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A Christmas Sermon
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
23 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1900
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69 people want to read
About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
6,843 books7,033 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 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 1, 2024
More people would do good to read this and heed its advice
November 3, 2019
A quick read, and a thought-provoking sermon. Perfectly pairs with a reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, due to the message it bear... how you are living your life truly matters.
"It is not enough in life to not do wrong. You must do actual intended good."
"It is not enough in life to not do wrong. You must do actual intended good."
September 11, 2013
"To ask to see some fruit of our endeavour is but a
transcendental way of serving for reward; and what we take to be
contempt of self is only greed of hire."
"We are not damned for doing wrong,
but for not doing right; Christ would never hear of negative morality;
thou shalt was ever his word, with which he superseded thou shalt
not."
"If a thing is wrong for us, we should not dwell
upon the thought of it; or we shall soon dwell upon it with inverted
pleasure. If we cannot drive it from our minds--one thing of two: either
our creed is in the wrong and we must more indulgently remodel it; or
else, if our morality be in the right, we are criminal lunatics and
should place our persons in restraint."
"A man may have a flaw, a weakness, that unfits him for the duties of life, that spoils
his temper, that threatens his integrity, or that betrays him into
cruelty. It has to be conquered; but it must never be suffered to engross his thoughts."
"To be honest, to be kind--to earn a little and to spend a little less,
to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to renounce when that shall be necessary and not be embittered, to keep a few friends but these without capitulation--above all, on the same grim condition, to keep friends with himself--here is a task for all that a
man has of fortitude and delicacy."
"A man
dissatisfied with his endeavours is a man tempted to sadness."
"Noble disappointment, noble self-denial are
not to be admired, not even to be pardoned, if they bring bitterness.
It is one thing to enter the kingdom of heaven maim; another to maim
yourself and stay without. And the kingdom of heaven is of the
childlike, of those who are easy to please, who love and who give
pleasure."
"If your morals make you dreary, depend upon it they are
wrong. I do not say "give them up," for they may be all you have; but
conceal them like a vice, lest they should spoil the lives of better
and simpler people."
"A strange temptation attends upon man: to keep his eye on pleasures,
even when he will not share in them; to aim all his morals against
them."
"Virtue will not help us, and it is not meant to help us. It is not even
its own reward, except for the self-centred and--I had almost said--the
unamiable. No man can pacify his conscience; if quiet be what he want,
he shall do better to let that organ perish from disuse. And to avoid
the penalties of the law, and the minor capitis diminutio of social
ostracism, is an affair of wisdom--of cunning, if you will--and not of
virtue."
"Ill-temper and envy and revenge find here an arsenal of pious
disguises; this is the playground of inverted lusts."
"Life is not designed to minister to a man's vanity."
transcendental way of serving for reward; and what we take to be
contempt of self is only greed of hire."
"We are not damned for doing wrong,
but for not doing right; Christ would never hear of negative morality;
thou shalt was ever his word, with which he superseded thou shalt
not."
"If a thing is wrong for us, we should not dwell
upon the thought of it; or we shall soon dwell upon it with inverted
pleasure. If we cannot drive it from our minds--one thing of two: either
our creed is in the wrong and we must more indulgently remodel it; or
else, if our morality be in the right, we are criminal lunatics and
should place our persons in restraint."
"A man may have a flaw, a weakness, that unfits him for the duties of life, that spoils
his temper, that threatens his integrity, or that betrays him into
cruelty. It has to be conquered; but it must never be suffered to engross his thoughts."
"To be honest, to be kind--to earn a little and to spend a little less,
to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to renounce when that shall be necessary and not be embittered, to keep a few friends but these without capitulation--above all, on the same grim condition, to keep friends with himself--here is a task for all that a
man has of fortitude and delicacy."
"A man
dissatisfied with his endeavours is a man tempted to sadness."
"Noble disappointment, noble self-denial are
not to be admired, not even to be pardoned, if they bring bitterness.
It is one thing to enter the kingdom of heaven maim; another to maim
yourself and stay without. And the kingdom of heaven is of the
childlike, of those who are easy to please, who love and who give
pleasure."
"If your morals make you dreary, depend upon it they are
wrong. I do not say "give them up," for they may be all you have; but
conceal them like a vice, lest they should spoil the lives of better
and simpler people."
"A strange temptation attends upon man: to keep his eye on pleasures,
even when he will not share in them; to aim all his morals against
them."
