--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If your morals make you dreary, depend on…" description: "\"If your morals make you dreary, depend on it, they are wrong.\" — Robert Louis Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/robert-louis-stevenson-289_character_if-your-morals-make-you-dreary-depend-on_1927148.jpg" --- # If your morals make you dreary, depend on it, they are… ![“If your morals make you dreary, depend on it, they are wrong.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/robert-louis-stevenson-289_character_if-your-morals-make-you-dreary-depend-on_1927148.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/robert-louis-stevenson-289_character_if-your-morals-make-you-dreary-depend-on_1927148.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/robert-louis-stevenson-289_character_if-your-morals-make-you-dreary-depend-on_1927148.jpg) > “If your morals make you dreary, depend on it, they are wrong.” [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. Moral rigidity that leads to gloom is a sign of flawed ethics; flexibility brings vitality. **In simple terms:** Stiff morals cause unhappiness; they’re likely wrong. Key Takeaway Question your rigid beliefs. Themes ethics flexibility personal growth happiness Mood reflective critical philosophical Type aphoristic inspirational When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - leadership - counseling - conflict resolution Key Concepts moral philosophy psychology self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - Are all flexible morals better? - How to balance principle and joy? A Different Perspective Rigid morals can provide stability for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Morals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morals/) ## Related quotes > [If your morals make you dreary, depend upon it, they are wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/if-your-morals-make-you-dreary-depend-upon-it-they-are-wrong/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [If your morals make you dreary, depend upon it they are wrong. I do not say "give them up," for they may be all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/if-your-morals-make-you-dreary-depend-upon-it-they-are-wrong-i-do-not/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“If thy morals make thee dreary, depend upon it they are wrong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-thy-morals-make-thee-dreary-depend-upon-it-they-are-wrong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Education and morals make the good man, the good statesman, the good ruler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/education-and-morals-make-the-good-man-the-good-statesman-the-good/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [A man may not transgress the bounds of major morals, but may make errors in minor morals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/a-man-may-not-transgress-the-bounds-of-major-morals-but-may-make/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [If European symbols and traditions have grown tired, perfunctory and oppressively banal in Australia, or been drained of spirit and meaning by the dreary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/if-european-symbols-and-traditions-have-grown-tired-perfunctory-and/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [I always figured I myself would never be lucky enough to die, I'd just live on and on in this increasingly dreary spiral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/i-always-figured-i-myself-would-never-be-lucky-enough-to-die-i-d-just/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [From the top of a high rock, I obtained a good few of the most extensive and dreary wilderness I ever beheld. It chilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/from-the-top-of-a-high-rock-i-obtained-a-good-few-of-the-most/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [There are houses in certain provincial towns whose aspect inspires melancholy, akin to that called forth by sombre cloisters, dreary moorlands, or the desolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/there-are-houses-in-certain-provincial-towns-whose-aspect-inspires/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I have always considered The Merry Wives one of the worst plays, if not altogether the worst, that Shakespeare has left us. The wit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/i-have-always-considered-the-merry-wives-one-of-the-worst-plays-if/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. 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The dreary, never-changing tale Of mortal maladies is worn and stale. 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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. 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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 Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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