seclude oneself

Of course, the urge to seclude oneself can get a president in trouble, as Mr. Obama discovered last year when the authorities thwarted an effort by a Nigerian man to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.

Was it not utterly alien to the spirit of Christ thus to seclude oneself in light and warmth, among sweet strains of music and holy pictures?

If one is thus endowed by nature, it seems such an easy thing to seclude oneself from life, and to find endless joy in sight and hearing and critical appreciation.