CURATED COLLECTION

The Value of Solitude

Alone is not the same as lonely — and the best minds have always known that silence is a resource.

29 quotes found

“
He who desires to rule must be able to rule alone.

—Niccolò MachiavelliDiplomat, Historian & Philosopher

Renaissance ERA • Southern Europe

“
The desert is the mirror in which God shows man his soul.

—Ibrahim al-KoniNovelist

Late Modern ERA • North Africa

“
Life is a fleeting moment; embrace quiet contemplation and shun worldly desires.

—Al-MaarriPoet & Philosopher

Medieval ERA • MENA

“
Silence is a state of being, not an absence of sound.

—Osip MandelstamPoet

Early Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

“
I'm the distance between what I want and what life allows.

—Fernando PessoaPoet & Writer

Early Modern ERA • Southern Europe

“
I only exist in the present. I am incapable of remembering or hoping.

—Clarice LispectorNovelist & Writer

Post-War ERA • Latin America

“
Whoever reaches Cold Mountain is freed from all care.

—Han ShanPoet

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
The truth is not found by multitude, but by the light of reason.

—Zera YacobPhilosopher

Renaissance ERA • East Africa

“
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.

—Ursula K. Le GuinAuthor

Post-War ERA • North America

“
Silence is a chosen language.

—Keri HulmeNovelist

Late Modern ERA • Oceania

“
Happiness is a private matter.

—Imre KertészNovelist

Post-War ERA • Eastern Europe

“
Solitude is the medicine of the soul, and the food of the mind.

—Francesco PetrarchScholar & Poet

Renaissance ERA • Southern Europe

“
I steal no rice, nor do I plant it. I just live.

—RyokanPoet

Enlightenment ERA • East Asia

“
I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.

—Sylvia PlathPoet & Novelist

Post-War ERA • North America

“
We must reserve a back shop all our own, entirely free, in which to establish our true liberty.

—Michel de MontaignePhilosopher & Writer

Renaissance ERA • Western Europe

“
In old age, one desires tranquility and finds it in nothingness.

—Wang WeiPoet & Painter

Medieval ERA • East Asia

“
Life is a railway station, where one gets off for a while, then goes on.

—Marina TsvetaevaPoet

Early Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

“
Exile is the necessary condition for originality.

—George LammingNovelist & Essayist

Post-War ERA • Caribbean

“
The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.

—Michel de MontaignePhilosopher & Writer

Renaissance ERA • Western Europe

“
Life is a journey, not a home; a road, not a city of habitation.

—Olive SchreinerNovelist, Feminist & Activist

Industrial Age ERA • Southern Africa

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