Actually, the phrasing is a bit different in the actual poem. It actually goes:
He gained a world; he gave that world
It's greatest lesson: "On! sail on!"
So just a few words different. The poem (in its entirety I will show you below) was written by Joaquin Miller, also known as "Poet of the Sierras" and the "Byron of the Rockies,". His real name was Cincinnatus Hiner (Joaquin Miller being an alias), and he was born September 8th, 1837 (a speculation, I don't believe it's been confirmed as the actual date of birth). He was born in the Wabash District of Indiana, but moved when he was young. Here is the poem in its entirety (as you may know, it is based on the determination and courage of Christopher Columbus):
Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good Mate said, "Now we must pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?"
"Why say, 'Sail on! sail on! and on!
"My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak!"
The stout Mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wavewashed his swarthy cheek.
"What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?"
"Why, you shall say at break of day,
'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'"
They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the Mate;
"This mad sea shows its teeth tonight."
He curls his lip, he lies in wait,
With lifted teeth, as if to bite!
"Brave Admiral, say but one good word;
What shall we do when hope is gone?"
The words leapt like a leaping sword;
"Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"
Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck
And peered through darkness. Ah! that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck --
A light! A light! A light! A light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
It grew to be Time's burst of dawn.
He gained a world; he gave that world
It's greatest lesson: "On! sail on!"
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