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Aylaklar İçin Bir Savunu
Bu kitapta Robert Louis Stevenson'ın çalışma etiğini reddedip hayatın (gülmek, yiyip, içmek ve açık havda yatıp uzanmak gibi) basit zevklerinin tadını çıkarmayı teşvik eden, hem mizahi hem de ufuk açıcı denemesini, ona ek olarak da yazarın yaşlanmaya, nahoş mekanları ziyaret etmeye, aşık olmaya ve benzeri konalra dair yazılarını bulacaksınız.
Tarih boyunca bazı kitaplar dünyayı değiştirdi. Bununla kalmayıp bizleri ve birbirimizi görme biçimimizi etkiledi. O kitaplar ki tartışmaları, muhalif fikirlere, savaş ve devrimlere esin kaynağı oldular. Aydınlattılar, harekete geçirdiler, kışkırttılar, teselli ettiler. Yaşamımızı zenginleştirdiler ve bizleri ayrı ayrı kendi yaşamlarımızı sorgulamaya yönelttiler Kafka Kitap, ''Büyük Fikirler'' dizisiyle sizlere uygarlığı sarsan, insanlık tarhine yön veren ve kendimizi keşfetmemize yardım eden fikirleriyle; büyük düşünürlerin, çığır açanların, radikallerin ve ileriyi görenlerin eserlerini sunuyor
Tarih boyunca bazı kitaplar dünyayı değiştirdi. Bununla kalmayıp bizleri ve birbirimizi görme biçimimizi etkiledi. O kitaplar ki tartışmaları, muhalif fikirlere, savaş ve devrimlere esin kaynağı oldular. Aydınlattılar, harekete geçirdiler, kışkırttılar, teselli ettiler. Yaşamımızı zenginleştirdiler ve bizleri ayrı ayrı kendi yaşamlarımızı sorgulamaya yönelttiler Kafka Kitap, ''Büyük Fikirler'' dizisiyle sizlere uygarlığı sarsan, insanlık tarhine yön veren ve kendimizi keşfetmemize yardım eden fikirleriyle; büyük düşünürlerin, çığır açanların, radikallerin ve ileriyi görenlerin eserlerini sunuyor
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1877
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1274 people want to read
About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
6,836 books6,946 followersRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
December 1, 2016
I was going to write a review for this book but now I can't be bothered.
February 11, 2025
I mean it’s essentially Touch Grass: A Collection of essays. Written in an optimistic point of view that has fallen out of style with a lot of philosophy and academics. Feels like you’re hanging with one of those people that feels full of life (but isn’t annoying about it). It’s easy to trash his views on “idling” (not working so much) as unsympathetic to class consciousness or whatever, but it’s always one I’ve been understanding of and frankly striving towards. Where you don’t feel the need by outside forces to always be doing something or grinding yourself down. Take time to yourself and read that book, talk with that person, take that walk, etc. we have been essentially programmed to hate ourselves if we aren’t busy with a job. You can see this in people when they have any sort of time off. Them being unproductive is tied in with their self worth. This is something that must be detached.
Honestly the rest of the essays all vary from interesting to dull, but the title essay is a must read for anyone who feels like they need a break from it all.
While based more in a childlike sense of nostalgia I couldn’t help but think of lyrics to one of my favourite songs while reading through this essay collection:
“Do you think it’s impossible to forget everything we know? do you remember what its like to be nine years old at nine o'clock still its light outside?”
Honestly the rest of the essays all vary from interesting to dull, but the title essay is a must read for anyone who feels like they need a break from it all.
While based more in a childlike sense of nostalgia I couldn’t help but think of lyrics to one of my favourite songs while reading through this essay collection:
“Do you think it’s impossible to forget everything we know? do you remember what its like to be nine years old at nine o'clock still its light outside?”
August 21, 2016
Hay dos tipos de libro: los que no quieres que terminen y los que sí. El de nuestro amigo Robert Louis ("La isla del tesoro", "Jekyll & Hyde"..) comienza siendo lo primero y termina siendo lo segundo. Pero vamos por parte.
