Thursday, 2 July 2026

OLD AGE

 

                                OLD AGE

            The English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616) ,finishes his poem Seven Ages of Man spoken by a cynical character Jaques in the play As You Like It with the following words about old age :

            The last scene of all,

            That ends this strange eventful history,

            Is second childishness, and mere oblivion (unconsciousness),

            Sans (without) teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

 

            It is a universal fact that nobody wants to die young. Old age, rather, extreme old age is prayed for. Elderly persons are respected just for their elderliness. Those who respect them are unconscious of their physical and mental health. They are even unaware of their loneliness. Most of the elderly persons are deserted by their kith and kin.  Some of them lack money for their daily food, a hired accommodation, and the medical bill.

 

            Look at the following popular quotes about old age.

1.     We hope to grow old, yet we fear old age; that is,---we are willing to live, and afraid to die.---French essayist and moralist Jean de la Bruyere (1645-1696).

2.     A comfortable old age is the reward of well-spent youth; instead of its introducing  dismal and melancholy prospects of decay, it should give us hopes of eternal youth in a better world.----American clergy and poet, Ray Palmer (1808-1887).

3.     As I approve of a youth that has something of the old man in him, so I am no less pleased with an old man that has something of the youth. He

 that follows this rule, may be old in body, but can never be so in mind.-------Roman orator Marcus Tullius (106-143 B.C.) .

4.     Some men are born old, and some never seem so. If we keep well and cheerful we are always young, and at last die in youth, even when years would count us old.----American theologian and editor Edwards Tryon (1809-1894).

5.     To know how to grow old is the master-work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.---Swiss philosopher Henri Frederic  Amiel (l821-1881).

 

To conclude  here is a most  famous quote by the Irish playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950):

 

            Youth is wasted on the young.”                                                                                  ************

 G.R.Kanwal

2nd July 2026

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