For some one who has passed the age of sixty, I definitely agree with the adage old age is the verdict of life.
Anyway, the quote, “Old age is the verdict of life” by Amelia Barr with citation is listed below.
Related: Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr was a British novelist of historical romances set in England and the United States.
You can read her literary work here.
Back in my younger days, I could understand the meaning of this maxim, but it won’t resonate with me.
Most of the advice would sound cliched or meaningless, hence they fall on deaf ears.
What British statesman Benjamin Disraeli said back then is still rings true today:
Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.
(Coningsby; Or The New Generation By B. Disraeli, Paris: A. And W. Galignani And C., 1844, Book III, Ch. I, P. 88) source
There is nothing you can do with your age, but you can do a lot things with your life.
The other day I was reading this book “Fast Living, Slow Ageing” by Kate Marie and Christopher Thomas.
It is practical guide to living healthier, a fuller and hopefully a longer life.
It talks about diet and lifestyle choices we make every day.
Get this valuable book and find out more what is aging and how you can manage to slow the process.
As you know loss is the most obvious feature of aging; be it memory, hearing or hair.
Find out about how to maintain and manage these losses.
As you know aging is not just having wrinkles and grey hair or even loss of hair.
There are all kinds of changes to your body, as you continue to age.
The key thing is one should keep a healthy lifestyle at any age and learn to grow old gracefully.
Among the things you should do are: engage in physical activity in your daily routine, try to eat a well-balanced healthy diet, do not smoke and manage your stress level.
If you want to know more about the nature of aging, supporting the health and well being of older adults, and extending healthy, active years of life for older people, visit National Institute on Aging.
Unless and until you could grow old, then the adage old age is the verdict of life would make sense to you.
Old Age Is The Verdict Of Life
Now, let’s slow down take your time and ponder over these collection of quotes on aging:
“If youth knew; if age could” – French Proverb
“si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait” (French)
(Proverbs of All Nations: Compared, Explained, And Illustrated By Walter K. Kelley, London: W. Kent & Company (Late D. Bogue), 1859, Youth And Age, P. 31) source
(The quote in French is found in:Les Prémices, Ou Le Premier Livre Des Proverbes Épigrammatisés, Ou Des Épigrammes Proverbiales Rangées En Lieux Communs By Henri Estienne, 1594, P. 172-173) source
Note: I think this French proverb is NOT by philologist Henri Estienne. He just assembled and published it.
“What makes old age so sad is, not that our joys, but that our hopes, cease.” – Jean-Paul Richter
“Das Alter ist nicht trübe, weil darin unsere Freuden, sondern weil unsere Hoffnungen aufhören.” (German)
“Ce qui rend la vieillesse morose, ce n’est pas la perte de ses joies, mais celle de ses espérances.” (French)
(Titan: A Romance From The German By Jean Paul Friedrich Richter, Translated By Charles Timothy Brooks, In Two Volumes, Vol. I, Boston: Ticknor And Fields, 1863, Sixth Jubilee, The Ten Persecutions, Fifth, P.199) source
(The quote in German is found in: Titan Bon Jean Paul, Erster Band, Berlin: Matzdorff, 1800, Sechste Jobelperiode, Fünfte, P. 331) source
(The quote in French is found in: Pensées De Paul, Extrites De Tous Ses Ouvrages Par Le Traducteur, Des Suédois A Praque, Paris: Chez Firmin Didot, Libraire, 1829, P. 57) source
“Years steal fire from the mind as vigor from the limb.” – Lord Byron
(Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: A Romaunt By Lord Byron, New York: The MacMillan Company, 1899, Canto Third, VIII, P. 77) source
(Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage By Lord Byron, 1816, Canto The Third, VIII) source
“Rashness, indeed, belongs to youth; prudence, to age.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
“Temeritas est videlicet florentis aetatis, prudentia senescentis.” (Latin)
(Cicero De Senectute (On Old Age), Translated With An Introduction And Notes By Andrew P. Peabody, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1884, VI., P. 16) source
(The quote is also found here.)
(The quote in Latin is found in: M. Tulli Ciceronis Cato Maior De Senectute, With Introduction And Notes By James S. Reid, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1882, VI, 20, P. 9) source
(The quote in Latin is also found in: M. Tulli Ciceronis Cato Maior De Senectute, Erklaert Von Julius Sommerbrodt, Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873, VI, 20, P. 36) source
“For those who have in themselves no resources for a good and happy life every period of life is burdensome.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
“Quibus enim nihil est in ipsis opis ad bene beateque vivendum, eis omnis aetas gravis est.” (Latin)
(Cicero De Senectute (On Old Age), Translated With An Introduction And Notes By Andrew P. Peabody, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1884, II., P. 4) source
(The quote is also found here.)
