Unlike The Mediocre Intrepid Spirits Seek

This saying is attributed to Ferdinand Magellan but cannot be traced to a specific primary source and is apocryphal. Magellan left no personal writings, and the expedition's only surviving first-hand narrative is Pigafetta's account. The sentiment captures the spirit of the voyage accurately: Magellan proposed crossing the uncharted Pacific at a time when no European knew its width, and he secured backing from the Spanish crown despite fierce opposition from Portuguese rivals and skeptical Spanish pilots who nearly mutinied before the fleet even reached South America.