Quotes about Aging: A through F

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Since 2012, I have been scouring several venues for quotes about aging.

(Quotes on Aging: G through N)

Mind you, I do NOT necessarily agree with all of the following statements about aging.

But I do think they are all worth examining and discussing.

Which quotes reflect your view of aging?

Which quote irritates you the most?

Which quotes make you smile?

Which person is your favorite wit?

Enjoy these quotes organized by the author's last name.

A

Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise if you wish to keep them in working order. John Adams

Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor. Sholom Aleichem

The wisest are the most annoyed at the loss of time. Dante Alighieri

Older women know who they are, and that makes them more beautiful than younger ones. Naveen Andrews

A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim. Maya Angelou

In Europe we admire grown-up women; I think men revere older women. Francesca Annis

It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live. - Marcus Aurelius


B

Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. Natalie Babbitt

It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen. Brigette Bardot

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December. James M. Barrie

Life is one long lesson in humility. James M. Barrie

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. John Barrymore

When you are through changing, you are through. Bruce Barton

Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better." Ingrid Bergman

Age is no guarantee of maturity. Lawana Blackwell.

Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been. David Bowie

I'm not an old lady. Just a little girl with wrinkles. Edythe E. Bregnard

A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years. Rupert Brooke

You know you're old when you've lost all your marvels. Mary Browne

Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Robert Browning

When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day. Marty Bucella

The glorious chariots of kings wear out, and the body wears out and grows old; but the virtue of the good never grows old. Buddha

By the time you're eighty years old you've learned everything. You only have to remember it. George
Burns

Life is one long process of getting tired. Samuel Butler

C

To grow old is to pass from passion to compassion.  Albert Camus

In depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. Albert Camus

One great thing about getting old is that you can get out of all sorts of social obligations just by saying you are too tired. George Carlin

As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.  Andrew Carnegie

Middle age is when a guy keeps turning off lights for economical rather than romantic reasons. Lillian Gordy Carter

Middle age is when your old classmates are so grey and wrinkled and bald that they don't recognize you. Bennet Cerf

Life is a tragedy when seen in close up, but a comedy in long shot. Charlie Chaplin

To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it. Charlie Chaplin

I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming...suddenly you find--at the age of 50, say--that a whole new life has opened before you. Agatha Christie

The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. Cicero

It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character and judgment. Cicero

Middle age is that awkward period when Father Time starts catching up with Mother Nature. Harold Coffin

Maturity doesn't come with age. It begins with the acceptance of responsibility. Edwin Louis Cole

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. Confucius

Always be nice to those younger than you, because they are the ones who will be writing about you. Cyril Connolly

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. Calvin Coolidge

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live. Norman Cousins


D

The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within--strength, courage, dignity. Ruby Dee

Wisdom is one of the few things in human life that does not diminish with age. Ram Dass

Painful though it may be, grief is an integral part of elder wisdom, a force that...enables us to help. Ram Dass

Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today. James Dean

We seem to believe it is possible to ward off death by following rules of good grooming. Don Delillo

We turn not older with years but newer every day. Emily Dickinson

I've always been attracted to women who are assertive and have confidence--qualities older women possess. Taye Diggs

[Older women have] been on the Earth a little longer. They're more seasoned. They don't play games. Taye Diggs

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. - Anne Dillard

You know you're old when someone compliments you on your alligator shoes, and you're barefoot. Phyllis Diller

I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now. Bob Dylan

He not busy being born is busy dying. Bob Dylan

E

I grow old...I grow old...I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled. T.S. Elliot

Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very frequently is most unjust to youth. Thomas A. Edison

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity. Albert Einstein

It’s not length of life, but depth of life.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

As we grow old....the beauty turns inward. Ralph Waldo Emerson

People do not grow old. When they cease to grow they become old. Ralph Waldo Emerson

The age of a woman doesn't mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. Madeleine L'Engle

F

Setting a good example for your children takes all the fun out of middle age. William Feather

I so believe that older women have tremendous value to their families, their community, their country, the world. Sally Field

My life is a stairway to heaven, not a "decline into decrepitude." Jane Fonda

Anyone who stops learning is old whether at 20 or 80. - Henry Ford

It's never too late -- never too late to start over, never too late to be happy. Jane Fonda

Maturity of mind is the capacity to endure uncertainty. John Finley

I'm not interested in being perfect when I'm older....It's the narrative that's really the most beautiful thing about women. Jodie Foster

At twenty years of age the will reigns; at thirty the wit; at forty the judgement. Benjamin Franklin

"There is a very great difference between older and old, the former being desirable and the latter being inevitable.” Michelle Franklin

Immature love says, "I love you because I need you." Mature love says, "I need you because I love you." Erich Fromm

The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected. Robert Frost

Now is the time to become a myth. Diane Von Furstenberg


Related:

Quotes on Aging: G through N
Quotes on Aging: O through Z
The Measure of Maturity: A quote by S. Ullman
Quantifying Wisdom
Books on Aging and Spiritual Growth