(The quote in Latin is found in: Cicero De Senectute (Cato Maior) A Dialogue On Old Age, Edited By J. H. And W. F. Allen And J. B. Greenough, On Old Age, Boston: Ginn Brothers, 1875, Cato Maior, Sive De Senectute, II, 4. P. 2) source
(The quote in Latin is also found in: Cicero Cato Maior De Senecture, Frankfurt: Outlook Verlag GmbH, 2018, II, 4, P. 23) source
“For death comes not to the living soul, nor age to the loving heart!” – Phoebe Cary
(The Poetical Works Of Alice And Phoebe Cary With A Memorial Of Their Lives By Mary Clemmer by Alice Mary, New York: Hurd And Houghton, 1877, Poems Of Love And Friendship, Phoebe Cary’s Poems, Lovers And Sweethearts, P. 362) source
(The quote is also found in: Poems of Faith, Hope, And Love By Phoebe Cary, New York: Hurd And Houghton, 1868, Lovers And Sweethearts, P. 118) source
“…the wiser mind mourns less for what age takes away than what it leaves behind.” – William Wordsworth
(The Complete Poetic Works Of William Wordsworth II, 1798-1880, Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1919, The Fountain: A Conversation, P. 185 ) source
(The quote is also found in: The Complete Poetical Works Of William Wordsworth, Poet Laureate, Etc., Etc., Edited By Henry Reed, Philadelphia: Troutman & Hayes, 1852, Poems Of Sentiment And Reflection, The Fountain: A Conversation, P. 402) source
“Our apprehension about aging is actually our fear of death.” – Quotationize
(Original quotation by Quotationize)
“Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children.” – Unknown
Note: The above quote is possibly NOT by George Bernard Shaw and definitely NOT Oscar Wilde.
The interview with Shaw as mentioned by the columnist Ted Cook back in 1931 is not verified.
Someone asked Bernard Shaw what, in his opinion, is the most beautiful thing in this world.
“Youth,” he replied, “is the most beautiful thing in this world—and what a pity that it has to be wasted on children!”
(Cook-Coos by Ted Cook, Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada, February 4, 1931, P. 5) source
To see the text, click on the ‘OCR‘.
“To the old, long life and treasure; To the young, all health and pleasure.” – Ben Johnson
(The Works Of Ben Jonson With A Memoir Of His Life And Writings By Barry Cornwall, London: Edward Moxon, 1838, The Gypsies Metamorphosed, Third Song, P. 620) source
(The quote is also found in: The Works Of Ben Jonson. With A Biographical Memoir By William Gifford, Boston: Philips. Sampson, And Company, 1853, The Gypsies Metamorphosed, Third Song, P. 738) source
“There are three classes into which all the women past seventy that ever I knew were to be divided: 1. That dear old soul; 2. That old woman; 3. That old witch.” – Samuel-Taylor Coleridge
(Specimens Of The Table Talk Of Samuel-Taylor Coleridge, Second edition, London: John Murray, 1836, July 7, 1831, Patronage Of The Fine Arts- Old Women, P. 121) source
(The quote is also found here.)
“The surest sign of age is loneliness. While one finds company in himself and his pursuits, he cannot be old, whatever his years may number.” – Amos Bronson Alcott
(Tablets By Amos Bronson Alcott, Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1868, III. Fellowship, P. 71) source
(The quote is also found here.)
“…the fruit of old age, […] is the memory of abundant blessings previously acquired.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
“fructus autem senectutis est,[…], ante partorum bonorum memoria et copia.” (Latin)
(Cicero In Twenty-Nine Volumes, Vol. 20, Edited And Translated By William Armistead Falconer, Harvard University Press, 1923, P. 83) source
(The quote is also found in: Cicero: De Senectute De Amicitia De Divinatione, With An English Translation By William Armistead Falconer, Cambridge. Harvard University Press 1923, 71) source
(The quote in Latin is found in: Cicero De Senectute (Cato Maior), A Dialogue On Old Age, Edited By Joseph Henry Allen, William Francis Allen, James Bradstreet Greenough, Boston: Ginn Brothers, 1875, On Old Age, XIX. 71, P. 26) source
(The quote in Latin is also found in: Cato Maior De Senectute, Edited With Introduction And Commentary By J. G. F. Powell, Cambridge University Press, 1988, Canto Maior M. TVLLI Ciceronis Cato Maior De Senectvte, Cato Maior XIX. 71, P. 84) source
Another translation is:
“…The harvest of old age, […] is the recollection and abundance of blessings previously secured.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
(Cicero’s Three books Of Offices, And Other Moral Works; Also His Cato Major, An Essay On Old Age; Laelius, An Essay On Friendship; Paradoxes; Scipio’s Dream; And Letters To Quintus On The Duties Of A Magistrate, Literally Translated By Cyrus R. Edmonds, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1855, An Essay On Old Age, Ch. XIX, P. 249) source
(The quote is also found here.)
