--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A spirit that was once a man could hardly…" description: "\"“A spirit that was once a man could hardly feel stranger or lonelier, going unrecognized among mankind, than I feel.”\" — Charles Dickens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/charles-dickens-34_nature-of-man_a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardl_1415393.jpg" --- # A spirit that was once a man could hardly feel stranger or… ![“A spirit that was once a man could hardly feel stranger or lonelier, going unrecognized among mankind, than I feel.” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/charles-dickens-34_nature-of-man_a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardl_1415393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/charles-dickens-34_nature-of-man_a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardl_1415393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/charles-dickens-34_nature-of-man_a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardl_1415393.jpg) > ““A spirit that was once a man could hardly feel stranger or lonelier, going unrecognized among mankind, than I feel.”” [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels profound alienation, suggesting that even a spirit once human can experience deeper loneliness than a living person. **In simple terms:** Even spirits can feel more alone than people. Key Takeaway Seek connection beyond the obvious. Themes loneliness identity existence Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - spiritual retreats - artistic expression - mental health support Key Concepts philosophical existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What makes you feel unseen? - Can solitude be a source of insight? A Different Perspective Loneliness may be intensified by feeling misunderstood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [It is a sensation not experienced by many mortals," said he, "to be looking into a churchyard on a wild windy night, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-is-a-sensation-not-experienced-by-many-mortals-said-he-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In listing these tendencies making for a new world, we must not forget developments in the religious or spiritual thinking and feeling of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-greene-balch/in-listing-these-tendencies-making-for-a-new-world-we-must-not-forget/) [Emily Greene Balch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-greene-balch/) > [In South Africa, I feel I am a stranger, at best an animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/in-south-africa-i-feel-i-am-a-stranger-at-best-an-animal/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [Just wondering why I feel so all alone, why I'm a stranger in my own?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/just-wondering-why-i-feel-so-all-alone-why-i-m-a-stranger-in-my-own/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [He passed-away and I didn't cry, b'cause my anger wouldn't let me feel for a stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2pac/he-passed-away-and-i-didn-t-cry-b-cause-my-anger-wouldn-t-let-me-feel/) [2pac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2pac/) > [In Moscow you sit in a huge room at a restaurant; you know no one and no one knows you, and at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/in-moscow-you-sit-in-a-huge-room-at-a-restaurant-you-know-no-one-and/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“In Moscow you can sit in an enormous restaurant where you don’t know anybody and where nobody knows you, and you don’t feel all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/in-moscow-you-can-sit-in-an-enormous-restaurant-where-you-don-t-know/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“We always feel the brunt of the blow dealt to us, but hardly ever do we feel the impact we have on others. Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/we-always-feel-the-brunt-of-the-blow-dealt-to-us-but-hardly-ever-do/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I could hardly feel much confidence in a man who had never been imposed upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/i-could-hardly-feel-much-confidence-in-a-man-who-had-never-been/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [She'll sting you one day, Oh, ever so gently, so you hardly ever feel it. 'til you fall dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-ll-sting-you-one-day-oh-ever-so-gently-so-you-hardly-ever-feel-it-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He who is of a calm and happy nature, will hardly feel the pressure of age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-who-is-of-a-calm-and-happy-nature-will-hardly-feel-the-pressure-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [God breathes through us so completely...So gently we hardly feel it...yet it is our everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-coltrane/god-breathes-through-us-so-completely-so-gently-we-hardly-feel-it-yet/) [John Coltrane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-coltrane/) > [He took her into his arms again, using all his strength to be gentle, and let his lips touch hers so lightly he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-llywelyn/he-took-her-into-his-arms-again-using-all-his-strength-to-be-gentle/) [Morgan Llywelyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-llywelyn/) > [“She could see and smell and touch and hear, but somehow she could hardly feel at”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-black/she-could-see-and-smell-and-touch-and-hear-but-somehow-she-could/) [Benjamin Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-black/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More by Charles Dickens > [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More Mind quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [“Picking locks was not a skill he had ever cultivated, but he persisted day after day, turning the tip of his talon into different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/picking-locks-was-not-a-skill-he-had-ever-cultivated-but-he-persisted/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Do you think that God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself? I feel as though I am going out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-that-god-would-separate-me-from-my-husband-if-i-killed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not here trying to convince anybody to vote for Donald Trump. I think every Christian needs to make up his own mind about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-m-not-here-trying-to-convince-anybody-to-vote-for-donald-trump-i/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [This is a proof of a well-trained mind, to rejoice in what is good and to grieve at the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/this-is-a-proof-of-a-well-trained-mind-to-rejoice-in-what-is-good-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 43,542 Mind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A spirit that was once a man could hardly feel stranger or lonelier, going unrecognized among mankind, than I feel.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Dickens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardly-feel-stranger-or-lonelier/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardly-feel-stranger-or-lonelier/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/charles-dickens-34_nature-of-man_a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardl_1415393.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/charles-dickens-34_nature-of-man_a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardl_1415393.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/charles-dickens-34_nature-of-man_a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardl_1415393.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A spirit that was once a man could hardly feel stranger or lonelier, going unrecognized among mankind, than…” — Charles Dickens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Dickens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A spirit that was once a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardly-feel-stranger-or-lonelier/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-spirit-that-was-once-a-man-could-hardly-feel-stranger-or-lonelier/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```