The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.

This line is widely attributed to Henrik Ibsen in English quotation collections, typically as a distilled statement of a recurring Ibsen theme: the moral and psychological cost of refusing social conformity. It is often linked (sometimes loosely) to the ethos of Ibsen’s late-19th-century drama, where protagonists who insist on personal truth—against family, community, or “respectable” opinion—find themselves isolated. However, in the form given (“The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone”), it circulates mainly as an aphorism in translation rather than as a securely traceable line tied to a specific dated speech, letter, or scene.

The quote equates strength not with physical power or popularity but with the capacity to endure solitude when one’s convictions diverge from the crowd. “Stands most alone” suggests principled resistance: the willingness to accept social exclusion, misunderstanding, or hostility rather than compromise one’s integrity. In an Ibsenian register, it also hints at the paradox that moral clarity can isolate the individual, because communities often defend comforting fictions and punish dissent. The statement therefore praises inner independence—courage measured by how much external support one can forgo while remaining steadfast.

1) “The strongest man is he who stands alone.”
2) “The strongest man in the world is the man who stands alone.”
3) “The strongest man is the one who stands most alone.”