Ante todo es bueno advertir que el título le hace flaco favor, ya que puede interpretarse como los argumentos con que un vago aspira a defender lo indefendible, o ennoblecer cualquier clase de vicio. Nada más lejano. Este es un libro moral que no pretende moralizar. Fue escrito por un artista y no un capellán.
La primera mitad trata 4 temas en forma realmente magistral: ocio (en sentido epicúreo), la profesión artística, el amor y la vejez. Sin duda volveré a leerlos, porque en ellos Stevenson revela toda la potencia de su pluma. Los siguientes capítulos en cambio fueron para mí un largo bostezo, con descripciones afectadas, de corte bucólico-pastoril que bien podrían haberse resumido con una imagen, ahorrando varias páginas que hubiese preferido dedicadas a desarrollar la primera parte. Así y todo, una lectura recomendable para artistas de vacaciones o de vocaciones.
Ante todo es bueno advertir que el título le hace flaco favor, ya que puede interpretarse como los argumentos con que un vago aspira a defender lo indefendible, o ennoblecer cualquier clase de vicio. Nada más lejano. Este es un libro moral que no pretende moralizar. Fue escrito por un artista y no un capellán.
La primera mitad trata 4 temas en forma realmente magistral: ocio (en sentido epicúreo), la profesión artística, el amor y la vejez. Sin duda volveré a leerlos, porque en ellos Stevenson revela toda la potencia de su pluma. Los siguientes capítulos en cambio fueron para mí un largo bostezo, con descripciones afectadas, de corte bucólico-pastoril que bien podrían haberse resumido con una imagen, ahorrando varias páginas que hubiese preferido dedicadas a desarrollar la primera parte. Así y todo, una lectura recomendable para artistas de vacaciones o de vocaciones.
March 8, 2014
A worthwhile read and one to come back to every so often. The book contains reflections by an intelligent man of the world and some insight into the times he lived in. I haven't read anything by R.L. Stevenson apart from this so far, but I'll certainly make an effort to do so now.
I'm a fan of this series of books but the lack of an introduction and notes can be a problem; especially with some of the more obscure references, and I felt that the travel writing needed some background information. I understand that they have to be short though, and there's always Wikipedia to fill in the gaps!
I'm a fan of this series of books but the lack of an introduction and notes can be a problem; especially with some of the more obscure references, and I felt that the travel writing needed some background information. I understand that they have to be short though, and there's always Wikipedia to fill in the gaps!
March 15, 2011
A reminder about the importance of idling. Stevenson's argument is valid, however I prefer Chesterton's essay on the same subject; On Lying in Bed and Other Essays.
Tom Hodgkinson's How to Be Idle: A Loafer's Manifesto is also excellent. If you are ever poisoned with guilt about simply lying about and dreaming, Hodgkinson's book is the antidote.
Tom Hodgkinson's How to Be Idle: A Loafer's Manifesto is also excellent. If you are ever poisoned with guilt about simply lying about and dreaming, Hodgkinson's book is the antidote.
July 3, 2023
I really, really enjoyed the first half of this collection, but unfortunately, things only got down from there. The title essay “An Apology for Idlers” is what made me want to pick it up in the first place (besides the fact that I adore RLS), and wow did it deliver! Some quotes hit me on a very personal level, such as:
“Extreme busyness, whether at school or college […] is a symptom of deficient vitality; and a faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal identity. There is a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed people about, who are scarcely conscious of living except in the exercise of some conventional occupation.”
“I know there are people in the world who cannot feel grateful unless the favour has been done them at the cost of pain and difficulty.”
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy”
Writing down these quotes is enough to make me emotional again. They very much describe some of what I was (and still am) going through with uni. I always strive to be the best, and easily get caught up in a cycle of constant stress and self-hatred. Stevenson reminded me that ultimately, I should strive to prioritize my happiness, too, which felt like a wake up call. The same thing can be said for Letter to a Young Gentleman, which rekindled the routine in me of creating I had lost for a moment. However, the essay on Fontainebleau and the Old Pacific Capital were sooooooo dry I had to skip them. This brought down the average rating quite a bit, but ultimately, I’m glad I read this and will definitely go back to some of the quotes from this essay collection in the future, as reminders to take a moment and step back from the busy train of life.
