In spite of the honestest efforts to annihilate my I-ity, or merge it in what the world doubtless considers my better half, I still find myself a self-subsisting, and, alas! self-seeking me.
Letter to John Sterling (15 June 1835).
Letters and Memorials Vol. 1-1/L1-28/p1-133[digital.library.upenn.edu]