"Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone, and the only one who seeks out another. His nature - if that word can be used in reference to man, who has â€˜inventedâ€™ himself by saying â€˜noâ€™ to nature - consists in his longing to realize himself in another. Man is nostalgia and a search for communion. Therefore, when he is aware of himself he is aware of his lack of another, that is, of his solitude."

Source : The Labyrinth of Solitude ch. 9 (1950) (translation by Lysander Kemp)

Octavio Paz

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