Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
Death is given in a kiss; the dearest kindnesses are fatal; and into this life, where one thing preys upon another, the child too often makes its entrance from the mother's corpse.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the duality of life and death, suggesting that even the most tender moments can be intertwined with tragedy.
Robert Louis Stevenson's quote captures the intricate relationship between life and death, illustrating how love and loss often coexist. The phrase highlights that the act of giving life can carry an element of sacrifice, where the joys of childbirth can emerge from the pain of mortality. It serves as a reminder of the fragility of existence and the complexity of human experiences, where kindness and affection can also bear hidden consequences.
Themes
LifeDeathLoveSacrificeMortalityKindness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a eulogy to reflect on the bittersweet nature of life and legacy.
More from Robert Louis Stevenson
All quotes →Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into sober and fearful gratitude by the many he had come so near to doing, yet avoided.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters . . . I should be inclined to think our life a practical jest in the worst possible spirit.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
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