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 keep a few friends, but these without capitulation — above all, on the same grim condition, to keep friends with himself — here is a task for all that a man has of fortitude and delicacy.
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.
Source: A Christmas Sermon, in Across the Plains (1892)
About the author
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.
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