The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing.

The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing.

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.

I want to be left alone.

I want to be left alone.

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.

Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.

Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.

Silence is one great art of conversation.

Silence is one great art of conversation.

How glorious it is -- and also how painful -- to be an exception.

How glorious it is -- and also how painful -- to be an exception.

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 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.