“Extreme busyness, whether at school or college […] is a symptom of deficient vitality; and a faculty for idleness implies a catholic appetite and a strong sense of personal identity. There is a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed people about, who are scarcely conscious of living except in the exercise of some conventional occupation.”
“I know there are people in the world who cannot feel grateful unless the favour has been done them at the cost of pain and difficulty.”
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy”
Writing down these quotes is enough to make me emotional again. They very much describe some of what I was (and still am) going through with uni. I always strive to be the best, and easily get caught up in a cycle of constant stress and self-hatred. Stevenson reminded me that ultimately, I should strive to prioritize my happiness, too, which felt like a wake up call. The same thing can be said for Letter to a Young Gentleman, which rekindled the routine in me of creating I had lost for a moment. However, the essay on Fontainebleau and the Old Pacific Capital were sooooooo dry I had to skip them. This brought down the average rating quite a bit, but ultimately, I’m glad I read this and will definitely go back to some of the quotes from this essay collection in the future, as reminders to take a moment and step back from the busy train of life.
December 13, 2024
Quite good! Liked the first few essays on the boons of being an idler, falling in love and being an artist. Deducted 1 point for the long essay about painters in France, couldn't hold my interest. Who knew Stevenson started a forest fire in California as an 'experiment'.
June 10, 2016
De los tres libros que he leído hasta el momento de esta colección este ha sido el que más me ha gustado. Los primeros ensayos son los mejores en cuanto que contienen más ideas que los últimos que se centran más en la descripción de lugares. Todos a su manera me han gustado, aunque el ensayo que da título al libro y el que trata sobre el amor son sin duda alguna mis favoritos.
Definitivamente un pequeño libro muy interesante y bastante sencillo de seguir (no como el dichoso libro del Tao). Sin embargo hay unos pequeños fallos en la edición, y no sólo en la española ya que los he visto en otra crítica referida a la edición original de Penguin: me faltan unas pequeñas anotaciones sobre los personajes culturales que se mencionan y una referencia temporal (nunca se menciona el año de publicación de los ensayos). Por lo demás perfecta (y la portada es preciosa).
Definitivamente un pequeño libro muy interesante y bastante sencillo de seguir (no como el dichoso libro del Tao). Sin embargo hay unos pequeños fallos en la edición, y no sólo en la española ya que los he visto en otra crítica referida a la edición original de Penguin: me faltan unas pequeñas anotaciones sobre los personajes culturales que se mencionan y una referencia temporal (nunca se menciona el año de publicación de los ensayos). Por lo demás perfecta (y la portada es preciosa).
March 26, 2011
Stevenson summarizes all the good reasons to be idle every once in a while and to allow yourself to live instead of focusing on work all the time; to follow his advise: "I lie here, by this water, to learn by root-of-heart a lesson which my master teaches me to call Peace, or Contentment"
February 5, 2025
Perfect thought fodder when I was solo travelling - resonated strongly with a lot of the ideas from the first couple essays.
Took ages to finish though cos the last couple essays were boring as fuck sorry.
Overall was surprised at how relevant the musings still are given that it was written in the late 1800s - particularly the critiques of capitalism and the struggles of pursuing art as a career.
Edit: Saved a heap of quotes but here’s one from each essay I thought was worth reading.
- An Apology for Idlers
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy, we sow anonymous benefits upon the world, which remain unknown even to ourselves”
- A Letter to a young gentleman who proposes to embrace the career of art
“If you adopt an art to be your trade, weed your mind at the outset of all desire of money. What you may decently expect, if you have some talent and much industry, is such an income as a clerk will earn with a tenth or perhaps a twentieth of your nervous output” (lmao)
- On Falling In Love
“the essence of love is kindness; and indeed it may be best defined as passionate kindness… The lover takes a perilous pleasure in privately displaying his weak points and having them, one after another, accepted and condoned. He wishes to be assured that he is not loved for this or that good quality, but for himself”
- Crabbed Age and Youth
“You need repent none of your youthful vagaries. They may have been over the score on one side, just as those of age are probably over the score on the other. But they had a point; …The follies of youth have a basis in sound reason, just as much as the embarrassing questions put by babes and sucklings.”
