QuoteProject
A solitary, unused to speaking of what he sees and feels, has mental experiences which are at once more intense and less articulate than those of a gregarious man.
Thomas Mann
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the contrasting mental experiences of solitary individuals compared to sociable ones.

Thomas Mann's quote suggests that solitary individuals have deeper, intense emotions and perceptions but often find them difficult to express compared to those who are more outgoing and communicative. The solitude allows for profound introspection, yet this depth of experience can lead to a struggle in articulating those feelings, highlighting a tension between inner depth and external expression.

Themes

SolitudeIntrospectionExpressionEmotionContrast

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture on the importance of introspection in creative writing.

More from Thomas Mann

The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.
Thomas MannRead
Stupid β€” well, there are so many kinds of stupidity, and cleverness is one of the worst.
Thomas MannRead
It is a strange fact that freedom and equality, the two basic ideas of democracy, are to some extent contradictory. Logically considered, freedom and equality are mutually exclusive, just as society and the individual are mutually exclusive.
Thomas MannRead
I tell them that if they will occupy themselves with the study of mathematics they will find in it the best remedy against the lusts of the flesh.
Thomas MannRead
Literature... is the union of suffering with the instinct for form.
Thomas MannRead
The Freudian theory is one of the most important foundation stones for an edifice to be built by future generations, the dwelling of a freer and wiser humanity.
Thomas MannRead

Similar quotes

We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom.
Dwight D. EisenhowerRead
The world is mere change, and this life, opinion.
Marcus AureliusRead
Clergyman: A ticket speculator outside the gates of Heaven.
H. L. MenckenRead
Racism was not a problem on the Discworld, because - what with trolls and dwarfs and so on - speciesism was more interesting. Black and white lived in perfect harmony and ganged up on green.
Terry PratchettRead
The willingness to not bypass illusion is very important. We come to nirvana by way of samsara. We come to see the true nature of things by seeing through the illusory nature of things. We don't come to nirvana by avoiding samsara. We don't come to clarity by avoiding confusion.
AdyashantiRead
Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable is what other people wear. Just as vulgarity is simply the conduct of other people. And falsehoods the truths of other people. Other people are quite dreadful. The only possible society is oneself. To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.
Oscar WildeRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.