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.

'Tis solitude should teach us how to die;
It hath no flatterers; vanity can give
No hollow read more

'Tis solitude should teach us how to die;
It hath no flatterers; vanity can give
No hollow aid; alone--man with his God must strive.

In solitude, where we are least alone.

In solitude, where we are least alone.

I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the solitude of read more

I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the solitude of the other

I am afraid to show you who I really am, because if I show you who I really am, you read more

I am afraid to show you who I really am, because if I show you who I really am, you might not like it--and that's all I got.

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.

Converse with men makes sharp the glittering wit,
But God to man doth speak in solitude.

Converse with men makes sharp the glittering wit,
But God to man doth speak in solitude.

Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife.

Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife.

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

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