Took ages to finish though cos the last couple essays were boring as fuck sorry.
Overall was surprised at how relevant the musings still are given that it was written in the late 1800s - particularly the critiques of capitalism and the struggles of pursuing art as a career.
Edit: Saved a heap of quotes but here’s one from each essay I thought was worth reading.
- An Apology for Idlers
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy, we sow anonymous benefits upon the world, which remain unknown even to ourselves”
- A Letter to a young gentleman who proposes to embrace the career of art
“If you adopt an art to be your trade, weed your mind at the outset of all desire of money. What you may decently expect, if you have some talent and much industry, is such an income as a clerk will earn with a tenth or perhaps a twentieth of your nervous output” (lmao)
- On Falling In Love
“the essence of love is kindness; and indeed it may be best defined as passionate kindness… The lover takes a perilous pleasure in privately displaying his weak points and having them, one after another, accepted and condoned. He wishes to be assured that he is not loved for this or that good quality, but for himself”
- Crabbed Age and Youth
“You need repent none of your youthful vagaries. They may have been over the score on one side, just as those of age are probably over the score on the other. But they had a point; …The follies of youth have a basis in sound reason, just as much as the embarrassing questions put by babes and sucklings.”
August 28, 2025
Back in Edinburgh, at Armchair Books, I found this book and it felt fitting to get a book by a Scottish author... But I don't think Stevenson's writing is for me... I think he has excellent ideas, and this is also true for Treasure Island or Dr Jekill and Mr HydeK but I don't think his writing works for me...
His writing is too much, he's too flowery and too descriptive for my liking, but what he's saying matters and still so present to our current society, maybe even more with the world becoming more capitalistic, and the idea of worth being related to your work and doing things, the message here of like enjoying life, art, nature, places and people... This reminder that work is not life and it's not your worth, do the things for happiness and not always for a reason.
Stevenson's mind is a very fantastic thing, his concepts are smart and well thought out, but it's the third time with him that the execution that doesn't fully work me, and I'm second guessing if I should read more by him or not.
His writing is too much, he's too flowery and too descriptive for my liking, but what he's saying matters and still so present to our current society, maybe even more with the world becoming more capitalistic, and the idea of worth being related to your work and doing things, the message here of like enjoying life, art, nature, places and people... This reminder that work is not life and it's not your worth, do the things for happiness and not always for a reason.
Stevenson's mind is a very fantastic thing, his concepts are smart and well thought out, but it's the third time with him that the execution that doesn't fully work me, and I'm second guessing if I should read more by him or not.
October 15, 2024
The later essays were travel essays, which I wasn't too impressed with. I think the eponymous essay made this collection all right for me, because it espouses rest and self-reflection: "Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things. And it is not by any means certain that a man's business is the most important thing he has to do." (p. 9)
Even though I'm a medical doctor, I've tried avoiding the rat race. I'm by no means rich, but I cherish the time I have to develop my intelligence, have meaningful conversations and time with the people I love, and take care of my body in order to age gracefully.
Even though I'm a medical doctor, I've tried avoiding the rat race. I'm by no means rich, but I cherish the time I have to develop my intelligence, have meaningful conversations and time with the people I love, and take care of my body in order to age gracefully.
July 31, 2024
i wholeheartedly disagree that we must inevitably change for the worse BUT that being said, this book motivated me to draw and paint and enjoy my idleness. sooo many unexplained and unnecessary references so i feel like a lot was lost on me.
June 30, 2024
An Apology for Idlers is a delightful and thought-provoking piece that champions the art of leisure and the virtues of idleness. Written in 1877, this essay offers a refreshing perspective on the often overlooked value of taking time to simply be, rather than constantly doing (and I’m literally Garfield the Cat).
Stevenson makes a compelling case for the benefits of idleness, challenging the prevailing Victorian ethos of relentless productivity and industriousness. Through his witty and eloquent prose, Stevenson argues that idleness is not a vice but a necessary component of a well-rounded and fulfilling life.
