--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have been doomed to such a dreadful…" description: "\"“I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two. I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/robert-louis-stevenson-289_good-thing_i-have-been-doomed-to-such-a-dreadful-sh_1633485.jpg" --- # I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man… ![“I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two. I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point. Others will follow, others will outstrip me on the same lines; and I hazard the guess that man will be ultimately known for a…” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/robert-louis-stevenson-289_good-thing_i-have-been-doomed-to-such-a-dreadful-sh_1633485.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/robert-louis-stevenson-289_good-thing_i-have-been-doomed-to-such-a-dreadful-sh_1633485.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/robert-louis-stevenson-289_good-thing_i-have-been-doomed-to-such-a-dreadful-sh_1633485.jpg) > ““I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two. I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point. Others will follow, others will outstrip me on the same lines; and I hazard the guess that man will be ultimately known for a mere polity of multifarious, incongruous and independent denizens. I, for my part, from the nature of my life, advanced infallibly in one direction and in one direction only. It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both; and from an early date, even before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to suggest the most naked possibility of such a miracle, I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements. If each, I told myself, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust might go his way, delivered from the aspirations and remorse of his more upright twin; and the just could walk steadfastly and securely on his upward path, doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the hands of this extraneous evil. It was the curse of mankind that these incongruous faggots were thus bound together—that in the agonised womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling. How, then were they dissociated?”” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that humanity consists of two opposing natures, moral and immoral, and ponders whether they can be separated. **In simple terms:** Humans have conflicting good and bad sides. Key Takeaway Consider the balance of your inner conflicts. Themes philosophy psychology ethics Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - conflict resolution - creative writing - psychological therapy Key Concepts dualism self‑conflict human nature Questions to Reflect On - Can you reconcile opposing impulses? - What does moral duality mean for personal responsibility? A Different Perspective Separating selves may be impossible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness Polar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-polar-504829/) [Consciousness Rightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-rightly-504832/) [Duality Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duality-man-504828/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man Ultimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-ultimately-504831/) [Mankind Incongruous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind-incongruous-504830/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [“It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-was-on-the-moral-side-and-in-my-own-person-that-i-learned-to/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/i-learned-to-recognise-the-thorough-and-primitive-duality-of-man-i/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“It was the curse of mankind that these incongruous faggots were thus bound togetherthat in the agonised womb of consciousness these polar twins should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-was-the-curse-of-mankind-that-these-incongruous-faggots-were-thus/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [I hazard the guess that man will be ultimately known for a mere polity of multifarious, incongruous, and independent denizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/i-hazard-the-guess-that-man-will-be-ultimately-known-for-a-mere/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“The law of Kia is its ever original purpose, undetermined, without change the emanations, through our conception they materialize and are of that duality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare-2/the-law-of-kia-is-its-ever-original-purpose-undetermined-without/) [Austin Osman, Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare-2/) > [There's a duality in every man and every woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-welch/there-s-a-duality-in-every-man-and-every-woman/) [Raquel Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-welch/) > [Man is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them. In other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-is-not-fully-conditioned-and-determined-but-rather-determines/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Man will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/man-will-ultimately-be-governed-by-god-or-by-tyrants/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Man is ultimately not molded or shaped into humanness. The environment does not give him potentialities and capacities; he has them in inchoate or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/man-is-ultimately-not-molded-or-shaped-into-humanness-the-environment/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Man ultimately decides for himself! And in the end, education must be education towards the ability to decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-ultimately-decides-for-himself-and-in-the-end-education-must-be/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“The man who will ultimately stand at her side will be forged in fire. If you burn easily, don't even bother.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-honfleur/the-man-who-will-ultimately-stand-at-her-side-will-be-forged-in-fire/) [Miranda Honfleur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-honfleur/) > [I do not know that any writer has supposed that on this earth man will ultimately be able to live without food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/i-do-not-know-that-any-writer-has-supposed-that-on-this-earth-man/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [A human being is not one thing among others; things determine each other, but man is ultimately self-determining. What he becomes-within the limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-human-being-is-not-one-thing-among-others-things-determine-each-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Psychiatrist and Auschwitz survivor, Viktor Frankl, stated, "...man is by no means merely a product of heredity and environment. There is a third element:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-a-kemp/psychiatrist-and-auschwitz-survivor-viktor-frankl-stated-man-is-by-no/) [Alice A. Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-a-kemp/) > [A writer may tell me that he thinks man will ultimately become an ostrich. I cannot properly contradict him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/a-writer-may-tell-me-that-he-thinks-man-will-ultimately-become-an/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Good thing quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“Of the good things they do many will pass unnoticed, or will even not be considered good at all; but they need not fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/of-the-good-things-they-do-many-will-pass-unnoticed-or-will-even-not/) [Teresa of Ávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [“At times, competition can be a good thing. But a person's value isn't something that can be ranked, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotaru-odagiri/at-times-competition-can-be-a-good-thing-but-a-person-s-value-isn-t/) [Hotaru Odagiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hotaru-odagiri/) > [Here are the good things about independent films: They do the more interesting, chancy scripts. They're run by love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/here-are-the-good-things-about-independent-films-they-do-the-more/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The absence of judgment becomes a catalyst and an enabler for greater injustice. Contrary to popular thought, judgment is a GOOD thing when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-chace-gordon/the-absence-of-judgment-becomes-a-catalyst-and-an-enabler-for-greater/) [J. 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But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [Good things come to those who hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-noll/good-things-come-to-those-who-hustle/) [Chuck Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-noll/) > [Too many good things all seem the same after a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/too-many-good-things-all-seem-the-same-after-a-while/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) [Browse all 6,343 Good thing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two. I say two, because the state of my own knowledge does not pass beyond that point. Others will follow, others will outstrip me on the same lines; and I hazard the guess that man will be ultimately known for a mere polity of multifarious, incongruous and independent denizens. I, for my part, from the nature of my life, advanced infallibly in one direction and in one direction only. It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both; and from an early date, even before the course of my scientific discoveries had begun to suggest the most naked possibility of such a miracle, I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements. If each, I told myself, could be housed in separate identities, life would be relieved of all that was unbearable; the unjust might go his way, delivered from the aspirations and remorse of his more upright twin; and the just could walk steadfastly and securely on his upward path, doing the good things in which he found his pleasure, and no longer exposed to disgrace and penitence by the hands of this extraneous evil. It was the curse of mankind that these incongruous faggots were thus bound together—that in the agonised womb of consciousness, these polar twins should be continuously struggling. 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