Skip to content

Order by December 10 for delivery before Christmas. Shop gifts

What it means

Douglass mocks people who want freedom without agitation, crops without plowing. Good things come with noise and disturbance. Accept the roar if you want the ocean.

The source

"No ocean without the roar. No rain without the thunder." Frederick Douglass said it in West India Emancipation speech, Canandaigua, New York, 3 August 1857. Written in English: West India Emancipation, 1857.

"they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters."

Original English (West India Emancipation, 1857), West India Emancipation speech, Canandaigua, New York, 3 August 1857. Text read at en.wikisource.org.

Who said it

Frederick Douglass (c. 1818–1895). Learned to read in secret, escaped slavery and became the leading abolitionist voice of his age. He wrote the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845).

Questions

What does "No ocean without the roar. No rain without the thunder." mean?
Douglass mocks people who want freedom without agitation, crops without plowing. Good things come with noise and disturbance. Accept the roar if you want the ocean.
Who said "No ocean without the roar. No rain without the thunder."?
Frederick Douglass (c. 1818–1895). Source: West India Emancipation speech, Canandaigua, New York, 3 August 1857.
What is the original wording?
they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters (Original English (West India Emancipation, 1857)). Written in English: West India Emancipation, 1857.
Is "No ocean without the roar. No rain without the thunder." on a shirt?
Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.

Cite this line

"No ocean without the roar. No rain without the thunder." (Frederick Douglass, West India Emancipation speech, Canandaigua, New York, 3 August 1857, trans. Original English (West India Emancipation, 1857)). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/no-ocean-without-the-roar-no-rain-without

Filed under Ocean and water quotes.

More from Frederick Douglass