Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
The correction of silence is what kills; when you know you have transgressed, and your friend says nothing, and avoids your eye.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Silence can indicate deeper issues in a friendship, especially when one person feels guilty and the other does not confront them.
This quote by Robert Louis Stevenson highlights the pain caused by silence in relationships, particularly when one friend has wronged the other. It suggests that avoiding confrontation and not addressing transgressions can lead to feelings of guilt and unease, creating a silent tension that is more damaging than open communication would be.
Themes
SilenceFriendshipCommunicationGuiltTransgression
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about maintaining healthy relationships, one might refer to this quote to emphasize the importance of open communication.
More from Robert Louis Stevenson
All quotes βLike 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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If this is the way You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few!
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We form an association of brothers in all points of the globe ... yet there is one unseen that can hardly be felt, yet it weighs on us. Whence comes it? Where is it? No one knows ... or at least no one tells. This association is secret even to us the veterans of the Secret Societies.
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Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog.
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We must meet our duty and convince the world that we are just friends and brave enemies.
Thomas JeffersonRead