The moment a man talks to his fellows he begins to lie. - The Silence of the Sea.

The moment a man talks to his fellows he begins to lie. - The Silence of the Sea.

There are places and moments in which one is so completely alone that one sees the world entire. - Journal, read more

There are places and moments in which one is so completely alone that one sees the world entire. - Journal, December, 1900.

The heart may think it knows better: the senses know that absence blots people out. We really have no absent read more

The heart may think it knows better: the senses know that absence blots people out. We really have no absent friends. The friend becomes a traitor by breaking, however unwillingly or sadly, out of our own zone: a hard judgment is passed on him, for all the pleas of the heart.

Solitude is the playfield of Satan. - Pale Fire, 1962.

Solitude is the playfield of Satan. - Pale Fire, 1962.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone. - read more

Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone. - The Labyrinth of Solitude, 1950.

A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he always has good company.

A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he always has good company.

Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character. - Among My Books, 1870.

Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character. - Among My Books, 1870.

We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.

We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.