Solitude

"Nunquam se minus otiosum esse quam cum otiosus; nec minus solum quam cum solus esset."

"Oh, for a lodge in some vast wilderness, Some boundless contiguity of shade, Where rumour of oppression and deceit, Of unsuccessful or successful war, Might never reach me more!"

"Solitude is the nurse of enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is the true parent of genius. In all ages solitude has been called for—has been flown to."

"There is a society in the deepest solitude."

"So vain is the belief That the sequestered path has fewest flowers."

"Thrice happy he, who by some shady grove, Far from the clamorous world; doth live his own; Though solitary, who is not alone, But doth converse with that eternal love."

"We enter the world alone, we leave it alone."

"I was never less alone than when by myself."

"Wer sich der Einsamkeit ergiebt, Ach! der ist bald allein."

"Nobody with me at sea but myself."

"Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife."

"O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell, Let it not be among the jumbled heap Of murky buildings: climb with me the steep,— Nature's observatory—whence the dell, In flowery slopes, its river's crystal swell, May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep 'Mongst boughs pavilion'd, where the deer's swift leap Startles the wild bee from the foxglove bell."

"Why should we faint and fear to live alone, Since all alone, so Heaven has willed, we die, Nor even the tenderest heart and next our own Knows half the reasons why we smile and sigh."

"Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character."

"I feel like one who treads alone Some banquet hall deserted, Whose lights are fled, whose garlands dead, And all but he departed."

"Until I truly loved, I was alone."

"Now the New Year reviving old Desires, The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires."

"You must show him … by leaving him severely alone."

"Far in a wild, unknown to public view, From youth to age a reverend hermit grew; The moss his bed, the cave his humble cell, His food the fruits, his drink the crystal well, Remote from man, with God he pass'd the days; Prayer all his business, all his pleasure praise."

"Shall I, like an hermit, dwell On a rock or in a cell?"

"Then never less alone than when alone."

"Atque ubi omnia nobis mala solitudo persuadet."

"I love tranquil solitude And such society As is quiet, wise, and good."

"Solitude is the best nurse of wisdom."

"A wise man is never less alone than when he is alone."

"Alone each heart must cover up its dead; Alone, through bitter toil, achieve its rest."

"'Tis not for golden eloquence I pray, A godlike tongue to move a stony heart— Methinks it were full well to be apart In solitary uplands far away, Betwixt the blossoms of a rosy spray, Dreaming upon the wonderful sweet face Of Nature, in a wild and pathless place."

"I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."

"I could live in the woods with thee in sight, Where never should human foot intrude: Or with thee find light in the darkest night, And a social crowd in solitude."

"Impulses of deeper birth Have come to him in solitude."

"They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude."

"Often have I sighed to measure By myself a lonely pleasure,— Sighed to think I read a book, Only read, perhaps, by me."