On Solitude - One of the few gifts of La Peste
By all means use sometimes to be alone.
Salute thyself: see what thy soul doth wear.
Dare to look in thy chest; for ‘tis thine own:
And tumble up and down what thou find’st there.
Who cannot rest till he good fellows find,
He breaks up house, turns not out of doors his mind.
Herbert, The Church Porch
Friends and companions get you gone!
‘Tis my desire to be alone;
Ne’er well, but when my thoughts and I
Do domineer in privacy.
Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy
Two Paradises are in one,
To live in Paradise alone.
Marvel, The Garden
