"A man is like tree: in a forest of his fellows he will grow as straight as his generic and individual nature permits; alone in the open, he yields to deforming stresses and tortions that environ him".
(Ambrose Bierce "The stranger")
А все из-за домашнего чтения по английскому... Не было бы его - когда бы мои руки дошли до Бирса?!.)