Quote by: Thomas de Quincey

Guilt and misery shrink, by a natural instinct, from public notice: they court privacy and solitude: and even in their choice of a grave will sometimes sequester themselves from the general population of the churchyard, as if declining to claim fellowship with the great family of man; thus, in a symbolic language universally understood, seeking (in the affecting language of Mr. Wordsworth) ’ Humbly to express A penitential loneliness.


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Author Bio


  • NameThomas de Quincey
  • DescriptionEnglish author
  • BornAugust 15, 1785
  • DiedDecember 8, 1859
  • CountryUnited Kingdom
  • ProfessionLinguist; Journalist; Writer