--- 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\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_2055878.jpg" --- # I never found the companion that was so companionable as… ![“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_2055878.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_2055878.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_2055878.jpg) > “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude” [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 companionship deeper than any human relationship. **In simple terms:** Being alone can be more fulfilling than being with others. Key Takeaway Value and seek meaningful solitude. Themes solitude self‑reflection companionship inner peace independence Mood contemplative tranquil Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing retreats - meditation - creative work - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism nature self‑reliance Questions to Reflect On - How can solitude be cultivated without isolation? - What benefits arise from regular alone time? A Different Perspective Some may view solitude as loneliness rather than companionship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Companion Companionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion-companionable-2846914/) [Companionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companionable-1506067/) [Companionable Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companionable-solitude-467258/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [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 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. \[It allows you to\] be the Mungo Park, the Lewis and Clark of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so-companionable-as-solitude-it/) [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/) > [“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/) > [Plato calls complacency the companion of loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/plato-calls-complacency-the-companion-of-loneliness/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [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/) > [“...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/) > [“They sat in companionable silence, sipping their tea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/they-sat-in-companionable-silence-sipping-their-tea/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [“a dog would be comfortably companionable and an uncomplicated distraction from the inside of his own head, and that one could safely say, out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-trollope/a-dog-would-be-comfortably-companionable-and-an-uncomplicated/) [Joanna Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-trollope/) > [You always ought to have tom cats arranged, you know - it makes 'em more companionable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-coward/you-always-ought-to-have-tom-cats-arranged-you-know-it-makes-em-more/) [Noel Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-coward/) > [Editing is the most companionable form of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-weeks/editing-is-the-most-companionable-form-of-education/) [Ed Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-weeks/) > [“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/) > [A really companionable and indispensable dog is an accident of nature. You can't get it by breeding for it, and you can't buy it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-really-companionable-and-indispensable-dog-is-an-accident-of-nature/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) ## 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 Companion quotes > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [One must accept the fact that we have only one companion in this world, a companion who accompanies us from the cradle to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/one-must-accept-the-fact-that-we-have-only-one-companion-in-this/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I am simply looking for a companion with whom to spend my days, a companion who will cherish as much as I the stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/i-am-simply-looking-for-a-companion-with-whom-to-spend-my-days-a/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) > [I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-and-my-companions-suffer-from-a-disease-of-the-heart-which-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The adult who puts his arm around his companion in the ballroom, and the child in the roadway, skipping in a round dance -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-sachs/the-adult-who-puts-his-arm-around-his-companion-in-the-ballroom-and/) [Curt Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-sachs/) > [True, the fragile bodies of his fellows do not weigh down his plane; true, the fretful minds of weaker men are missing from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/true-the-fragile-bodies-of-his-fellows-do-not-weigh-down-his-plane/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [God is our portion, Christ our companion, the Spirit our Comforter, Earth our lodge, and Heaven is our home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/god-is-our-portion-christ-our-companion-the-spirit-our-comforter/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The thing that counts most in the pursuit of happiness is choosing the right companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/the-thing-that-counts-most-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-is-choosing/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [ \[A cat\] will make itself the companion of your hours of work, of loneliness, or of sadness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/a-cat-will-make-itself-the-companion-of-your-hours-of-work-of/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Plato calls complacency the companion of loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/plato-calls-complacency-the-companion-of-loneliness/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [The burning soul, the burden'd mind, In books alone companions find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/the-burning-soul-the-burden-d-mind-in-books-alone-companions-find/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) [Browse all 1,106 Companion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry David Thoreau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so-companionable-as-solitude/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Companion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so-companionable-as-solitude/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_2055878.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_2055878.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/henry-david-thoreau-20_friendship_i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so_2055878.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude” — Henry David Thoreau", "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": "Henry David Thoreau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never found the companion that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so-companionable-as-solitude/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-never-found-the-companion-that-was-so-companionable-as-solitude/#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 } } ] } ```