"Virtue will not help us, and it is not meant to help us. It is not even
its own reward, except for the self-centred and--I had almost said--the
unamiable. No man can pacify his conscience; if quiet be what he want,
he shall do better to let that organ perish from disuse. And to avoid
the penalties of the law, and the minor capitis diminutio of social
ostracism, is an affair of wisdom--of cunning, if you will--and not of
virtue."
"Ill-temper and envy and revenge find here an arsenal of pious
disguises; this is the playground of inverted lusts."
"Life is not designed to minister to a man's vanity."
November 23, 2016
This short 27 page sermon given by Robert Louis Stevenson in the 19th century definitely reveals the thoughts of the 19th century cleric. I don't know that I agreed with all of it, and it wasn't the easiest of reads; but it definitely stirred my thinking. The focus was on morality. I also found some gems of thought and that will be the focus of my review.
"We are not damned for doing wrong, but for not doing right, Christ would never hear of negative morality.."
'If a thing is wrong for us, we should not dwell upon the thought of it, or we shall soon dwell upon it with inverted pleasure."
"Trying to be kind and honest will require all his thoughts."
"Christmas is not only the mile-mark of another year, moving us to thoughts of self-examination: it is a season, from all its associations, whether domestic or religious, suggesting thoughts of joy."
As I said above, I didn't always agree with the thoughts Stevenson expressed, but he definitely made statements that made me think about what he said.
"We are not damned for doing wrong, but for not doing right, Christ would never hear of negative morality.."
'If a thing is wrong for us, we should not dwell upon the thought of it, or we shall soon dwell upon it with inverted pleasure."
"Trying to be kind and honest will require all his thoughts."
"Christmas is not only the mile-mark of another year, moving us to thoughts of self-examination: it is a season, from all its associations, whether domestic or religious, suggesting thoughts of joy."
As I said above, I didn't always agree with the thoughts Stevenson expressed, but he definitely made statements that made me think about what he said.
November 28, 2018
I do not know how this fell into my lap but once I saw it, I wanted to read it. It is only 27 pages, so it is not a huge commitment. I must say it is rather melancholy. RLS felt he was dying so this is a deathbed pondering. I do not agree with a portion of the theology but it does have memorable quotes and causes one to think. Do be discerning while reading.
"To be honest, to be kind--to earn a little and to spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to renounce when that shall be necessary and not be embittered, to keep a few friends but these without capitulation--above all, on the same grim condition, to keep friends with himself--here is a task for all that a man has of fortitude and delicacy."
"Life is not designed to minister to a man's vanity."
"To be honest, to be kind--to earn a little and to spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to renounce when that shall be necessary and not be embittered, to keep a few friends but these without capitulation--above all, on the same grim condition, to keep friends with himself--here is a task for all that a man has of fortitude and delicacy."
"Life is not designed to minister to a man's vanity."
December 20, 2012
At this time of year I usually try to read something seasonal, and something Gutenberg, so this fulfilled both of those. (Here's the Gutenberg link, and also reference link from GR'er who reviewed it.)
After reading Augustus Hare's autobiography (that's the edited-to-be-shorter version) this really seems like a response to all those people of the time who were into denial as a major part of their religion. And specifically lecturing others on what they should be denying themselves - whether it be food, pleasure, etc. - because then you didn't have to commit what we'd consider to be a major sin having to do with sex, death, and so on just to be considered in the wrong. It's almost a relief to know that everyone wasn't running amuck like the people Hare had to grow up with. (Maybe I've just read way too many stories of overly-religious-in-a-bad-way Victorians. I mean, I assume that those folk are outliers, but always wonder if that's just me being hopeful.)
A sample of Stevenson here:
I found this interesting, though I didn't rate this highly - but then there wasn't much of it. (I can't imagine rereading it unless it comes up in a conversation/discussion of some kind.) But if you're interested in Stevenson and his thoughts, or of a critique of an aspect of the religion of his times, then it's definitely of interest.
After reading Augustus Hare's autobiography (that's the edited-to-be-shorter version) this really seems like a response to all those people of the time who were into denial as a major part of their religion. And specifically lecturing others on what they should be denying themselves - whether it be food, pleasure, etc. - because then you didn't have to commit what we'd consider to be a major sin having to do with sex, death, and so on just to be considered in the wrong. It's almost a relief to know that everyone wasn't running amuck like the people Hare had to grow up with. (Maybe I've just read way too many stories of overly-religious-in-a-bad-way Victorians. I mean, I assume that those folk are outliers, but always wonder if that's just me being hopeful.)
