Tag Archives: Robert Louis Stevenson

Quotes About Communication

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Communication Quotes

The site has a large collection of literary quotes about communication.  These are some of my favorites.

In reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs. ~ The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

“Old men only lie in wait for people to ask them to talk. Then they rattle on like a rusty elevator wheezing up a shaft.” ~ Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

Often I must speak other than I think. That is called diplomacy. ~ Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

“With no intention to take offence, I deny your right to put words into my mouth.” ~ Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. ~ The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

“Words,” said the host, at length, “is worse’n bullets. You never know what they’ll hit.” ~ The Night Horseman by Max Brand

Fair speech may hide a foul heart. ~ The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

We are never half so interesting when we have learned that language is given us to enable us to conceal our thoughts. ~ Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery

“I make no manner of doubt that you threw a very diamond of truth at me, though you see it hit me so directly in the face that it wasn’t exactly appreciated, at first.” ~ Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Never tell all you know—not even to the person you know best. ~ The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

Fine, large, meaningless, general terms like romance and business can always be related. They take the place of thinking, and are highly useful to optimists and lecturers. ~ The Job by Sinclair Lewis

The fool wonders, the wise man asks. ~ Count Alarcos: A Tragedy by Benjamin Disraeli

A slight throbbing about the temples told me that this discussion had reached saturation point. ~ Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

Mrs. Bittacy rustled ominously, holding her peace meanwhile. She feared long words she did not understand. Beelzebub lay hid among too many syllables. ~ The Man Whom the Trees Loved by Algernon Blackwood

To read between the lines was easier than to follow the text. ~ The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

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10 Dream Quotes from Literature

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Quotes About Dreams

But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths. ~ Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

He smiled the most exquisite smile, veiled by memory, tinged by dreams. ~ To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

“I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy.” ~ Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

She was suddenly tired of outworn dreams. ~ Rainbow Valley by Lucy Maud Montgomery

There is no more thrilling sensation I know of than sailing. It comes as near to flying as man has got to yet – except in dreams. ~ Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

It was always the becoming he dreamed of, never the being. ~ This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Well, many’s the long night I’ve dreamed of cheese–toasted, mostly.” ~ Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

At a single strain of music, the scent of a flower, or even one glimpse of a path of moonlight lying fair upon a Summer sea, the barriers crumble and fall. Through the long corridors the ghosts of the past walk unforbidden, hindered only by broken promises, dead hopes, and dream-dust. ~ Old Rose and Silver by Myrtle Reed

“We live, as we dream–alone.” ~ Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

“And so I am become a knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows!” ~ The Prince and The Pauper by Mark Twain

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New Quotes Added – A Feast for Crows, Invictus and More

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Quotes from LiteratureI got in one more batch of new quotes before the end of the month.  The batch has quotes from A Feast for Crows, Invictus and more.

Here are some of my favorites from the new batch. . .

The best way to be thankful is to use the goods the gods provide you. ~ The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope

Men of honor will do things for their children that they would never consider doing for themselves. ~ A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin

There is nothing perhaps so generally consoling to a man as a well-established grievance; a feeling of having been injured, on which his mind can brood from hour to hour, allowing him to plead his own cause in his own court, within his own heart,—and always to plead it successfully. ~ Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope

Love is involuntary. It does not often run in a yoke with prudence. ~ Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope

“With no intention to take offence, I deny your right to put words into my mouth.” ~ Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit From pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul. ~ Invictus by William Ernest Henley

5 Quotes about Questions

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Question Quotes

Have you ever thought about questions?  Questions are very, very important.  Without questions we’d have no answers.

Those are my thoughts on questions.  Now here are five quotes from literature about questions:

There are no ugly questions except those clothed in condescension. ~ East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Aunt Polly asked him questions that were full of guile, and very deep—for she wanted to trap him into damaging revealments. Like many other simple-hearted souls, it was her pet vanity to believe she was endowed with a talent for dark and mysterious diplomacy, and she loved to contemplate her most transparent devices as marvels of low cunning. ~ The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

“What is any public question but a conglomeration of private interests?” ~ The Warden by Anthony Trollope

“Questions are never indiscreet. Answers sometimes are.” ~ An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

“I feel very strongly about putting questions; it partakes too much of the style of the day of judgment.” ~ The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Conan Doyle and J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle April Fools Day seems like an appropriate time to talk about one of the early successes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s career, J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement.

The short story is a work of fiction.  However it’s based on a true story, the maritime mystery of the Mary Celeste. In 1872 the Mary Celeste was spotted  by the crew of the British brigantine Dei Gratia.  The Mary Celeste seemed to be in trouble. Some of her sails were missing while others flapped uselessly in the wind. Most alarming of all was the fact that there was no one at the wheel!

The Mary Celeste was boarded and found to be relatively undamaged.  The cargo was intact. There was plenty of food and water aboard. However there was no sign of  the crew.  Not a soul was on board.  To this day no one knows what happened to the crew of the Mary Celeste.

J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement was published anonymously.  In it, Conan Doyle wrote about an abandoned vessel named the Marie Celeste. The story tells how the ship was commandeered and sailed to Africa.  Later the passengers and crew were murdered.

The problem was that the story was so vivid that some people mistook it for an article.  They thought they were reading a piece of investigative journalism.  It caused quite an uproar.

Other people reading the tale understood that it was a work of fiction.  However it drew a lot of attention when hundreds of readers thought that they recognized the writing style of the anonymous author.  They suspected that the author was none other than Robert Louis Stevenson.

You can get more details about J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement at our partner site,
The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

Six Degrees of J. M. Barrie

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J.M. Barrie Could James M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, be the literary Kevin Bacon of his day? It might sound a little nutty, but take a look at his connections:

  • He had a long-standing correspondence with Robert Louis Stevenson.  Despite that fact that the two wrote many letters, they never met in person.
  • George Meredith, the author of The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, was his friend.
  • George Bernard Shaw was Barrie’s neighbor for several years.
  • He collaborated with H.B. Marriott Watson on a biography of Richard Savage.
  • Barrie’s friend H. G. Wells tried to help him with his marital problems.
  • Barrie knew Thomas Hardy.
  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and James M. Barrie were good friends.  You can read about their friendship at our partner site, The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
  • Barrie’s formed a cricket team, the Allah-Akabarries. Some of Barrie’s teammates included, Conan Dolye, H. G. Wells, Jerome K. Jerome, P. G. Wodehouse, A. E. W. Mason, E. V. Lucas, E. W. Hornung, Maurice Hewlett, A. A. Milne (of Winnie the Pooh fame) and G. K. Chesterton.