Recluse
A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion and solitude. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester". Unlike the usual hermits, recluses shut themselves up in a cell so that they could not come out.[1]
Examples of recluses are Symeon of Trier, who lived within the great Roman gate Porta Nigra with permission from the Archbishop of Trier, or Theophan the Recluse, a 19th-century Orthodox Christian monk who was later venerated as a saint. Many celebrated figures of human history have spent significant portions of their lives as recluses.
In the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Church tradition, a Poustinik is a temporary hermit who has been called to pray and fast alone in a cabin for at least 24 hours. In ancient Chinese culture, scholars are encouraged to be a public servant in a scrupulous and well-run government but expected to go into reclusion as a yinshi (隐士, 'gentleman-in-hiding') when the government is rife with corruption.[2] Others, like Dongfang Shuo, became hermits to practice Taoism, or in later centuries, Chan Buddhism.
Commentary
Entrepreneur Kim Smiley wrote, "We live in a society that stigmatizes seclusion, yet has an almost rabid fascination with it at the same time."[3] Melanie Tannenbaum also noted in Pacific Standard that socially isolated children are "significantly less likely than their more social counterparts to engage in delinquent behavior during middle and high school".[4] In Psychology Today, career coach Marty Nemko argued that the reclusive lifestyle is worthy of more consideration, stating that people who live alone are more likely to find satisfying work due to a lack of responsibility to support a family.[5]-->
Notable recluses
See also
Notes
- https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07280a.htm
- Analects 8:13 《論語 · 泰伯》：天下有道則見，無道則隱。Show you talents [through public service] in a well-governed world; go into hiding in dark times (in Japanese).
- Smiley, Kim (January 27, 2014). "How Famous Recluses Teach Us Important Lessons". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- Tannenbaum, Melanie (October 5, 2015). "The Mental Illness Stigma". Pacific Standard. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- Nemko, Marty (October 24, 2014). "The Recluse Option". Psychology Today. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
References
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Porter, Noah, ed. (1913). "Recluse". Webster's Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts: C. & G. Merriam Co.
