The worst vice of the solitary is the worship of his food.
—Cyril Connolly (1903–74) British Literary Critic, Writer
Wholesome solitude, the nurse of sense!
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
Man loves company even if it is only that of a small burning candle.
—Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742–99) German Philosopher, Physicist
That which happens to the soil when it ceases to be cultivated, happens to man himself when he foolishly forsakes society for solitude; the brambles grow up in his desert heart.
—Antoine de Rivarol (1753–1801) French Writer, Epigrammatist
To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than their own hearts in their closet.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
In solitude the mind gains strength and learns to lean upon itself; in the world it seeks or accepts of a few treacherous supports—the feigned compassions of one, the flattery of a second, the civilities of a third, the friendship of a fourth; they all deceive, and bring the mind back to retirement, reflection, and books.
—Laurence Sterne (1713–68) Irish Anglican Novelist, Clergyman
If the mind loves solitude, it has thereby acquired a loftier character, and it becomes still more noble when the taste is indulged in.
—Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) German Philosopher, Linguist, Statesman
When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on a grove of junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our own hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho, we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash—at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of all values, the “newness”, the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
Leisure and solitude are the best effect of riches, because mother of thought. Both are avoided by most rich men, who seek company and business; which are signs of their being weary of themselves.
—William Temple (1881–1944) English Theologian, Archbishop
Well has he lived who has lived well in obscurity.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
There is a solitude which each and every one of us has always carried within. More inaccessible than the ice cold mountains, more profound than the midnight sea: the solitude of self.
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) American Social Reformer
It isn’t the oceans which cut us off from the world—it’s the American way of looking at things.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
Man cannot survive without air, water and sleep. Next in importance comes food. And close on its heels, solitude.
—Thomas Szasz (1920–2012) Hungarian-American Psychiatrist, Psychoanalyst
In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us.
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English Novelist
This sacred shade and solitude, what is it?—It is the felt presence of the Deity.—Few are the faults we flatter when alone; vice sinks in her allurements, in ungilt, and looks, like other objects, black by night.—By night an atheist half believes a God.
—Edward Young (1683–1765) English Poet
I owe my solitude to other people.
—Alan Watts (1915–73) British-American Philosopher, Author
You cannot build up a character in a solitude; you need a formed character to stand a solitude.
—Austin O’Malley (1858–1932) American Aphorist, Ophthalmologist
O Solitude! If I must with thee dwell, Let it not be among the jumbled heap of murky buildings
—John Keats (1795–1821) English Poet
Not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but also clouds their view of their descendants and isolates them from their contemporaries. Each man is for ever thrown back on himself alone, and there is danger that he may be shut up in the solitude of his own heart.
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–59) French Historian, Political Scientist
Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.
—Barbara De Angelis (b.1951) American Self-Help Author
Get away from the crowd when you can. Keep yourself to yourself, if only for a few hours daily.
—Arthur Brisbane (1864–1936) American Newspaper Editor, Investor
The love of retirement has in all ages adhered closely to those minds which have been most enlarged by knowledge, or elevated by genius. Those who enjoyed everything generally supposed to confer happiness have been forced to seek it in the shades of privacy.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’) (1904–91) American Children’s Writer, Cartoonist, Animator
Solitude, though it may be silent as light, is like light, the mightiest of agencies; for solitude is essential to man. All men come into this world alone; all leave it alone.
—Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859) English Essayist, Critic
Only in solitude do we raise our hearts to the Heart of the Universe
—Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) Spanish Educator, Philosopher, Author
Solitude begets whimsies.
—Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) English Aristocrat, Poet, Novelist, Writer
I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least – and it is commonly more than that – sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Man staggers through life yapped at by his reason, pulled and shoved by his appetites, whispered to by fears, beckoned by hopes. Small wonder that what he craves most is self-forgetting.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
The secret of solitude is that there is no solitude.
—Joseph Cook
Leave a Reply