Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1880-01/02?), “Reflections and Remarks on Human Life,” § 4.6 “Solitude and Society”

Dave — Fri, 15 May 2026 17:23:42 +0000

Solitude is the climax of the negative virtues. When we go to bed after a solitary day we can tell ourselves that we have not been unkind nor dishonest nor untruthful; and the negative virtues are agreeable to that dangerous faculty we call the conscience. That they should ever be admitted for a part of virtue is what I cannot explain. I do not care two straws for all the nots.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1880-01/02?), “Reflections and Remarks on Human Life,” § 4.6 “Solitude and Society”
(Source)

A collection of aphorisms and musings, first published in the Edinburgh Edition of his Works, vol. 28 (1898).

Orwell, George -- Essay (1943-12-20), “Can Socialists Be Happy?” “As I Please” column, Tribune Newspaper [as John Freeman]

Dave — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 16:15:07 +0000

Nearly all creators of Utopia have resembled the man who has toothache, and therefore thinks happiness consists in not having toothache. They wanted to produce a perfect society by an endless continuation of something that had only been valuable because it was temporary. The wider course would be to say that there are certain lines along which humanity must move, the grand strategy is mapped out, but detailed prophecy is not our business. Whoever tries to imagine perfection simply reveals his own emptiness.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1943-12-20), “Can Socialists Be Happy?” “As I Please” column, Tribune Newspaper [as John Freeman]
(Source)

The date given for this article varies: the issue of Tribune it was published in was 1943-12-24, but Orwell apparently received a check for the work on 1943-12-20. Note this was not the regular "As I Please" column Blair (Orwell) did for Tribune, which he also wrote for that issue, but a special article written under a different alias for unconfirmed reasons. The title is sometimes given as "Why Socialists Don't Believe in Fun."

WIST Quotations

Stevenson, Robert Louis -- Essay (1880-01/02?), “Reflections and Remarks on Human Life,” § 4.6 “Solitude and Society”

Orwell, George -- Essay (1943-12-20), “Can Socialists Be Happy?” “As I Please” column, Tribune Newspaper [as John Freeman]