--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: our sole delight was play; and for this…" description: "\"“our sole delight was play; and for this we were punished by those who yet themselves were doing the like. But elder folks' idleness is called \"busines..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/anonymous-1_aging_our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-w_2332160.jpg" --- # our sole delight was play; and for this we were punished… ![“our sole delight was play; and for this we were punished by those who yet themselves were doing the like. But elder folks' idleness is called "business"; that of boys, being really the same, is punished by those elders;” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/anonymous-1_aging_our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-w_2332160.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/anonymous-1_aging_our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-w_2332160.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/anonymous-1_aging_our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-w_2332160.jpg) > ““our sole delight was play; and for this we were punished by those who yet themselves were doing the like. But elder folks' idleness is called "business"; that of boys, being really the same, is punished by those elders;”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Play is punished by adults while they label it business, highlighting double standards across ages. **In simple terms:** Adults criticize play but value work. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of play at any age. Themes play double standards age society Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical social When to use this quote - childhood games - workplace culture - educational policy Key Concepts social critique generational conflict Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies devalue play? - How can play be integrated into adult life? A Different Perspective Play may be dismissed as frivolous, limiting creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Idleness Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness-called-5613588/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Like Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-elder-751205/) [Play Punished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-punished-3722756/) [Punished Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punished-doing-5613587/) [Punished Elders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punished-elders-5613586/) ## Related quotes > [It's like creating an artificial loop saying, 'You didn't play the game the way I wanted you to play, so now you're punished and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cage/it-s-like-creating-an-artificial-loop-saying-you-didn-t-play-the-game/) [David Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cage/) > [Harin Pathak is like my elder brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paresh-rawal/harin-pathak-is-like-my-elder-brother/) [Paresh Rawal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paresh-rawal/) > [I respect Kiran Bedi, she is like my elder sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arvind-kejriwal/i-respect-kiran-bedi-she-is-like-my-elder-sister/) [Arvind Kejriwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arvind-kejriwal/) > [“Wannagogardenwime?" I ask all in one breath. My eyes grow wide. What came over me? Why would I blurt that out like that? ~Elder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/wannagogardenwime-i-ask-all-in-one-breath-my-eyes-grow-wide-what-came/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [Salman is like my elder brother. So is Sohail bhai. They have been a great help to me in terms of my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vatsal-sheth/salman-is-like-my-elder-brother-so-is-sohail-bhai-they-have-been-a/) [Vatsal Sheth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vatsal-sheth/) > [To be mature, you have to be an adult. But to be in love, you have to be nothing but a human being with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-mature-you-have-to-be-an-adult-but-to-be-in-love-you-have-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Youth longs and manhood strives, but age remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/youth-longs-and-manhood-strives-but-age-remembers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maturity is when a person hurts you and you try to understand why they act that way towards you. As the result, you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maturity-is-when-a-person-hurts-you-and-you-try-to-understand-why/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you wonder why I have so many wrinkles on my face as I get older, it's because you make me smile so damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wonder-why-i-have-so-many-wrinkles-on-my-face-as-i-get-older/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maturity on younger people is a sad sign of someone who was forced to grow up too fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maturity-on-younger-people-is-a-sad-sign-of-someone-who-was-forced-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Age doesn't define maturity. Some people will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/age-doesn-t-define-maturity-some-people-will-never-grow-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [First time I saw online porn I clicked on 'Mature' because I thought I was adult enough to see it. Stay thirsty my friends!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-time-i-saw-online-porn-i-clicked-on-mature-because-i-thought-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Grades dont measure intelligence and age doesnt define maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grades-dont-measure-intelligence-and-age-doesnt-define-maturity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maturity is the ability to relate appropriately to other realities than one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maturity-is-the-ability-to-relate-appropriately-to-other-realities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“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/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Aging 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/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“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/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“our sole delight was play; and for this we were punished by those who yet themselves were doing the like. But elder folks' idleness is called \"business\"; that of boys, being really the same, is punished by those elders;”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-we-were-punished-by-those-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-we-were-punished-by-those-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/anonymous-1_aging_our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-w_2332160.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/anonymous-1_aging_our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-w_2332160.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e56/anonymous-1_aging_our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-w_2332160.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“our sole delight was play; and for this we were punished by those who yet themselves were doing the like…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“our sole delight was play; and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-we-were-punished-by-those-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-sole-delight-was-play-and-for-this-we-were-punished-by-those-who/#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 } } ] } ```