Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
The seeming significance of nature's appearances, their unchanging strangeness to the senses, and the thrilling response which they awaken in the mind of man . . . If we could only write near enough to the facts, and yet with no pedestrian calm, but ardently, we might transfer the glamour of reality direct upon our pages.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the beauty and strangeness of nature and suggests that writing can capture its essence with passion and vibrancy.
Robert Louis Stevenson reflects on the profound impact that nature has on human perception and creativity. He argues that the vivid and almost magical qualities of the natural world could be effectively conveyed through writing, provided that the writer captures it with enthusiasm and depth, instead of relying on dull or overly simplistic descriptions. This highlights the connection between artistic expression and the inspiring elements of our environment.
Themes
NatureWritingArtistryCreativityBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
During a nature writing workshop, I shared a quote by Stevenson to inspire participants to capture the essence of their surroundings.
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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Jazz in itself is not struggling. That is, the music itself is not struggling... It's the attitude that's in trouble. My plays insist that we should not forget or toss away our history.
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I leave you free to imagine any dialogue you please. Choose whatever may charm you. Have it, if you like, that they hear the voice of the blood, or that they fall in love at first sight... Conceive the wildest improbabilities. Have it that the depths of their beings are thrilled at accosting each other in slang. Tangle them suddenly in a swift embrace or a brotherly kiss. Do whatever you like.
Jean GenetRead