Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist and poet, best known for Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
5 quotes in this collection. Read them below, share your favourites, or follow the related links to explore similar voices.
All quotes by Robert Louis Stevenson
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“To be honest, to be kind — to earn a little and to spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to renounce when that shall be necessary and not be embittered, to kee...”
Meaning: From A Christmas Sermon, Stevenson sketches a modest, demanding good life: honesty, kindness, thrift, a few loyal friends, and self-respect. Use it as a yearly checklist; pick the item you neglect most, perhaps keeping one friendship alive honestly, and act on it this month. -
“It is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity.”
Meaning: In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the lawyer Utterson is described this way: his friends are the people life placed near him, not a curated set. Notice the longtime acquaintances you overlook, and invite one of them for coffee instead of waiting for a perfect new circle. -
“In real life, help is given out of friendship, or it is not valued; it is received from the hand of friendship, or it is resented.”
Meaning: Writing about beggars, Stevenson observes that help only lands well when it comes with real regard rather than pity or duty. Next time you offer support, sit down and listen first, treating the person as a friend with a problem instead of a problem to fix. -
“So long as we love we serve; so long as we are loved by others, I would almost say that we are indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend.”
Meaning: Stevenson, in an essay on duty and kindness, ties usefulness to love: being loved proves we matter, and having even one friend means we are never truly worthless. Apply it by asking someone who feels sidelined for help or advice on something small this week. -
“Give us grace and strength to forbear and to persevere. Give us courage and gaiety and the quiet mind, spare to us our friends, soften to us our enemies.”
Meaning: This prayer, inscribed on Stevenson's memorial in St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, asks for steadiness, cheer and the survival of good friendships. Make it practical: before a tense conversation, choose to soften rather than win, and send one friend a short note of thanks.