---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's the privilege of old age: You…"
description: "\"That's the privilege of old age: You don't have to remember.\" — Alan Arkin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/alan-arkin-5379_age_that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don_246689.png"
---

#  That's the privilege of old age: You don't have to remember.

![“That's the privilege of old age: You don't have to remember.” quote by Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/alan-arkin-5379_age_that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don_246689.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/alan-arkin-5379_age_that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don_246689.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/alan-arkin-5379_age_that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don_246689.png)

> “That's the privilege of old age: You don't have to remember.”

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Old age frees you from the burden of remembering everything.

**In simple terms:** Old age means you don't have to remember everything.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the freedom that comes with age.

Themes

aging memory liberation

Mood

nostalgic calm

Type

reflective humorous

When to use this quote

- daily life
- storytelling
- family gatherings
- historical recollection

Key Concepts

cognitive decline wisdom acceptance

Questions to Reflect On

- What do you choose to forget?
- How does forgetting affect identity?

A Different Perspective

Memory loss can also cause frustration.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/)

## Related quotes

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [Youth is the time for adventures of the body, but age for the triumphs of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/youth-is-the-time-for-adventures-of-the-body-but-age-for-the-triumphs/)

[Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/)

> [I have discovered the secret formula for a carefree old age: iycri = fi (if you can't recall it, forget it).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goodman-ace/i-have-discovered-the-secret-formula-for-a-carefree-old-age-iycri-fi/)

[Goodman Ace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goodman-ace/)

> [“It is better to waste your old age than to do nothing at all with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/it-is-better-to-waste-your-old-age-than-to-do-nothing-at-all-with-it/)

[Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/)

> [ \[On old age:\] You wake up one morning and you got it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moms-mabley/on-old-age-you-wake-up-one-morning-and-you-got-it/)

[Moms Mabley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moms-mabley/)

> [“It's the only thing that brings us together now, you see. Memories. We make so many mistakes in life, young lady, but we only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/it-s-the-only-thing-that-brings-us-together-now-you-see-memories-we/)

[Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/)

> [I will never give in to old age until I become old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-turner/i-will-never-give-in-to-old-age-until-i-become-old/)

[Tina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-turner/)

> [So you see, old age is really not so bad. May you come to know the condition!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/so-you-see-old-age-is-really-not-so-bad-may-you-come-to-know-the/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [“If old age is good for anything it's good for being generous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kuhn/if-old-age-is-good-for-anything-it-s-good-for-being-generous/)

William Kuhn

> [Old age is second childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/old-age-is-second-childhood/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [I don't know how you feel about old age... but in my case I didn't even see it coming. It hit me from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/i-don-t-know-how-you-feel-about-old-age-but-in-my-case-i-didn-t-even/)

[Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/)

> [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/)

[Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/)

> [The whole of life is a journey toward youthful old age, toward self-contemplation, love, gaiety, and, in a fundamental sense, the most gratifying time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/the-whole-of-life-is-a-journey-toward-youthful-old-age-toward-self/)

[Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/)

> [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“People used to die naturally. Old age used to be a terminal affliction, not a temporary state. There were invisible killers called “diseases” that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/people-used-to-die-naturally-old-age-used-to-be-a-terminal-affliction/)

[Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/)

## More by Alan Arkin

> [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [If I'm going to make a fake movie, it's going to be a fake hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/if-i-m-going-to-make-a-fake-movie-it-s-going-to-be-a-fake-hit/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [I don't mind watching plays once in a while, but as long as I don't have to be in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-mind-watching-plays-once-in-a-while-but-as-long-as-i-don-t/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [I had a hard time treating my field as if it's horse racing, putting actors in competition against each other. I see how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-had-a-hard-time-treating-my-field-as-if-it-s-horse-racing-putting/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [Creativity means learning where the rules exist, and then breaking them! Saying, "It's better this way." But you have to know the rules in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/creativity-means-learning-where-the-rules-exist-and-then-breaking/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [Things have got to add up to 100 points. The script is part of it, the character is part of it, the people I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/things-have-got-to-add-up-to-100-points-the-script-is-part-of-it-the/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [I don't sense that I am someone's hero, though I'm happy when people like my work. I've learned how to be gracious about it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-sense-that-i-am-someone-s-hero-though-i-m-happy-when-people/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [It's - everybody's looking at the bottom line all the time, and failure doesn't look good on the bottom line, and yet you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/it-s-everybody-s-looking-at-the-bottom-line-all-the-time-and-failure/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [Every physicist knows that things connect with each other. To isolate things is not the way the universe works - winning best actor is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/every-physicist-knows-that-things-connect-with-each-other-to-isolate/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [I don't know why we have to put things in boxes of superlatives. That isolates them. Life is fluid, and the minute you start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-know-why-we-have-to-put-things-in-boxes-of-superlatives-that/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [People think that the people in Hollywood have some master plan. They just make the movies that people go to see. I think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/people-think-that-the-people-in-hollywood-have-some-master-plan-they/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [I'm very old. I haven't got time to be charming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-m-very-old-i-haven-t-got-time-to-be-charming/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [I'm an actor. My life as an actor depends on who sends me what. I'm just taking the best stuff that I can find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-m-an-actor-my-life-as-an-actor-depends-on-who-sends-me-what-i-m/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [Education does not mean jamming information into somebody's head. Rather, it's that ancient idea that all knowledge is within us; to teach is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/education-does-not-mean-jamming-information-into-somebody-s-head/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

> [A product is most easily sold when it has an identity. So they wrap you all up and put a label on you. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/a-product-is-most-easily-sold-when-it-has-an-identity-so-they-wrap/)

[Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

[Explore all 101 Alan Arkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "That's the privilege of old age: You don't have to remember.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alan Arkin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don-t-have-to-remember/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don-t-have-to-remember/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/alan-arkin-5379_age_that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don_246689.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/alan-arkin-5379_age_that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don_246689.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/alan-arkin-5379_age_that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don_246689.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“That's the privilege of old age: You don't have to remember.” — Alan Arkin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alan Arkin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "That's the privilege of old age:...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don-t-have-to-remember/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/that-s-the-privilege-of-old-age-you-don-t-have-to-remember/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