At the heart of Stevenson's essay is the idea that leisure and idleness are essential for personal growth and happiness. He suggests that taking time to relax, observe, and reflect allows individuals to develop a deeper appreciation for life and the world around them. Stevenson’s defense of idleness is not about advocating for laziness, but rather about promoting a balanced life that values contemplation and the simple pleasures of existence.
One of the key themes in the essay is the contrast between the busy individual and the idle thinker. Stevenson critiques the societal tendency to equate busyness with virtue and idleness with moral failing. He points out that the so-called "idlers" often possess a richer, more thoughtful perspective on life, having taken the time to observe and engage with the world in a meaningful way.
Stevenson’s arguments are presented with a charming mix of humour and wisdom. He asserts that idleness can lead to a greater understanding of oneself and others. By stepping back from the hustle and bustle of daily life, individuals can gain insights that might be missed in the rush to be constantly productive.
Stevenson’s defense of idleness encourages readers to reconsider their own attitudes towards work and leisure. It challenges the modern reader to find joy and purpose in moments of stillness and to appreciate the deeper benefits of a less hurried life.
Although towards the end I felt it began to drag and get really repetitive, I genuinely loved this book and found it incredibly refreshing. I even did a little bit of annotating before realising there wasn’t much else I could add that hadn’t been said (a few times) already.
Stevenson makes a compelling case for the benefits of idleness, challenging the prevailing Victorian ethos of relentless productivity and industriousness. Through his witty and eloquent prose, Stevenson argues that idleness is not a vice but a necessary component of a well-rounded and fulfilling life.
At the heart of Stevenson's essay is the idea that leisure and idleness are essential for personal growth and happiness. He suggests that taking time to relax, observe, and reflect allows individuals to develop a deeper appreciation for life and the world around them. Stevenson’s defense of idleness is not about advocating for laziness, but rather about promoting a balanced life that values contemplation and the simple pleasures of existence.
One of the key themes in the essay is the contrast between the busy individual and the idle thinker. Stevenson critiques the societal tendency to equate busyness with virtue and idleness with moral failing. He points out that the so-called "idlers" often possess a richer, more thoughtful perspective on life, having taken the time to observe and engage with the world in a meaningful way.
Stevenson’s arguments are presented with a charming mix of humour and wisdom. He asserts that idleness can lead to a greater understanding of oneself and others. By stepping back from the hustle and bustle of daily life, individuals can gain insights that might be missed in the rush to be constantly productive.
It is surely beyond a doubt that people should be a good deal idle in youth. It is no good for one’s morals to see too much of the workaday world, all its sordid interests and mean excitements, before one has put together that little store of romance.
Stevenson’s defense of idleness encourages readers to reconsider their own attitudes towards work and leisure. It challenges the modern reader to find joy and purpose in moments of stillness and to appreciate the deeper benefits of a less hurried life.
Although towards the end I felt it began to drag and get really repetitive, I genuinely loved this book and found it incredibly refreshing. I even did a little bit of annotating before realising there wasn’t much else I could add that hadn’t been said (a few times) already.
August 30, 2014
Reading this book, a collection of eight essays by Robert Louis Stevenson, is illuminating and inspiring as we can see from its witty, seminal and challenging title “An Apology for Idlers” as well as the others in which the author has unimaginably described on the joys of idleness; in fact, we have long been raised, taught and trained not to be idlers, in other words, we should be diligent as working men/women in the world of competition.
September 21, 2010
"There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy, we sow anonymous benefits upon the world, which remain unknown even to ourselves, or when they are disclosed, surprise nobody so much as the benefactor".
"An intelligent person, looking out of his eyes and hearkening in his ears, with a smile on his face all the time, will get more true education than many another in a life of heroic vigils".
"An intelligent person, looking out of his eyes and hearkening in his ears, with a smile on his face all the time, will get more true education than many another in a life of heroic vigils".
August 1, 2022
A nice little collection of essays which I found interesting and surprisingly prescient for our current age of job hunting and social media - particularly An Apology for Idlers and On the Enjoyment of Unpleasant places. It was a challenging read and it took me some time to get used to the writing but it was definitely rewarding and the book feels like a collection I'll come back to read again in the future. Overall, 3/5 stars.
