--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had already found that it was not good…" description: "\"“I had already found that it was not good to be alone, and so made companionship with what there was around me, sometimes with the universe and sometim..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/joshua-slocum-24008_book_i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good_2173523.jpg" --- # I had already found that it was not good to be alone, and… ![“I had already found that it was not good to be alone, and so made companionship with what there was around me, sometimes with the universe and sometimes with my own insignificant self; but my books were always my friends, let fail all else.” quote by Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/joshua-slocum-24008_book_i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good_2173523.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/joshua-slocum-24008_book_i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good_2173523.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/joshua-slocum-24008_book_i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good_2173523.jpg) > ““I had already found that it was not good to be alone, and so made companionship with what there was around me, sometimes with the universe and sometimes with my own insignificant self; but my books were always my friends, let fail all else.”” [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He discovers companionship in the universe, his self, and books, especially when other relationships fail. **In simple terms:** Books and the cosmos fill loneliness. Key Takeaway Seek connection in ideas and nature. Themes loneliness companionship books Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - solitary travel - reading - meditation Key Concepts existential comfort self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - What fills your void when alone? - Do books replace human contact? A Different Perspective Reliance on external sources may neglect personal relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Companionship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companionship/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [There are no secrets regarding your relationship and its good companionship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-no-secrets-regarding-your-relationship-and-its-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is the entire spiritual life, Ananda, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a monk has a good friend, a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/this-is-the-entire-spiritual-life-ananda-that-is-good-friendship-good/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/from-that-time-on-the-world-was-hers-for-the-reading-she-would-never/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [Worship is the earthly act by which we most distinctly recognize our personal immortality; men who think that they will be extinct a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-parry-liddon/worship-is-the-earthly-act-by-which-we-most-distinctly-recognize-our/) [Henry Parry Liddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-parry-liddon/) > [We become fools to our friends when we never let them to control us .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sikhwetha-maanda-stanley/we-become-fools-to-our-friends-when-we-never-let-them-to-control-us/) [Sikhwetha Maanda Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sikhwetha-maanda-stanley/) > [If you want enemies, excel your friends; but if you want friends, let your friends excel you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-enemies-excel-your-friends-but-if-you-want-friends-let/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Friends let you know that you are not alone on the road of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friends-let-you-know-that-you-are-not-alone-on-the-road-of-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you cannot read all your books, at any rate handle, or, as it were, fondle them—peer into them, let them fall open where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-r-manchester/if-you-cannot-read-all-your-books-at-any-rate-handle-or-as-it-were/) [William R. Manchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-r-manchester/) > [Best friends never let you do stupid things……………………………alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asli/best-friends-never-let-you-do-stupid-things-alone/) [Asli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asli/) > [If you want enemies, excel others; if you want friends, let others excel you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/if-you-want-enemies-excel-others-if-you-want-friends-let-others-excel/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [My friends: let us have faith in each other. Let us not grow weary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/my-friends-let-us-have-faith-in-each-other-let-us-not-grow-weary/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“The sight of them (her friends) let a little air into her soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/the-sight-of-them-her-friends-let-a-little-air-into-her-soul/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [“Families think they know what’s best for you. Your friends let you figure that out for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlin-bevis/families-think-they-know-what-s-best-for-you-your-friends-let-you/) [Kaitlin Bevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlin-bevis/) > [My friends! Let us try to be helpful, if we are worth anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/my-friends-let-us-try-to-be-helpful-if-we-are-worth-anything/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Best friends will let you drive them around no matter how many times you almost kill them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/best-friends-will-let-you-drive-them-around-no-matter-how-many-times/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Joshua Slocum > [If the Spray discovered no continents on her voyage, it may be that there were no more continents to be discovered. She did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/if-the-spray-discovered-no-continents-on-her-voyage-it-may-be-that/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [But where, after all, would be the poetry of the sea were there no wild waves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/but-where-after-all-would-be-the-poetry-of-the-sea-were-there-no-wild/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [Remember, Lord, my ship is small and thy sea is so wide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/remember-lord-my-ship-is-small-and-thy-sea-is-so-wide/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [Nothing escapes the vigilance of the New South Wales police; their reputation is known the world over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/nothing-escapes-the-vigilance-of-the-new-south-wales-police-their/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [My ship was also in better condition than when she sailed from Boston on her long voyage. She was still as sound as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/my-ship-was-also-in-better-condition-than-when-she-sailed-from-boston/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [It was the nearest to a casualty on the Spray in her whole course, so far as I know. The young man having come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/it-was-the-nearest-to-a-casualty-on-the-spray-in-her-whole-course-so/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [To young men contemplating a voyage I would say go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/to-young-men-contemplating-a-voyage-i-would-say-go/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [They made a shrewd guess that I could give them some useful information, and they were the first to meet me. Some one said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/they-made-a-shrewd-guess-that-i-could-give-them-some-useful/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [Captain Fisher, the commander, with a party of young ladies from the city and gentlemen belonging to his ship, came one day to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/captain-fisher-the-commander-with-a-party-of-young-ladies-from-the/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [To know the laws that govern the winds, and to know that you know them, will give you an easy mind on your voyage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/to-know-the-laws-that-govern-the-winds-and-to-know-that-you-know-them/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [To be taken into account were some years of schooling, where I studied with diligence Neptune's laws, and these laws I tried to obey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/to-be-taken-into-account-were-some-years-of-schooling-where-i-studied/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [Anyhow, a philosophical turn of thought now was not amiss, else one's patience would have given out almost at the harbour entrance. The term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/anyhow-a-philosophical-turn-of-thought-now-was-not-amiss-else-one-s/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [...as the day wore on I watched the birds all flying in one direction, and said, Land lies there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/as-the-day-wore-on-i-watched-the-birds-all-flying-in-one-direction/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [As for myself, the wonderful sea charmed me from the first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/as-for-myself-the-wonderful-sea-charmed-me-from-the-first/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) > [I was born in the breezes, and I had studied the sea as perhaps few men have studied it, neglecting all else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/i-was-born-in-the-breezes-and-i-had-studied-the-sea-as-perhaps-few/) [Joshua Slocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) [Explore all 25 Joshua Slocum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I had already found that it was not good to be alone, and so made companionship with what there was around me, sometimes with the universe and sometimes with my own insignificant self; but my books were always my friends, let fail all else.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joshua Slocum" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good-to-be-alone-and-so-made/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good-to-be-alone-and-so-made/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/joshua-slocum-24008_book_i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good_2173523.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/joshua-slocum-24008_book_i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good_2173523.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/joshua-slocum-24008_book_i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good_2173523.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had already found that it was not good to be alone, and so made companionship with what there was around…” — Joshua Slocum", "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": "Joshua Slocum", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-slocum/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I had already found that it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good-to-be-alone-and-so-made/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-slocum/i-had-already-found-that-it-was-not-good-to-be-alone-and-so-made/#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 } } ] } ```