Quote
1859·Concord, Massachusetts, USA
Thomas Merton·1953It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am, the more affection I have for them.
Arthur Schopenhauer·1851A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.
Baltasar Gracián·1647He who cannot find himself the retreat of his own soul, let him appeal to solitude — if he can even bear himself.
I am no more lonely than the loon in the pond that laughs so loud, or than Walden Pond itself. I am no more lonely than a single mullein or dandelion in a pasture, or a bean leaf, or a housefly, or a bumblebee. I am no more lonely than the Mill Brook, or a weathercock, or the north star, or the south wind, or an April shower, or a January thaw, or the first spider in a new house.
In my walks I would fain return to my senses. What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?
Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.
