In literature as in ethics, there is danger, as well as glory, in being subtle. Aristocracy isolates us. Charles Baudelaire
Not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but also clouds their view of their descendants and isolates them from their contemporaries. Each man is for ever thrown back on himself alone, and there is danger that he may be shut up in the solitude of his own heart. Alexis de Tocqueville
Knowledge isolates phenomena and things to observe with.... nothing is isolatable or can be removed from its environment. Anything which becomes isolated ceases to exist. It is like the violent refusal of someone to play a game in which everyone cheats. Karel Appel
Speech is civilization itself. The word, even the most contradictory word, preserves contact - it is silence which isolates. Thomas Mann
A creation of importance can only be produced when its author isolates himself, it is a child of solitude. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Every year the progress of advanced capitalist society makes our population consist of more and more isolates. This is because of the infrastructure of the economy, especially electronic communications. Mary Douglas