is born.
- O salt sea, how much of your salt is the tears of Portugal!
- Imitation is suicide. Ralph Waldo Emerson
- The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King Jr.
- To be great, be whole.
Sources
Cite it
Fernando Pessoa, Message (1934), Second part, Mar Portuguez; poem X, “Mar Portuguez”, second stanza, lines 7–10 (1934 edition, p. 64), our own translation. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/everything-is-worthwhile-if-the-soul-is-not-small/ (31 October 2026).
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Checked by people
People who checked this entry against its source, under their own names. Their checks do not change the verdict: an editor reviews every entry.
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