O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of read more

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.

I praise the Frenchman; his remark was shrewd,--
"How sweet, how passing sweet is solitude."
But grant read more

I praise the Frenchman; his remark was shrewd,--
"How sweet, how passing sweet is solitude."
But grant me still a friend in my retreat,
Whom I may whisper--Solitude is sweet.

That he was never less at leisure than when at leisure: nor that
he was ever less alone than read more

That he was never less at leisure than when at leisure: nor that
he was ever less alone than when alone.
[Lat., Nunquam se minus otiosum esse quam cum otiosus; nec minus
solum quam cum solus esset.]

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and read more

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

Loneliness is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every man.

Loneliness is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every man.

Oh, for a lodge in some vast wilderness,
Some boundless contiguity of shade,
Where rumour of oppression read more

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!

I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind

I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind

Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.

Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.

In solitude, where we are least alone.

In solitude, where we are least alone.