Robert Louis Stevenson Quotes

The cruellest lies are often told in silence. Robert Louis Stevenson

To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour. Robert Louis Stevenson

The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish. Robert Louis Stevenson

That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had. Robert Louis Stevenson

It is the mark of a good action that it appears inevitable in retrospect. Robert Louis Stevenson

Most of our pocket wisdom is conceived for the use of mediocre people, to discourage them from ambitious attempts, and generally console them in their mediocrity. Robert Louis Stevenson

Wine is bottled poetry. Robert Louis Stevenson

To make our idea of morality centre on forbidden acts is to defile the imagination and to introduce into our judgements of our fellow-men a secret element of gusto. Robert Louis Stevenson

It is a golden maxim to cultivate the garden for the nose, and the eyes will take care of themselves. Robert Louis Stevenson

A faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal identity. Robert Louis Stevenson

Many’s the long night I’ve dreamed of cheese – toasted, mostly. Robert Louis Stevenson

All speech, written or spoken, is a dead language, until it finds a willing and prepared hearer. Robert Louis Stevenson

An aspiration is a joy for ever, a possession as solid as a landed estate. Robert Louis Stevenson

I never weary of great churches. It is my favourite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral. Robert Louis Stevenson