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Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.

There's a difference between solitude and loneliness.

Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.

Solitude is pleasant. Loneliness is not.

Language... has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone.

Solitude is not the same as loneliness. Solitude is a solitary boat floating in a sea of possible companions.

Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your won presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.

Our uniqueness makes us special, makes perception valuable - but it can also make us lonely. This loneliness is different from being 'alone': You can be lonely even surrounded by people. The feeling I'm talking about stems from the sense that we can never fully share the truth of who we are. I experienced this acutely at an early age.

Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone.

Remember that although the distinction can be difficult to draw, loneliness and solitude are different.