“If they possess well-regulated minds and easy tempers, old age itself is no intolerable burden…” – Plato
(The Republic Of Plato Translated Into English With An Introduction, Analysis And Notes By John Llewelyn Davies and David James Vaughan, Cambridge: Macmillan & Co.,1852, Book I, P. 4) source
(The quote is also found in here.)
“Old age equalizes – we are unaware that what is happening to us has happened to untold numbers from the beginning of time. When we are young, we act as if we were the first young people in the world.” – Eric Hoffer
(Between The Devil And The Dragon: The Best Essays And Aphorisms Of Eric Hoffer, Ne York: Harper & Row, 1982, The Unnaturalness Of Human Nature, P. 20) source
(The quote is also found here.)
“The evening of life brings with it its lamp.” – Joseph Joubert
(Some Of The “Thoughts” Of Joseph Joubert, Translated By George H. Calbert, Boston: William V. Spencer, 1867, VII. Of The Different Ages, Of Life, Disease, And Death, P. 76) source
(The quote is also found here.)
“Old age is ready to undertake tasks that youth shirked because they would take too long.” – Somerset Maugham
(The Summing Up By W. Somerset Maugham, Melbourne London Toronto: William Heinenmann Ltd, 1938, Sec.73, P. 199) source
(The quote is also found in: The Summing Up By W. Somerset Maugham, London: Vintage Books, 2010, Sec.73, P. 286)
“I have lived longer than you. I have thought more, and I have suffered more. And I tell you there is more truth to the fundamental nature of things in the most foolish fairy tales than there is in any of your complaints against life.” – John Boynton Priestley
(I Have Been Here Before: A Play In Three Acts By John Boynton Priestley, London: Longmans, Green & Co Ltd, 1947, Act III, P. 77) source
(The quote is also found in: I Have Been Here Before: A Play In Three Acts By John Boynton Priestley, London: William Heinemann, 1937, Act III, P. 100) source
“Old and young, we are all on our last cruise.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
(Crabbed Age And Youth, And Other Essays By Stevenson, Robert Louis, Portland Maine: Thomas B Mosher, 1907, Crabbed Age And Youth, P. 19) source
(The quote is also found in: Virginibus Puerisque: And Other Papers By Robert Louis Stevenson, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1893, Crabbed Age And Youth, P. 95) source
“In youth all doors open outward; in old age they all open inward.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(Life Of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: With Extracts From His Journals And Correspondence, In Three Volumes, Vol. III, Boston & New York: Houghton, Mifflin And Company, 1801, Ch. XXII Table-Talk, P. 412) source
(The quote is also found in: Longfellow’s Days : The Longfellow Prose Birthday Book : Extracts From The Journals And Letters Of H. W. Longfellow, Boston: Ticknor And Company, 1888, September 12, P. 278)
“Youth wrenches the sceptre from old age, and sets the crown on its own head before it is entitled to it.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(Final Memorials Of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Boston: Ticknor And Company, 1887, Ch. XIX Table-Talk, P. 377) source
(Longfellow’s Days: The Longfellow Prose Birthday Book : Extracts From The Journals And Letters of H. W. Longfellow,Boston: Ticknor And Company, 1888, March 8, P. 74)
“…age, like distance, lends a double charm.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
(Urania: A Rhymed Lesson By Oliver Wendell Holmes, Boston: William D. Tickner & Company, 1846, Poem, P. 11) source
(The quote is also found here.)
