--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the seventeenth and eighteenth…" description: "\"“In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries you could travel from Holland to China in a year or two, the time it has taken Voyager to travel from Eart..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/carl-sagan-160_travel_in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centur_1622213.jpg" --- # In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries you could… ![“In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries you could travel from Holland to China in a year or two, the time it has taken Voyager to travel from Earth to Jupiter.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/carl-sagan-160_travel_in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centur_1622213.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/carl-sagan-160_travel_in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centur_1622213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/carl-sagan-160_travel_in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centur_1622213.jpg) > ““In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries you could travel from Holland to China in a year or two, the time it has taken Voyager to travel from Earth to Jupiter.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Travel times have dramatically shortened, making interplanetary journeys comparable to historic sea voyages. **In simple terms:** Space travel now takes as long as old sea trips. Key Takeaway Recognize how technology compresses distances. Themes technology exploration progress history space travel Mood reflective inspiring thoughtful Type historical scientific inspirational When to use this quote - education - public speaking - space advocacy Key Concepts relativity technological acceleration human perspective Questions to Reflect On - How does this comparison change your view of modern travel? - What does it say about humanity’s progress? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Centuries Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centuries-travel-288079/) [China Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china-year-288082/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Travel Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel-earth-288081/) [Voyager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voyager/) [Voyager Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voyager-travel-288080/) ## Related quotes > [“Centuries of travel yore suggest that when we no longer know where to turn, our real journey has just begun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/centuries-of-travel-yore-suggest-that-when-we-no-longer-know-where-to/) [Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/) > [If you travel the earth, you will find it is largely divided into two classes of people-people who say 'I wonder why such and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-you-travel-the-earth-you-will-find-it-is-largely-divided-into-two/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [My parents and my grandfather on my mom's side would travel the earth. They went to Australia and China, and they went to probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-chastain/my-parents-and-my-grandfather-on-my-mom-s-side-would-travel-the-earth/) [Brandi Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-chastain/) > [I was in China this year and I spent three weeks there with no luggage, in a really not very nice place and without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-douglas/i-was-in-china-this-year-and-i-spent-three-weeks-there-with-no/) [Jill Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-douglas/) > [I've been going to China every year now for more than a decade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-oakenfold/i-ve-been-going-to-china-every-year-now-for-more-than-a-decade/) [Paul Oakenfold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-oakenfold/) > [I fought probably 23 or 24 times when I was over in China, in a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-adesanya/i-fought-probably-23-or-24-times-when-i-was-over-in-china-in-a-year/) [Israel Adesanya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-adesanya/) > [“It is conventional wisdom now that anything built by the government will be a disaster. But the two "Voyager" spacecraft were built by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-conventional-wisdom-now-that-anything-built-by-the-government/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Each Voyager is itself a message. In their exploratory intent, in the lofty ambition of their objectives, in their utter lack of intent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/each-voyager-is-itself-a-message-in-their-exploratory-intent-in-the/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Billions of years from now our sun, then a distended red giant star, will have reduced Earth to a charred cinder. But the Voyager…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/billions-of-years-from-now-our-sun-then-a-distended-red-giant-star/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“This Voyager spacecraft was constructed by the United States of America. We are a community of 240 million human beings among the more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/this-voyager-spacecraft-was-constructed-by-the-united-states-of/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/now-voyager-sail-thou-forth-to-seek-and-find/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [The real friends of the space voyager are the stars. Their friendly, familiar patterns are constant companions, unchanging, out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lovell/the-real-friends-of-the-space-voyager-are-the-stars-their-friendly/) [Jim Lovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lovell/) > [Nothing will ever be what the Voyager mission was,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/nothing-will-ever-be-what-the-voyager-mission-was/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. - Now, Voyager”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-davis/oh-jerry-don-t-let-s-ask-for-the-moon-we-have-the-stars-now-voyager/) [Bette Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-davis/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Travel quotes > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [I travel all the time. I'm very restless you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddy-de-clercq/i-travel-all-the-time-i-m-very-restless-you-know/) [Eddy de Clercq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddy-de-clercq/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I like to sit down, relax, have a cup of coffee on the terrace and read a book. I like to travel the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-vos/i-like-to-sit-down-relax-have-a-cup-of-coffee-on-the-terrace-and-read/) [Marianne Vos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-vos/) > [Though there are some disagreeable things in Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/though-there-are-some-disagreeable-things-in-venice-there-is-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Often in my game as an actor, someone else pays for your travel and there's nothing like being able to lie flat on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioan-gruffudd/often-in-my-game-as-an-actor-someone-else-pays-for-your-travel-and/) [Ioan Gruffudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ioan-gruffudd/) > [When I travel abroad, because I'm Columbian, I'm always one that they check twice and security and I'm the one that they open my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-vergara/when-i-travel-abroad-because-i-m-columbian-i-m-always-one-that-they/) [Sofia Vergara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-vergara/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [I collect underwear from my travels. Lace, lingerie, bodysuits... they're like souvenirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/i-collect-underwear-from-my-travels-lace-lingerie-bodysuits-they-re/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [There is no budget for travel for a Shadow Foreign Secretary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hague/there-is-no-budget-for-travel-for-a-shadow-foreign-secretary/) [William Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hague/) > [For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/for-the-execution-of-the-voyage-to-the-indies-i-did-not-make-use-of/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [I have been lucky enough to travel a lot, meet great people in many lands. I have liked almost everyone I met along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/i-have-been-lucky-enough-to-travel-a-lot-meet-great-people-in-many/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) [Browse all 9,332 Travel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries you could travel from Holland to China in a year or two, the time it has taken Voyager to travel from Earth to Jupiter.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centuries-you-could-travel-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Travel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centuries-you-could-travel-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/carl-sagan-160_travel_in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centur_1622213.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/carl-sagan-160_travel_in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centur_1622213.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/carl-sagan-160_travel_in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centur_1622213.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries you could travel from Holland to China in a year or two, the…” — Carl Sagan", "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": "Carl Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centuries-you-could-travel-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centuries-you-could-travel-from/#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 } } ] } ```