David Hume [ Philosophy ]
… that, when enriched with science, and possessed of a fund of conversation, they should be contented to remain in solitude, or live with their fellow-citizens in that distant manner, which is peculiar to ignorant and barbarous nations.’ (Hume, ‘Of Refinement in the Arts’, vol. 1, 211) To Hume, solitude is a state to be avoided and even feared : ‘We can form no wish, which has not a reference to society. A perfect solitude is, perhaps, the greatest punishment we can suffer’. (Hume, Treatise , 234) In that ‘positive cycle of …
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