Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
Dogs live with man as courtiers 'round a monarch, steeped in the flattery of his notice ... to push their favor in this world of pickings and caresses is, perhaps, the business of their lives.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dogs seek human approval and affection, making their companionship centered around pleasing us.
This quote by Robert Louis Stevenson highlights the unique relationship between dogs and humans. It portrays dogs as devoted companions that thrive on human attention and affection, much like courtiers vying for the favor of a monarch. Their lives, filled with the pursuit of approval and love from their human counterparts, emphasize the deep bond and dependence that characterizes the relationship we share with these animals.
Themes
DogsCompanionshipAffectionRelationshipsApproval
In practice
Example use cases
When discussing the bond between pets and their owners during a speech at an animal shelter.
More from Robert Louis Stevenson
All quotes →Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.
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That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.
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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.
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The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.
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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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