Quote
1670·Paris, France
People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.
When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the small space which I fill, or even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces whereof I know nothing, and which know nothing of me, I am terrified, and wonder that I am here rather than there, for there is no reason why here rather than there, or now rather than then. Who has set me here? By whose order and design have this place and time been destined for me?—Memoria hospitis unius diei prætereuntis. It is not well to be too much at liberty. It is not well to have all we want. How many kingdoms know nothing of us! The eternal silence of these infinite spaces alarms me.
If you act externally with men in conformity with your rank, you should recognize, by a more secret but truer thought, that you have nothing naturally superior to them.
Baltasar Gracián·1647He who cannot find himself the retreat of his own soul, let him appeal to solitude — if he can even bear himself.
Thomas Merton·1958Not all of us are called to be hermits, but all of us need enough silence and solitude to enable the deeper voice of our own self to be heard.
Seneca·63 ADThe primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered mind is a man's ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company.
