I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls.
Henry David Thoreau Walden, Chapter 5, Solitude (1854)
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When and why it was written
- When
- From the chapter on solitude in Walden, published in 1854.
- Why
- Visitors asked whether he was lonely living alone by the pond.
What it means
Thoreau answers the question about loneliness with a joke that is also true. Alone in the morning, he is in good company: his thoughts, the pond, the day.
Solitude is a different thing from loneliness, and mornings are often where we learn the difference.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
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Walden, 1854
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