“People had much rather be thought to look ill than old: because it is possible to recover from sickness, but there is no recovering from age.” – William Hazlitt
(The Round Table: A Collection Of Essays On Literature, Men, And Manners By William Hazlitt, London: Dell & Daldy, 1871, Common Places, XXXVI, P. 536) source
(The quote is also found in: The Round Table: Northcote’s Conversations; Characteristics By William Hazlitt, London: George Bell & Sons, 1889, Common Places, XXXVI, P. 536) source
“The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.” – Madeleine L’Engle
(New York Day By Day; Author To Readers By Susan Heller Anderson and David W. Dunlap, The New York Times, April 25, 1985, P. 3) source
“A man’s age represents a fine cargo of experiences and memories.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
(Wartime Writings 1939-1944 By Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Translated By Norah Purcell, San Diego Ne York London: A Harvest/HBJ Book, 1990, 1943 IV, P. 114) source
(The quote is also found here.)
“I don’t believe in aging. I believe in forever altering one’s aspect to the sun. Hence my optimism.” – Virginia Woolf
(A Writer’s Diary By Virginia Woolf, Edited By Leonard Woolf, San Diego New York London: The Hogarth Press, 1965, Nineteen Thirty-Two, London, Sunday, October 2nd; P. 187) source
(The quote is also found in: A Writer’s Diary By Virginia Woolf, Edited By Leonard Woolf, San Diego New York London: A Harvest Book, Hardcourt, Inc, 2003, Nineteen Thirty-Two, London, Sunday, October 2nd; P. 181) source
“The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.” – Oscar Wilde
(Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde, London New York Melbourne: Ward, Lock & Company, 1891, Ch. XIX, P. 322) source
(The quote is also found here.)
“Old age is the verdict of life.” – Amelia E. Barr
(All The Days Of My Life: An Autobiography: The Red Leaves Of A Human Heart By Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, 1913, Ch.XXVI, The Verdict Of Life, P. 466) source
(The quote is also found in: All the Days Of My Life: An Autobiography The Red Leaves Of A Human Heart By Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, Library Of Alexandria, The Verdict Of Life) source
“Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.” – Benjamin Disraeli
(Coningsby; Or The New Generation By Benjamin Disraeli, Leipzig: Bernh Tauchnitz Jun, 1844, Bk III, Ch.I, P. 110) source
(The quote is also found in: Youth, Wit And Wisdom Of Benjamin Disraeli Earl Of Beaconsfield, Collected From His Writings And Speeches, London: Longmans, Green And Co., 1881, P. 380) source
(Two more sources of the quote are found here and here.)
“To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable.” – Oscar Wilde
(Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde, London New York Melbourne: Ward, Lock & Company, 1891, Ch. XIX, P. 321) source
(The quote is also found here and here.)
“When a man stands on the verge of seventy-two you know perfectly well that he never reached that place without knowing what this life is – heartbreaking bereavement.” – Mark Twain
(The Complete Works Of Mark Twain: Mark Twain’s Speeches, New York: Harper And Brothers, 1923, Books, Authors, and Hats, P. 341) source
(The quote is also found here and here.)
“The years teach much which the days never know.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Essays: Second Series By Ralph Waldo Emerson, Boston: James Munroe And Company, 1844, Essay II, Experience, P. 75) source
(The quote is also found here and here.)
“A man in old age is like a sword in a shop window.” – Henry Ward Beecher
(Life Thoughts, Gathered From The Extemporaneous Discourses Of Henry Ward Beecher, Boston: Philips, Sampson And Company, 1858, Life Thoughts. P. 21) source
(The quote is also found in: Beecher: Christian Philosopher, Pulpit Orator, Patriot and Philantropist: A Volume Of Representative Selections From The Sermons, Lectures, Prayers, And Letters Of Henry Ward Beecher, Chicago New York: Belford, Clarke, & Company, 1887, Anecdotes And Letters, A Man In Old Age, P. 158) source
“At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
(Flappers And Philosophers By F. Scott Fitzgerald, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1921, Bernice Bobs Her Hair, II, P. 166) source
(The quote is also found in: Flappers And Philosophers By F. Scott Fitzgerald, London, William Collins’ Sons and Co., Ltd, 1922, Bernice Bobs Her Hair, II, P. 221) source
“It’s an epitome of life. The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity.” – Mark Twain
(The Complete Letters Of Mark Twain By Mark Twain, Letter To Edward Dimmit In St. Louis, Among The Adirondack Lakes, 19 July 1901, P. 709) source
(The quote is also found in: Mark Twain’s Letters (1853- 1910), Volume 1, Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck, 1929, Letter To Edward Dimmit In St. Louis, Among The Adirondack Lakes, 19 July 1901, P. 393) source