I do not think there can be any life quite so demon­stra­tive of char­ac­ter as that which we had on these expe­di­tions. One sees a remark­able reas­sort­ment of val­ues. Under ordi­nary con­di­tions it is so easy to carry a point with a lit­tle bounce; self-assertion is a mask which cov­ers many a weak­ness. As a rule we have nei­ther the time nor the desire to look beneath it, and so it is that com­monly we accept peo­ple on their own val­u­a­tion. Here the out­ward show is noth­ing, it is the inward pur­pose that counts. So the ‘gods’ dwin­dle and the hum­ble sup­plant them. Pre­tence is useless.

Robert Fal­con Scott