Henry David Thoreau Quotes

We must relearn to be alone.

In solitude, where we are least alone.

Self-discovery is above all the realization that we are alone: it is the opening of an impalpable, transparent wall - that of our consciousness - between the world and ourselves.

All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.

You may not enjoy loneliness, because loneliness is sad. But solitude is something else; solitude is what you look forward to when you want to be alone, when you want to be with yourself. So, solitude is something we all need from time to time.

Solitude is the human condition in which I keep myself company. Loneliness comes about when I am alone without being able to split up into the two-in-one, without being able to keep myself company.

Of all the conditions we experience, solitude is perhaps the most misunderstood.

Self-discovery is above all the realization that we are alone.

The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid; the state of being alone.

One can be instructed in society, one is inspired only in solitude.

So it is necessary that we should learn to be alone.

The thoughtful soul to solitude retires.

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 and leave it alone.

There are places and moments in which one is so completely alone that one sees the world entire.

Autobiography begins with a sense of being alone. It is an orphan form.

I was never less alone than when by myself.

I feel calm when I'm on my own.

I had friends but I was spending a great deal of my time alone and for me that was vital because there's an awful lot you learn about yourself when you're alone.

There's a difference between solitude and loneliness. I can understand the concept of being a monk for a while.

My mother said I was a little odd as a kid. I was alone a lot, but I didn't feel alone.

To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your solitude.

I felt that I had been influenced by being in the city enough and I wanted to go off by myself to see what was going on. I remember going out there and looking in the mirror and thinking I wasn't anything.

Life is for each man a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.

I've also seen that great men are often lonely. This is understandable, because they have built such high standards for themselves that they often feel alone. But that same loneliness is part of their ability to create.