"I always tell my students that Malcolm X came both to his spirituality and to his consciousness as a thinker when he had solitude to read. Unfortunately, tragically, like so many young black males, that solitude only came in prison."
Solitude quotes
Solitude
957 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Topics related to Solitude
Browse quotes that often appear alongside solitude — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Solitude quotes (page 11 of 48)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Working conditions for me have always been those of the monastic life: solitude and frugality. Except for frugality, they are contrary to my nature, so much so that work is a violence I do to myself."
"The solitude and peace of mind are serving me quite well, not the least of which is due to the excellent and truly enjoyable relationship with my cousin; its stability will be guaranteed by the avoidance of marriage."
"Human beings can reach such desperate solitude that they may cross a boundary beyond which words cannot serve, and at such moments there is nothing left for them but to bark."
"May you gain more and more confidence in what is difficult and in your solitude among other people."
"The speech of God is silence. His Word is solitude."
"But there is greater comfort in the substance of silence than in the answer to a question."
"Now therefore, that my mind is free from all cares, and that I have obtained for myself assured leisure in peaceful solitude, I shall apply myself seriously and freely to the general destruction of all my former opinions."
"Solitude is the profoundest fact"
"Although I am a gregarious person, I love solitude even more."
"I am never less alone than when alone."
"Wit is a weapon. Jokes are a masculine way of inflicting superiority. But humor is the pursuit of a gentle grin, usually in solitude."
"I think that I love society as much as most, and am ready enough to fasten myself like a bloodsucker for the time to any full-blooded man that comes in my way. I am naturally no hermit, but might possibly sit out the sturdiest frequenter of the bar-room, if my business called me thither."
"One man runs to his neighbor because he is looking for himself, and another because he wants to loose himself. Your bad love of yourselves makes solitude a prison for you."
"The departure from the world is regarded not as a fault, but as the first step into that noble path at the remotest turn of which illumination is to be won."
"There are places and moments in which one is so completely alone that one sees the world entire."
"One must learn an inner solitude, where or with whomsoever he may be. He must learn to penetrate things and find God there, to get a strong impression of God firmly fixed on his mind."
"Solitude terrifies the soul at twenty."
"If from society we learn to live, solitude should teach us how to die."
"Tea should be taken in solitude."