Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
Under the strain of this continually impending doom and by the sleeplessness to which I now condemned myself, ay, even beyond what I had thought possible to man, I became, in my own person, a creature eaten up and emptied by fever, languidly weak both in body and mind, and solely occupied by one thought: the horror of my other self.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle of self-identity and the psychological burden of one's darker side.
In this quote, Robert Louis Stevenson expresses the profound inner turmoil and self-reflection experienced by an individual grappling with their inner demons. It vividly portrays how the overwhelming weight of anxiety and the fear of oneself can lead to physical and mental exhaustion, emphasizing the complexities of human nature and the ongoing battle between our better selves and our darker inclinations.
Themes
Inner ConflictIdentityAnxietySelf-ReflectionDarkness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mental health, one might say, 'As Robert Louis Stevenson noted, we can be consumed by the horror of our own selves.'
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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