steward

12:25 Jan 23, 2019 

So I'll go more for the concept of "responsibility" than for that of "gently guiding", which Phil also mentioned...
Thanks again!

12:13 Jan 23, 2019 

No, I think Phil's suggestion, as an explanation, sums up the essence of 'steward' here very well: just as a museum curator has overall responsibility for the collections under their care, so they might be considered to be the 'steward' of our history.

11:50 Jan 23, 2019 

So, if I haven't misunderstood, maybe you think that Phil's proposal is not completely suitable in this context?

11:38 Jan 23, 2019 

I would tend to avoid any allusion to ships or indeed any other form of transport; this is more the meaning we find in e.g. 'stewardship', as in a guardian, custodian, or curator, for example.
The trouble with using a ship analogy is that the 'steward' is specifically NOT associated with the running of the nautical side of the ship (e.g. helmsman) — they are part of the hotel infrastructure that looks after the passengers.
Hence you are seeking to swap one metaphor for another quite different one that is relaly nothing to do with what the writer wrote or (I'm sure) meant.

11:23 Jan 23, 2019 

for your hints!
Actually, I've seen that a possible synonym of "steward" was to "guide" "govern"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steward#synonyms
So I thought that "essere al timone" in a figurative sense of "steering ", being at the helm, might be suitable: he is the author of the book (he is at the helm) but the ship needs also other people to move...

21:13 Jan 22, 2019 

'Steward' is not really 'helmsman' — it has more the notion of 'guardian', custodian', or 'person who takes care of'.

20:44 Jan 22, 2019 

Did you try a Thesaurus?

18:36 Jan 22, 2019 

might also be a possible synonymous...
Thanks again for your help!