--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One flesh. Or if you prefer, one ship…" description: "\"One flesh. Or if you prefer, one ship. The starboard engine has gone. I, the port engine, must chug along somehow till we make harbour. Or rather, till..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/c-s-lewis-2-132_ends_one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the_731986.png" --- # One flesh. Or if you prefer, one ship. The starboard… ![“One flesh. Or if you prefer, one ship. The starboard engine has gone. I, the port engine, must chug along somehow till we make harbour. Or rather, till the journey ends.” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/c-s-lewis-2-132_ends_one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the_731986.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/c-s-lewis-2-132_ends_one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the_731986.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/c-s-lewis-2-132_ends_one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the_731986.png) > “One flesh. Or if you prefer, one ship. The starboard engine has gone. I, the port engine, must chug along somehow till we make harbour. Or rather, till the journey ends.” [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When one part fails, the other must compensate, persisting together until the journey’s end. **In simple terms:** Together we endure despite loss. Key Takeaway Support each other through hardship. Themes teamwork resilience journey Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational advice When to use this quote - marriage - project teamwork - adversity Key Concepts metaphor cooperation Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance effort in partnerships? - What strengths emerge when facing loss together? A Different Perspective Overreliance on one side can cause burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Journey Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey-ends/) [Port](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/port/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [“One moment you’re cruising along effortlessly at thirty thousand feet while the cabin crew slosh the whisky around in business class, the next you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/one-moment-you-re-cruising-along-effortlessly-at-thirty-thousand-feet/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [If you are leaning over to starboard to balance the boat against the other guy's propensity to lean too far to port, both of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-kaye/if-you-are-leaning-over-to-starboard-to-balance-the-boat-against-the/) [Kenneth Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-kaye/) > [“We should make up our own phrase," I suggested. "Add our own contribution to nautical lore." Cal thought about it for a while and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dermont/we-should-make-up-our-own-phrase-i-suggested-add-our-own-contribution/) [Amber Dermont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dermont/) > [But oh! shipmates! on the starboard hand of every woe, there is a sure delight; and higher the top of that delight, than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/but-oh-shipmates-on-the-starboard-hand-of-every-woe-there-is-a-sure/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“All that yohoho stuff's for landlubbers, or it would be if we ever used words like landlubber. Do you know the difference between port…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/all-that-yohoho-stuff-s-for-landlubbers-or-it-would-be-if-we-ever/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Grey clouds up above man, Metaphor to my life man, Still I feel my...heart stronger then its ever been, Strong will to my journey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/grey-clouds-up-above-man-metaphor-to-my-life-man-still-i-feel-my/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [“For the Gypsy, it’s moments in time that count, not interpretations or rhetorical questions or resolutions or justifications, and not even the journey’s end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wiggins/for-the-gypsy-it-s-moments-in-time-that-count-not-interpretations-or/) [Karl Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wiggins/) > [“Music is like a journey that never ends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-oneal/music-is-like-a-journey-that-never-ends/) Dwayne Oneal > [It's not a journey, every journey ends but we go on, the world turns and we turn with it, plans disappear, dreams take over,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-a-journey-every-journey-ends-but-we-go-on-the-world-turns/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The only way the journey ends is if you stop moving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-sorenson/the-only-way-the-journey-ends-is-if-you-stop-moving/) [Toni Sorenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-sorenson/) > [“The longest journey ends at last. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-longest-journey-ends-at-last/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A journey will have pain and failure. It is not only the steps forward that we must accept. It is the stumbles. The trials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/a-journey-will-have-pain-and-failure-it-is-not-only-the-steps-forward/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“The thousand mile journey ends after several rest stops”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-orabona-foster/the-thousand-mile-journey-ends-after-several-rest-stops/) Elaine Orabona Foster > [“The end of my journey is happiness what is the point of having the journey if it ends in sadness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amina-warsuma/the-end-of-my-journey-is-happiness-what-is-the-point-of-having-the/) Amina Warsuma > [There's no unfinished journey. Every journey ends somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noble-yabi/there-s-no-unfinished-journey-every-journey-ends-somehow/) [Noble Yabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noble-yabi/) ## More by C. S. Lewis > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To every soul, God will look like its first love because He IS its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/to-every-soul-god-will-look-like-its-first-love-because-he-is-its/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/really-great-moral-teachers-never-do-introduce-new-moralities-it-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/when-he-died-in-the-wounded-world-he-died-not-for-men-but-for-each/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If a man is going to write on chemistry, he learns chemistry. The same is true of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-a-man-is-going-to-write-on-chemistry-he-learns-chemistry-the-same/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-first-fact-in-the-history-of-christendom-is-a-number-of-people/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I#pray because the need flows out of me all the time-walking and sleeping. It does not change # God - it changes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-pray-because-the-need-flows-out-of-me-all-the-time-walking-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Are the gods not just?' 'Oh no, child. What would become us us if they were?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/are-the-gods-not-just-oh-no-child-what-would-become-us-us-if-they-were/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love is more than an emotion, it is a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/love-is-more-than-an-emotion-it-is-a-decision/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/war-creates-no-absolutely-new-situation-it-simply-aggravates-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Explore all 1,190 C. S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More Ends quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) Browse all 20,790 Ends quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One flesh. Or if you prefer, one ship. The starboard engine has gone. I, the port engine, must chug along somehow till we make harbour. Or rather, till the journey ends.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. S. Lewis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the-starboard-engine-has-gone-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ends" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the-starboard-engine-has-gone-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/c-s-lewis-2-132_ends_one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the_731986.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/c-s-lewis-2-132_ends_one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the_731986.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/c-s-lewis-2-132_ends_one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the_731986.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One flesh. Or if you prefer, one ship. The starboard engine has gone. I, the port engine, must chug along…” — C. S. Lewis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "C. S. Lewis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One flesh. Or if you prefer,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the-starboard-engine-has-gone-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-flesh-or-if-you-prefer-one-ship-the-starboard-engine-has-gone-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```