The state of a person who quits a public station in order to be alone. Retirement is of great advantage to a wise man. To him "the hour of solitude is the hour of meditation. He communes with his own heart. He reviews the actions of his past life. He corrects what is amiss. He rejoices in what is right: and, wiser by experience, lays the plan of his future life. The great and the noble, the wise and the learned, the pious and the good, have been lovers of serious retirement. On this field the patriot forms his schemes, the philosopher pursues his discoveries, the saint improves himself in wisdom and goodness. Solitude is the hallowed ground which religion in every age has adopted as its own. There her sacred inspiration is felt, and her holy mysteries elevate the soul; there devotion lifts up the voice; there falls the tear of contrition; there the heart pours itself forth before him who made, and him who redeemed it. Apart from men, we live with nature, and converse with God." Logan's Sermons, vol. 2: ser. 2; Blair's Ser. ser. 9: vol. 1:; Bates's Rural Philosophy; Brewster's Recluse; Zimmerman on Solitude.
Despite a stated reliance on the plain meaning of the Bible and the dictates of common sense, Buck's Theological Dictionary, first published in London in 1802, seeks to provide a textual basis for the evangelical community. By combining brief essays on orthodox belief and practice with historical entries on various denominations, Buck provided an interpretive lens that allowed antebellum Protestants to see Christianity's almost two millennia as their own history.Wikipedia
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