--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The life of a solitary man will be…" description: "\"The life of a solitary man will be certainly miserable, but not certainly devout.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/samuel-johnson-50_life_the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certa_1043109.png" --- # The life of a solitary man will be certainly miserable… ![“The life of a solitary man will be certainly miserable, but not certainly devout.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/samuel-johnson-50_life_the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certa_1043109.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/samuel-johnson-50_life_the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certa_1043109.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/samuel-johnson-50_life_the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certa_1043109.png) > “The life of a solitary man will be certainly miserable, but not certainly devout.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A solitary life may be unhappy but not necessarily pious; isolation doesn’t guarantee virtue. **In simple terms:** Loneliness can be sad, not holy. Key Takeaway Seek connection, not isolation. Themes loneliness misery virtue Mood reflective somber Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - personal relationships - mental health - community building Key Concepts existentialism human need Questions to Reflect On - Can solitude be a source of growth? - How does society view lonely people? A Different Perspective Isolation can also foster self‑reflection, not just misery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Solitary man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary-man/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [“Jim had spent most of his life alone. The solitary nature of his disability and the constant moving had made it difficult for him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-dee/jim-had-spent-most-of-his-life-alone-the-solitary-nature-of-his/) [Bonnie Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-dee/) > [“Francis Crozier believes in nothing. Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short . It has no plan, no point, no hidden mysteries that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/francis-crozier-believes-in-nothing-life-is-solitary-poor-nasty/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Decomposition, for most, starts when they leave the free, social, and uncorrupted college life for the solitary confinement of professions and nuclear families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/decomposition-for-most-starts-when-they-leave-the-free-social-and/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Life is a solitary confinement , Every second is a punishment - of a crime , that was never committed , Or perhaps, -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/binyamin-gulzar/life-is-a-solitary-confinement-every-second-is-a-punishment-of-a/) [BinYamin Gulzar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/binyamin-gulzar/) > [Life is a solitary cell whose walls are mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-a-solitary-cell-whose-walls-are-mirrors/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“I am a . . . solitary . . . man, he said. 'I do not suffer fools gladly, and I prefer to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lane/i-am-a-solitary-man-he-said-i-do-not-suffer-fools-gladly-and-i-prefer/) [Andrew Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lane/) > [The misanthrope, as an essentially solitary man, is not a man at all: he must be a beast or a god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-misanthrope-as-an-essentially-solitary-man-is-not-a-man-at-all-he/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“I am a lone wolf, a solitary man, wandering through a world in which I have no part.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/i-am-a-lone-wolf-a-solitary-man-wandering-through-a-world-in-which-i/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [Christian society is like a bundle of sticks laid together, whereof one kindles another. Solitary men have fewest provocations to evil, but, again, fewest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/christian-society-is-like-a-bundle-of-sticks-laid-together-whereof/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/for-me-trees-have-always-been-the-most-penetrating-preachers-i-revere-2/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Prophets, mystics, poets, scientific discoverers are men whose lives are dominated by a vision; they are essentially solitary men . . . whose thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/prophets-mystics-poets-scientific-discoverers-are-men-whose-lives-are/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“In solitude the solitary man consumes himself, in the crowd the crowd consumes him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-solitude-the-solitary-man-consumes-himself-in-the-crowd-the-crowd/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [His own life seemed so solitary, a fragile column supporting nothing amidst the wreckage of the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/his-own-life-seemed-so-solitary-a-fragile-column-supporting-nothing/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Life is not a solitary activity. Live well by living for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-kaufman/life-is-not-a-solitary-activity-live-well-by-living-for-others/) [Ron Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-kaufman/) > [“It was the very essence of his life to be a solitary achievement, accomplished not by hermit-like withdrawal with it's silence and immobility but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-was-the-very-essence-of-his-life-to-be-a-solitary-achievement/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The life of a solitary man will be certainly miserable, but not certainly devout.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certainly-miserable-but-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certainly-miserable-but-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/samuel-johnson-50_life_the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certa_1043109.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/samuel-johnson-50_life_the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certa_1043109.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/samuel-johnson-50_life_the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certa_1043109.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The life of a solitary man will be certainly miserable, but not certainly devout.” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The life of a solitary man...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certainly-miserable-but-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-life-of-a-solitary-man-will-be-certainly-miserable-but-not/#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 } } ] } ```