OLD AGE QUOTES VI

quotations about old age

Old Age quote

Science as culture misdirects the way in which old age is understood. Rather than valuing life in all its diversity, including its final phase, it leads to misguided devotion of resources to solving the problem of death. The focus on biological failure sets up a cultural construction of old age which leads to the low esteem in which it is currently held.

JOHN A. VINCENT

"Marketing Immortality", JSTOR Daily, February 2, 2017


Growing old is no more than a bad habit a busy man has no time to form.

ANDRÉ MAUROIS

An Art of Living

Tags: André Maurois


Old age diminishes our strength; it takes away our pleasures one after the other; it withers the soul as well as the body; it renders adventure and friendship difficult; and finally it is shadowed by thoughts of death.

ANDRÉ MAUROIS

An Art of Living

Tags: André Maurois


The only real change in life comes with the consciousness of old age.

AUSTIN O'MALLEY

Keystones of Thought

Tags: Austin O'Malley


If I am to tell you how to grow old gracefully, I must tell you at the beginning of life; for no man can grow old gracefully unless he begins early.

LYMAN ABBOTT

Problems of Life: Selections from the Writings of Rev. Lyman Abbott

Tags: Lyman Abbott


Just like those who are incurably ill, the aged know everything about their dying except exactly when.

PHILIP ROTH

The Facts: A Novelist's Autobiography

Tags: Philip Roth


You know you're getting older when you notice that more and more history questions happened in your lifetime!

TOM WILSON

Ziggy, July 3, 1999

Tags: Tom Wilson


The habits of a young man are, like his coat, removable; the habits of an old man are like the drapery of a statue.

AUSTIN O'MALLEY

Keystones of Thought

Tags: Austin O'Malley


A man in old age is like a sword in a shop window. Men that look upon the perfect blade do not imagine the process by which it was completed.

HENRY WARD BEECHER

Life Thoughts

Tags: Henry Ward Beecher


Young he was not, so that one had to call him old, but the word did not suit him.

URSULA K. LE GUIN

The Farthest Shore

Tags: Ursula K. Le Guin


Nothing makes you look older than attempting to look young.

KARL LAGERFELD

The Telegraph, May 12, 2014

Tags: Karl Lagerfeld


The smile upon the old man's lips, like the last rays of the setting sun, pierces the heart with a sweet and sad emotion. There is still a ray, there is still a smile; but they may be the last.

MADAME SWETCHINE

"Airelles", The Writings of Madame Swetchine

Tags: Madame Swetchine


Age overtakes us all;
Our temples first; then on o'er cheek and chin,
Slowly and surely, creep the frosts of Time.
Up and do somewhat, ere thy limbs are sere.

THEOCRITUS

"The Love of Thyonichus"

Tags: Theocritus


This is old age! A slow and sure decay!
A tott'ring edifice, crusted with mould,
Failing in strength and beauty ev'rywhere!
Its vaults, and noble arches, choked with weeds!
Its casements dark, and chambers thick with dust
Its pillars bowed, or prostrate on the ground!

C. B. LANGSTON

"Old Age"


Old age is far more than white hair, wrinkles, the feeling that it is too late and the game finished, that the stage belongs to the rising generations. The true evil is not the weakening of the body, but the indifference of the soul. Upon crossing the shadow line, it is more the desire to act than the power to do so that is lost. Is it possible, after 50 years of experiences and disappointments, to retain the ardent curiosity of youth, the desire to know and understand, the power to love wholeheartedly, the certainty that beauty, intelligence and kindness unite naturally, and to preserve faith in the efficacy of reason?

ANDRÉ MAUROIS

An Art of Living

Tags: André Maurois


The greatest tragedy of old age is the tendency for the old to feel unneeded, unwanted, and of no use to anyone; the secret of happiness in the declining years is to remain interested in life, as active as possible, useful to others, busy, and forward looking.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

Book of Common Sense Etiquette

Tags: Eleanor Roosevelt


There's nothing like being old to be sure of everything.

FRAN LEBOWITZ

interview, Index Magazine, 1997

Tags: Fran Lebowitz


All would live long, but none would be old.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Poor Richard's Almanack, 1749

Tags: Benjamin Franklin


A graceful and blessed old age must have three elements in it: a happy retrospect, a peaceful present, and an inspiring future. And old age cannot have either one of these three if the youth has been wasted and manhood has been misspent.

LYMAN ABBOTT

Problems of Life: Selections from the Writings of Rev. Lyman Abbott

Tags: Lyman Abbott


The counsels of the old, like the winter sun, shine, but give no heat.

LUC DE CLAPIERS, MARQUIS DE VAUVENARGUES

Reflections and Maxims