September 21, 2017
Well known for novels such as Treasure Island (1883) and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), Stevenson was also an accomplished essayist. This book (dated 1877) is one of the finest examples of his art, being centered on many topics related to the cultivation of oneself's soul. A must-read for the artist and for the contemplative person.
October 18, 2017
While the idea that idleness should not be considered so bad as it is (under some conditions) definitely gets my support, I did not find Robert's argumentation particularly compelling especially if one compares it with Bertrand Russell's "In Praise of Idleness".
November 22, 2021
On Falling In Love is wonderful.
Read
July 4, 2017Quite an interesting collection of essays. I best enjoyed the title essay and the one on falling in love.
November 13, 2025
“ Love should run out to meet love with open arms. Indeed, the ideal story is that of two people who go into love step for step, with a fluttered consciousness, like a pair of children venturing together into a dark room.
From the first moment when they see each other, with a pang of curiosity, through stage after stage of growing pleasure and embarrassment, they can read the expression of their own trouble in each other's eyes.
***
A wet rag goes safely by the fire; and if a man is blind, he cannot expect to be much impressed by romantic scenery. Apart from all this, many lovable people miss each other in the world, or meet under some unfavourable star.
***
… does not re-echo among the courts of Heaven with quite a formidable effect…
***
They would be led into none of those comparisons that send the blood back to the heart.
***
but is there not a thought of gratitude in your heart for certain other benefactors who set you smiling when they fall in your way, or season your dinner with good company?
***
Two persons, neither of them, it may be, very amiable or very beautiful, meet, speak a little, and look a little into each other's eyes. That has been done a dozen or so of times in the experience of either with no great result. But on this occasion all is different. They fall at once into that state in which another person becomes to us the very gist and centrepoint of God's creation, and demolishes our laborious theories with a smile; in which our ideas are so bound up with the one master-thought that even the trivial cares of our own Person become so many acts of devotion, and the love of life itself is translated into a wish to remain in the same world with so precious and desirable a fellow-creature. And all the while their acquaintances look on in stupor, and ask each other, with almost passionate emphasis, what so-and-so can see in that woman, or such-an-one in that man? I am sure, gentlemen, I cannot tell you. For my part, I cannot think what the women mean. It might be very well, if the Apollo Belvedere should suddenly glow all over into life, and step forward from the pedestal with that godlike air of his. But of the misbegotten changelings who call themselves men, and prate intolerably over dinner-tables, I never saw one who seemed worthy to inspire love -no, nor read of any, except Leonardo da Vinci, and perhaps Goethe in his youth. About women I entertain a somewhat different opinion; but there, I have the misfortune to be a man.”
From the first moment when they see each other, with a pang of curiosity, through stage after stage of growing pleasure and embarrassment, they can read the expression of their own trouble in each other's eyes.
***
A wet rag goes safely by the fire; and if a man is blind, he cannot expect to be much impressed by romantic scenery. Apart from all this, many lovable people miss each other in the world, or meet under some unfavourable star.
***
… does not re-echo among the courts of Heaven with quite a formidable effect…
***
They would be led into none of those comparisons that send the blood back to the heart.
***
but is there not a thought of gratitude in your heart for certain other benefactors who set you smiling when they fall in your way, or season your dinner with good company?
***
Two persons, neither of them, it may be, very amiable or very beautiful, meet, speak a little, and look a little into each other's eyes. That has been done a dozen or so of times in the experience of either with no great result. But on this occasion all is different. They fall at once into that state in which another person becomes to us the very gist and centrepoint of God's creation, and demolishes our laborious theories with a smile; in which our ideas are so bound up with the one master-thought that even the trivial cares of our own Person become so many acts of devotion, and the love of life itself is translated into a wish to remain in the same world with so precious and desirable a fellow-creature. And all the while their acquaintances look on in stupor, and ask each other, with almost passionate emphasis, what so-and-so can see in that woman, or such-an-one in that man? I am sure, gentlemen, I cannot tell you. For my part, I cannot think what the women mean. It might be very well, if the Apollo Belvedere should suddenly glow all over into life, and step forward from the pedestal with that godlike air of his. But of the misbegotten changelings who call themselves men, and prate intolerably over dinner-tables, I never saw one who seemed worthy to inspire love -no, nor read of any, except Leonardo da Vinci, and perhaps Goethe in his youth. About women I entertain a somewhat different opinion; but there, I have the misfortune to be a man.”
