Solitude quotes
957 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside solitude — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"So I have to create the whole thing afresh for myself each time. Probably all writers now are in the same boat. It is the penalty we pay for breaking with tradition, and the solitude makes the writing more exciting though the being read less so. One ought to sink to the bottom of the sea, probably, and live alone with ones words."
"Do not allow yourself to be imprisoned by any affection. Keep your solitude. The day, if it ever comes, when you are given true affection, there will be no opposition between interior solitude and friendship, quite the reverse. It is even by this infallible sigh that you will recognize it."
"To wish to escape from solitude is cowardice. Friendship is not to be sought, not to be dreamed, not to be desired; it is to be exercised (it is a virtue)."
"Well, we're grasping for two things at once. Partly for communion with others - that's the deepest instinct in us. And partly, we're seeking security. By constant communion with others we hope we shall be able to accept the horrible fact of our total solitude."
"One way leads to acquisition, the other leads to nirvana. Realising this a monk should take no pleasure in the respect of others, but should devote himself to solitude."
"By all means use sometimes to be alone."
"In solitude we realize that nothing human is alien to us."
"The painter or draftsman ought to be solitary, in order that the well-being of the body not sap the vigour of the mind."
"I have an immense appetite for solitude, like an infant for sleep, and if I don't get enough for this year, I shall cry all the next."
"The nurse of full-grown souls is solitude."
"And for this you must have quiet and solitude. But society does not allow you to have them. You must be with people, outwardly active at all costs. If you are alone you are considered antisocial or peculiar, or you are afraid of your own loneliness."
"People who take the time to be alone usually have depth, originality, and quiet reserve."
"It is a great misfortune to be alone, my friends; and it must be believed that solitude can quickly destroy reason."
"We must certainly acknowledge that solitude is a fine thing; but it is a pleasure to have some one who can answer, and to whom we can say, from time to time, that solitude is a fine thing."
"There is no insurmountable solitude."
"Solitude is a human presumption. Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot, a tug of impalpable thread on the web pulling mate to mate and predator to prey, a beginning or an end. Every choice is a world made new for the chosen."
"Strength comes from solitude, a waiting, a communion with the best in us, which is at one with the divine spark."
"I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society, be it country or town. A sensible man ought to find sufficient company in himself."
"The kind of relatedness to the world may be noble or trivial, but even being related to the basest kind of pattern is immensely preferable to being alone."
"Little as she was addicted to solitude, there had come to be moments when it seemed a welcome escape from the empty noises of her life."
