Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
This profusion of eccentricities, this dream in masonry and living rock is not a drop scene in a theatre, but a city in the world of reality.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that the unique and imaginative aspects of a city are real and not simply theatrical illusions.
In this quote, Robert Louis Stevenson highlights the distinctive and vivid characteristics of a city, suggesting that its creativity and eccentricities are a genuine part of the real world rather than mere pretensions or false representations. He encourages us to appreciate the authenticity and richness of urban life, recognizing it as a true manifestation of human artistry and expression.
Themes
CityArtistryEccentricitiesRealityImagination
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about urban development, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of creativity in city planning.
More from Robert Louis Stevenson
All quotes βLike 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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For myself and my own experience now, I don't really need any music. I have enough to listen to with just the sounds of the environment. I listen to the sounds of 6th avenue.
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