--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no solitude more dreadful for a…" description: "\"There is no solitude more dreadful for a stranger, an isolated man, than a great city; so many thousands of men and not one friend.\" — Pierre-Claude-Vi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/pierre-claude-victor-boiste-57_cities_there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a_2482001.png" --- # There is no solitude more dreadful for a stranger, an… ![“There is no solitude more dreadful for a stranger, an isolated man, than a great city; so many thousands of men and not one friend.” quote by Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/pierre-claude-victor-boiste-57_cities_there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a_2482001.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/pierre-claude-victor-boiste-57_cities_there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a_2482001.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/pierre-claude-victor-boiste-57_cities_there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a_2482001.png) > “There is no solitude more dreadful for a stranger, an isolated man, than a great city; so many thousands of men and not one friend.” [Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even in bustling cities, isolation can be profound when true companionship is absent. **In simple terms:** A large city can feel lonely without friends. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful connections, not just crowds. Themes loneliness city friendship alienation Mood thoughtful melancholic Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - moving to a new city - remote work - social clubs - volunteering - online communities Key Concepts social isolation urban anonymity human connection Questions to Reflect On - How can you foster genuine friendships in a busy urban environment? - What habits help you feel connected despite being surrounded by strangers? A Different Perspective City life can mask deep loneliness, making it harder to address. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Great cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-cities/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [One friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-friend/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) ## Related quotes > [“this lonely, isolated man who didn’t know how to ask for affection, but basked in her attentions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-clare/this-lonely-isolated-man-who-didn-t-know-how-to-ask-for-affection-but/) [Jessica Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-clare/) > [An isolated man like Alexander Selkirk might feel the benefit of a stock of provisions, tools and other means of facilitating industry, although cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stanley-jevons/an-isolated-man-like-alexander-selkirk-might-feel-the-benefit-of-a/) [William Stanley Jevons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stanley-jevons/) > [Suddenly, in the early 20th century, there were thousands of men with essentially nothing to do. The farm work, as well as other work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-buffett/suddenly-in-the-early-20th-century-there-were-thousands-of-men-with/) [Peter Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-buffett/) > [“Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhup-da/out-of-many-thousands-among-men-one-may-endeavor-for-perfection-and/) [A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-bhaktivedanta-swami-prabhup-da/) > [We cannot go after thousands of men until we learn how to win one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-c-hopkins/we-cannot-go-after-thousands-of-men-until-we-learn-how-to-win-one/) [Claude C. Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-c-hopkins/) > [Instead of a few hundreds of thousands of men meeting each other in war, millions would now meet, and modern weapons would multiply manifold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-grey/instead-of-a-few-hundreds-of-thousands-of-men-meeting-each-other-in/) [Edward Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-grey/) > [“Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/buck-did-not-read-the-newspapers-or-he-would-have-known-that-trouble-2/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Every day, hundreds of thousands of men and women protect and serve, often putting their own lives at risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-costello/every-day-hundreds-of-thousands-of-men-and-women-protect-and-serve/) [Jerry Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-costello/) > [We cannot go after thousands of men until we learn now to win one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-c-hopkins/we-cannot-go-after-thousands-of-men-until-we-learn-now-to-win-one/) [Claude C. Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-c-hopkins/) > [“My God Made Me With A Rod Of Iron, Therefore, I Am Not Afraid Of The Ten Thousands Of Men Whose Throats Are An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-onyenmeriogu/my-god-made-me-with-a-rod-of-iron-therefore-i-am-not-afraid-of-the/) [Elijah Onyenmeriogu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-onyenmeriogu/) > [“He knew it was necessary to drive the French out, but he had always imagined that this would be done gloriously, with thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/he-knew-it-was-necessary-to-drive-the-french-out-but-he-had-always/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [Tens of thousands of men and women with kids to raise, bills to pay, and dreams that won't die. This is your campaign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/tens-of-thousands-of-men-and-women-with-kids-to-raise-bills-to-pay/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [What we do off the field hopefully inspires people and I think that is something that I'm very proud to be one guy -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kelce/what-we-do-off-the-field-hopefully-inspires-people-and-i-think-that/) [Jason Kelce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kelce/) > [No one ever mentioned it, but thousands of men welcomed World War II as a way to escape their humdrum lives rather than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-buchwald/no-one-ever-mentioned-it-but-thousands-of-men-welcomed-world-war-ii/) [Art Buchwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-buchwald/) > [The human features and countenance, although composed of but some ten parts or little more, are so fashioned that among so many thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/the-human-features-and-countenance-although-composed-of-but-some-ten/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) ## More by Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste > [Honor women! They strew celestial roses on the pathway of our terrestrial life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/honor-women-they-strew-celestial-roses-on-the-pathway-of-our/) [Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/) > [“One who has lost confidence can lose nothing more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/one-who-has-lost-confidence-can-lose-nothing-more/) [Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/) > [To regard the excesses of the passions as maladies has so salutary an effect that this idea renders all moral sermons useless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/to-regard-the-excesses-of-the-passions-as-maladies-has-so-salutary-an/) [Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/) > [He who has lost confidence can lose nothing more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/he-who-has-lost-confidence-can-lose-nothing-more/) [Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/) > [The great would not think themselves demigods if the little did not worship them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/the-great-would-not-think-themselves-demigods-if-the-little-did-not/) [Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/) [Explore all 6 Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no solitude more dreadful for a stranger, an isolated man, than a great city; so many thousands of men and not one friend.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a-stranger-an-isolated-man/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a-stranger-an-isolated-man/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/pierre-claude-victor-boiste-57_cities_there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a_2482001.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/pierre-claude-victor-boiste-57_cities_there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a_2482001.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/pierre-claude-victor-boiste-57_cities_there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a_2482001.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no solitude more dreadful for a stranger, an isolated man, than a great city; so many thousands of…” — Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste", "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": "Pierre-Claude-Victor Boiste", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no solitude more dreadful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a-stranger-an-isolated-man/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-claude-victor-boiste/there-is-no-solitude-more-dreadful-for-a-stranger-an-isolated-man/#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 } } ] } ```