Six Quotes About Solitude

"It is undeniable that one needs the
absence of others to enjoy the magic
of many things."
-- Florida Scott-Maxwell --

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"In all profound minds, some hidden
virtue is perpetually at work, creating a recluse. When brought into contact with, or reminded of
other people, they become conscious
of a peculiar sensation that pierces
with a sudden sharp pain, making them withdraw at once into some
indefinable inward island."
-- Paul Valery / MASTERS & FRIENDS -

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"Silence must be comprehended as not
solely the absence of sound. It is
the natural environment for serenity
and contemplation. Life without silence is life without privacy. The
difference between sanity and madness is the quality of our thoughts. Silence is on the side of
sanity."
- Norman Cousins / OPTIONS --

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"I do not know if I am singular when
I say that I believe there is no man
with whom I can associate, who will
not, comparatively speaking, spoil my afternoon. That society or encounter may at last yield a fruit
which I am not aware of, but I cannot help suspecting that I should
have spent those hours more profitably alone."
-- Thoreau / JOURNALS --

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"In a world gone more than slightly
mad, finding your core of silence is
like recapturing the fort of sanity
and peace."
-- Deepak Chopra / AGELESS BODY,
TIMELESS MIND --

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"How true it is that the greatest of
all obstacles to any deep, banked-up, sensitive creature is the
inability to obtain leisure, the
inability to be alone. You may be
perfectly certain that you are on the right track when your craving for solitude becomes a kind of
desperation; a thirst that at all costs, and on every day of the week,
must somehow be satisfied!"
-- John Cowper Powys / THE MEANING OF CULTURE --

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