A sample of Stevenson here:
"...A strange temptation attends upon man: to keep his eye on pleasures, even when he will not share in them; to aim all his morals against them. This very year a lady (singular iconoclast!) proclaimed a crusade against dolls; and the racy sermon against lust is a feature of the age. I venture to call such moralists insincere. At any excess or perversion of a natural appetite, their lyre sounds of itself with relishing denunciations; but for all displays of the truly diabolic—envy, malice, the mean lie, the mean silence, the calumnious truth, the backbiter, the petty tyrant, the peevish poisoner of family life—their standard is quite different. These are wrong, they will admit, yet somehow not so wrong; there is no zeal in their assault on them, no secret element of gusto warms up the sermon; it is for things not wrong in themselves that they reserve the choicest of their indignation. A man may naturally disclaim all moral kinship with the Reverend Mr. Zola or the hobgoblin old lady of the dolls; for these are gross and naked instances. And yet in each of us some similar element resides. The sight of a pleasure in which we cannot or else will not share moves us to a particular impatience. It may be because we are envious, or because we are sad, or because we dislike noise and romping—being so refined, or because—being so philosophic—we have an overweighing sense of life's gravity: at least, as we go on in years, we are all tempted to frown upon our neighbour's pleasures. People are nowadays so fond of resisting temptations; here is one to be resisted. They are fond of self-denial; here is a propensity that cannot be too peremptorily denied. There is an idea abroad among moral people that they should make their neighbours good. One person I have to make good: myself. But my duty to my neighbour is much more nearly expressed by saying that I have to make him happy—if I may."
I found this interesting, though I didn't rate this highly - but then there wasn't much of it. (I can't imagine rereading it unless it comes up in a conversation/discussion of some kind.) But if you're interested in Stevenson and his thoughts, or of a critique of an aspect of the religion of his times, then it's definitely of interest.
December 7, 2014
Well worth reading, including his comments about when to stand up for ideas and beliefs.
December 31, 2016
I have arranged my takeaway thoughts on this sermon into a haiku:
"Ideals of one man
May not bolster another...
And that is okay."
"Ideals of one man
May not bolster another...
And that is okay."
December 29, 2020
End-of-life thoughts, not complacent or self-congratulatory but accepting of one's efforts:
“The idealism of serious people in this age of ours is of a noble character. It never seems to them that they have served enough; they have a fine impatience of their virtues" (3).
"There is indeed one element in human destiny that not blindness itself can controvert: whatever else we are intended to do, we are not intended to succeed; failure is the fate allotted" (9).
"Somehow or other, though he does not know what goodness is, he must try to be good; somehow or other, though he cannot tell what will do it, he must try to give happiness to others" (16).
"When the time comes that he should go, there need be few illusions left about himself. 'Here lies one who meant well, tried a little, failed much:' – surely that may be his epitaph, of which he need not be ashamed" (21).
“The idealism of serious people in this age of ours is of a noble character. It never seems to them that they have served enough; they have a fine impatience of their virtues" (3).
"There is indeed one element in human destiny that not blindness itself can controvert: whatever else we are intended to do, we are not intended to succeed; failure is the fate allotted" (9).
"Somehow or other, though he does not know what goodness is, he must try to be good; somehow or other, though he cannot tell what will do it, he must try to give happiness to others" (16).
"When the time comes that he should go, there need be few illusions left about himself. 'Here lies one who meant well, tried a little, failed much:' – surely that may be his epitaph, of which he need not be ashamed" (21).
December 25, 2017
Worth engaging, whether or not it proves true in your estimation.
January 3, 2018
This is a short sermon on our life. It is thought provoking.
December 10, 2021
Short. Some interesting thoughts about a good life.
January 10, 2016
I stumbled upon this short sermon by Stevenson while reading a novel about his love affair with and marriage to Fanny Osbourne, and since it was still the Christmas season, I paused to read it. In the short text he meditates on the questions of death, morality and man’s main task in life which he concludes is “To be honest, to be kind — to earn a little and to spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence.”
May 12, 2015
Just a very short Christmas sermon by Robert Louis Stevenson. He brings up some good points.
December 27, 2025
Tedious.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews