Character and Conduct – 23 January – Character of R.L. Stevenson

I HAVE referred to his chivalry only to find that in reality I was thinking of every one of the whole group of attributes which are associated with that name.   Loyalty, honesty, generosity, courage; courtesy, tenderness, and self-devotion;  to impute no unworthy motives and to bear no grudge;  to bear misfortune with cheerfulness and without a murmur;  to strike hard for the right and take no mean advantage;  to be gentle to women and kind to all that are weak;  to be very rigorous with oneself and very lenient to others – these, and any other virtues ever implied in ‘chivalry,’ were the traits that distinguished Stevenson.

The Life of R. L. Stevenson, GRAHAM BALFOUR

THROUGH life he did the thing he was doing as if it were the one thing in the world that was worth being done.

The Life of R. L. Stevenson, GRAHAM BALFOUR

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These quotes are from ‘Character and Conduct’ A selection of helpful thoughts from various authors arranged for daily reading.

Collected by Constance M Whishaw and first published in 1905 as a follow up to her volume of Daily Readings for members of the Being and Doing Guild who asked for an additional volume

In her preface Whishaw writes:

‘This collection of noble thoughts expressed by men and women of past and present ages who have endeavoured to leave the world a little better than they found it.’

It is my hope in publishing the her readers may be inspired to imitate the example of the authors.