April 1, 2021
Последние три эссе еле дочитала, но overall сборник классный.
That a man should publish three or thirty articles a year, that he should finish or not finish his great allegorical picture, are questions of little interest to the world.
Alas and alas! you may take it how you will, but the services of no single individual are indispensable. Atlas was just a gentleman with a protracted nightmare! And yet you see merchants who go and labour themselves into a great fortune and thence into bankruptcy court; scribblers who keep scribbling at little articles until their temper is a cross to all who come about them, as though Pharaoh should set the Israelites to make a pin instead of a pyramid; and fine young men who work themselves into a decline, and are driven off in a hearse with white plumes upon it.
They have been to school and college, but all the time they had their eye on the medal; they have gone about in the world and mixed with clever people, but all the time they were thinking of their own affairs. As if a man's soul were not too small to begin with, they have dwarfed and narrowed theirs by a life of all work and no play; until here they are at forty, with a listless attention, a mind vacant of all material of amusement, and not one thought to rub against another, while they wait for the train.
And this happened to me in the place of all others where I liked least to stay. When I think of it I grow ashamed of my own ingratitude. "Out of the strong came forth sweetness." There, in the bleak and gusty North, I received, perhaps, my strongest impression of peace. I saw the sea to be great and calm; and the earth, in that little corner, was all alive and friendly to me. So, wherever a man is, he will find something to please and pacify him: in the town he will meet pleasant faces of men and women, and see beautiful flowers at a window, or hear a cage-bird singing at the corner of the gloomiest street; and for the country, there is no country without some amenity—let him only look for it in the right spirit, and he will surely find.
Doubtless the world is quite right in a million ways; but you have to be kicked about a little to convince you of the fact. And in the meanwhile you must do something, be something, believe something.
Some people swallow the universe like a pill; they travel on through the world, like smiling images pushed from behind.
That a man should publish three or thirty articles a year, that he should finish or not finish his great allegorical picture, are questions of little interest to the world.
Alas and alas! you may take it how you will, but the services of no single individual are indispensable. Atlas was just a gentleman with a protracted nightmare! And yet you see merchants who go and labour themselves into a great fortune and thence into bankruptcy court; scribblers who keep scribbling at little articles until their temper is a cross to all who come about them, as though Pharaoh should set the Israelites to make a pin instead of a pyramid; and fine young men who work themselves into a decline, and are driven off in a hearse with white plumes upon it.
They have been to school and college, but all the time they had their eye on the medal; they have gone about in the world and mixed with clever people, but all the time they were thinking of their own affairs. As if a man's soul were not too small to begin with, they have dwarfed and narrowed theirs by a life of all work and no play; until here they are at forty, with a listless attention, a mind vacant of all material of amusement, and not one thought to rub against another, while they wait for the train.
And this happened to me in the place of all others where I liked least to stay. When I think of it I grow ashamed of my own ingratitude. "Out of the strong came forth sweetness." There, in the bleak and gusty North, I received, perhaps, my strongest impression of peace. I saw the sea to be great and calm; and the earth, in that little corner, was all alive and friendly to me. So, wherever a man is, he will find something to please and pacify him: in the town he will meet pleasant faces of men and women, and see beautiful flowers at a window, or hear a cage-bird singing at the corner of the gloomiest street; and for the country, there is no country without some amenity—let him only look for it in the right spirit, and he will surely find.
Doubtless the world is quite right in a million ways; but you have to be kicked about a little to convince you of the fact. And in the meanwhile you must do something, be something, believe something.
Some people swallow the universe like a pill; they travel on through the world, like smiling images pushed from behind.
December 8, 2020
Pues muy de acuerdo con Stevenson en dar menos importancia al sacrificio por el trabajo, a basar la vida en la productividad y a estar para ser. Y muy a favor de disfrutar del ocio. Stevenson se refiere a "ocioso" en ese sentido, en disfrutar del aire libre, de las actividades no productivas que proporcionan placer pero también aprendizaje, tan o más necesario que el reglad0. Esto, escrito por un británico en el siglo XIX, tiene su mérito. Quizás porque escribió mucho, pero también viajó mucho y pasó gran parte de su corta vida enfermo, supo apreciar la importancia del ocio.
