--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never found the companion that was so…" description: "\"I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. [It allows you to] be the Mungo Park, the Lewis and Clark of your own streams and oc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/henry-david-thoreau-20_columbus_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_804450.jpg" --- # I never found the companion that was so companionable as… ![“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. [It allows you to] be the Mungo Park, the Lewis and Clark of your own streams and oceans; [to] explore your own higher latitudes; [to] be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/henry-david-thoreau-20_columbus_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_804450.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/henry-david-thoreau-20_columbus_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_804450.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c6/henry-david-thoreau-20_columbus_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_804450.jpg) > “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. \[It allows you to\] be the Mungo Park, the Lewis and Clark of your own streams and oceans; \[to\] explore your own higher latitudes; \[to\] be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Solitude offers a unique space for self‑exploration, allowing one to discover inner landscapes and ideas as vast as external frontiers. **In simple terms:** Being alone lets you explore your inner world. Key Takeaway Embrace solitude to uncover personal insights. Themes solitude self‑discovery creativity exploration Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - creative writing - meditation - personal reflection - solo travel Key Concepts existentialism inner journey personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude fuel your creativity? - What inner territories have you discovered alone? A Different Perspective Solitude can also lead to loneliness if not balanced with connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Lewis and clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lewis-and-clark/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-never-found-a-companion-that-was-so-companionable-as-solitude/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so-companionable-as-solitude/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-love-to-be-alone-i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-find-it-wholesome-to-be-alone-the-greater-part-of-the-time-to-be-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-never-found-a-companion-that-was-so-companionable-as-solitude/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“What does Africa — what does the West stand for? Is not our own interior white on the chart? black though it may prove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/what-does-africa-what-does-the-west-stand-for-is-not-our-own-interior/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Loneliness is painful; Solitude is peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/loneliness-is-painful-solitude-is-peaceful-loneliness-makes-us-cling/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Solitude allows you to be able to arrange your life only around your destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/solitude-allows-you-to-be-able-to-arrange-your-life-only-around-your/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Solitude allows you to sit down and work out a system that works best for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/solitude-allows-you-to-sit-down-and-work-out-a-system-that-works-best/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“There is no companion so companionable as Solitude,” Thoreau reminds me as I carry a hot cup of tea back to bed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/there-is-no-companion-so-companionable-as-solitude-thoreau-reminds-me/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [In civilization, as in a southern latitude, man degenerates at length, and yields to the incursion of more northern tribes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-civilization-as-in-a-southern-latitude-man-degenerates-at-length/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The universe expects every man to do his duty in his parallel of latitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-universe-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty-in-his-parallel-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Watching TV is companionable: you share an experience, you can comment on the action here and there for a bit of conversation... it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/watching-tv-is-companionable-you-share-an-experience-you-can-comment/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [“They didn’t talk much, but their silence was companionable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/they-didn-t-talk-much-but-their-silence-was-companionable/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [“...the books that prove most agreeable, grateful, and companionable, are those we pick up by chance here and there; those which seem put into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-books-that-prove-most-agreeable-grateful-and-companionable-are/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Columbus quotes > [I think at Ohio State, we're professional athletes in Columbus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-elliott/i-think-at-ohio-state-we-re-professional-athletes-in-columbus/) [Ezekiel Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-elliott/) > [“Columbus was not the first person to discover America, but the last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-domingos/columbus-was-not-the-first-person-to-discover-america-but-the-last/) [Pedro Domingos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-domingos/) > [I walk out into a nature such as the old prophets and poets Menu, Moses, Homer, Chaucer, walked in. You may name it America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-walk-out-into-a-nature-such-as-the-old-prophets-and-poets-menu/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [And your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians and Princes, devoted to the holy Christian faith and the propagation thereof - and enemies of the sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/and-your-highnesses-as-catholic-christians-and-princes-devoted-to-the/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [I'm a Buckeye at heart. I spend more time giving concerts in Ohio than I do in any other state - perhaps more time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jarreau/i-m-a-buckeye-at-heart-i-spend-more-time-giving-concerts-in-ohio-than/) [Al Jarreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jarreau/) > [I remember my first run-in with cops. It took me really getting to hang, well after that, with cops who were cool, and realizing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/i-remember-my-first-run-in-with-cops-it-took-me-really-getting-to/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [Chris Columbus was really interesting to watch how he works with children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-ellis/chris-columbus-was-really-interesting-to-watch-how-he-works-with/) [David R. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-ellis/) > [ We see it \[the as-yet unseen, probable new planet, Neptune\] as Columbus saw America from the coast of Spain. Its movements have been felt,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-herschel/we-see-it-the-as-yet-unseen-probable-new-planet-neptune-as-columbus/) [William Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-herschel/) > [Columbus discovered no isle or key so lonely as himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/columbus-discovered-no-isle-or-key-so-lonely-as-himself/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There are more American Indians alive today than there were when Columbus arrived or at any other time in history. Does this sound like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-are-more-american-indians-alive-today-than-there-were-when/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [It is the striving after perfection that makes one an artist. It is the sense that one is imperfect, unfulfilled, unfinished. One attempts by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/it-is-the-striving-after-perfection-that-makes-one-an-artist-it-is/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Bunkum and tummyrot! You'll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that. Would Columbus have discovered America if he'd said 'What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/bunkum-and-tummyrot-you-ll-never-get-anywhere-if-you-go-about-what/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [Force was the factor in the government of the world when Christ was born, and force was the source and exercise of authority both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/force-was-the-factor-in-the-government-of-the-world-when-christ-was/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [“If Captain Cook was not the first of European navigators to discover the Hawaiian Islands, he was at least the first to chart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-david-kalakaua/if-captain-cook-was-not-the-first-of-european-navigators-to-discover/) [King David Kalakaua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-david-kalakaua/) Browse all 284 Columbus quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. 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