philosophical solitude Quotes

To be alone is the fate of all great minds—a fate deplored at times, but still always chosen as the less grievous of two evils.

To live alone one must be a beast or a god, says Aristotle. Leaving out the third case: one must be both - a philosopher.

The thoughtful man becomes a hermit in the thoroughfares of the marketplace.

You can read Kant by yourself, if you wanted to; but you must share a joke with someone else.

As for solitude, I cannot understand how certain people seek to lay claim to intellectual stature, nobility of soul and strength of character, yet have not the slightest feeling for seclusion; for solitude, I maintain, when joined with a quiet contemplation of nature, a serene and conscious faith in creation and the Creator, and a few vexations from outside is the only school for a mind of lofty endowment.

O! lost to virtue, lost to manly thought, Lost to the noble sallies of the soul! Who think it solitude to be alone.

It is a sign of our times, conspicuous to the coarsest observer, that many intelligent and religious persons withdraw themselves from the common labors and competitions of the market and the caucus, and betake themselves to a certain solitary and critical way of living, from which no solid fruit has yet appeared to justify their separation.