July 12, 2022
This book actually consists of a few different short essays, covering everything from why we shouldn’t be afraid to be lazy from time to time to his advice to someone who’s decided to set about launching a creative career.
What’s most interesting to me is that the book maintains its relevance, despite its age. There’s a lot to like here, and while it does occasionally veer towards over-written, it never quite falls over the precipice. The result is something that’s pretty easy to read and which provides a heck of a lot of food for thought. Sweet!
What’s most interesting to me is that the book maintains its relevance, despite its age. There’s a lot to like here, and while it does occasionally veer towards over-written, it never quite falls over the precipice. The result is something that’s pretty easy to read and which provides a heck of a lot of food for thought. Sweet!
December 9, 2024
Kitap Stevenson'un denemelerinden oluşuyor. 144 sayfa.
Sayfa 85'e kadar olan ilk 5 deneme, oldukça keyifliydi ve düşünce pencereleri açtı.
Sonraki denemeler daha spesifik konularda daha pratik sorunlara değinen tasvir yoğunluklu denemeler olduğundan ilgimi çekmedi.
Sırası ile..
1. Aylaklar için bir savunu
2. Sanatı meslek edinmeyi düşünen genç bir beyefendiye mektup
3. Aşık olmaya dair
4. Huysuz ihtiyarlık ve gençlik
5. Nahoş yerlerden keyif almaya dair
6. Fontainebleau - ressamların köy komünleri (Sayfa 85)
7. Eski pasifik başkenti
8. Orman notları - aylak saatler
Sayfa 85'e kadar olan ilk 5 deneme, oldukça keyifliydi ve düşünce pencereleri açtı.
Sonraki denemeler daha spesifik konularda daha pratik sorunlara değinen tasvir yoğunluklu denemeler olduğundan ilgimi çekmedi.
Sırası ile..
1. Aylaklar için bir savunu
2. Sanatı meslek edinmeyi düşünen genç bir beyefendiye mektup
3. Aşık olmaya dair
4. Huysuz ihtiyarlık ve gençlik
5. Nahoş yerlerden keyif almaya dair
6. Fontainebleau - ressamların köy komünleri (Sayfa 85)
7. Eski pasifik başkenti
8. Orman notları - aylak saatler
December 10, 2018
Collection of short stories by R. L. Stevenson, the first of which gives name to the book and is the one that interested me the most.
Justification of taking your time in the road to creativity, but with the end goal in mind, as he says:
"The time comes when a man should cease prelusory gymnastic, stand up, put a violence upon his will, and, for better or worse, begin the business of creation."
Justification of taking your time in the road to creativity, but with the end goal in mind, as he says:
"The time comes when a man should cease prelusory gymnastic, stand up, put a violence upon his will, and, for better or worse, begin the business of creation."
May 18, 2021
"An Apology for Idlers" is the main essay in this short collection of meditations by the same name. Stevenson argues that time spent idling is not wasted time (as a long tradition of nobles and ruling class kings would have us believe) but is instead important for self-development and happiness. Happiness is a strange frame of mind because the consequences of being happy, as Stevenson points out, are impossible to calculate.
December 17, 2025
A 3.5 from me for this short collection of essays by one of my favourite authors. I mentioned in passing that I was reading these to a friend and apparently she studied the title essays for her school finishing exams back in 1970 but actually that one didn’t click with me, other essays engaged me more. A slender volume, worth a read for fans. Sad to read his musings about a long life knowing he died young.
October 5, 2019
I am lazy but not irresponsible, thus I am going to conceal my idleness by quoting the author:
"Habit and practice sharpen gifts; the necessity of toil grows less disgusting, grows even welcome, in the course of years; a small taste (if it be only genuine) waxes with indulgence into an exclusive passion."
"Habit and practice sharpen gifts; the necessity of toil grows less disgusting, grows even welcome, in the course of years; a small taste (if it be only genuine) waxes with indulgence into an exclusive passion."
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