--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had not expected him to be in the least…" description: "\"“I had not expected him to be in the least senile, but the sharpness of his manner may have been amplified by some apprehension, shared by myself, that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/anthony-powell-2659_quote_i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-leas_1840430.jpg" --- # I had not expected him to be in the least senile, but the… ![“I had not expected him to be in the least senile, but the sharpness of his manner may have been amplified by some apprehension, shared by myself, that changes must have taken place in both of us during the last twenty years, which could prove mutually disenchanting.” quote by Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/anthony-powell-2659_quote_i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-leas_1840430.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/anthony-powell-2659_quote_i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-leas_1840430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/anthony-powell-2659_quote_i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-leas_1840430.jpg) > ““I had not expected him to be in the least senile, but the sharpness of his manner may have been amplified by some apprehension, shared by myself, that changes must have taken place in both of us during the last twenty years, which could prove mutually disenchanting.”” [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unexpected aging and mutual disappointment can arise when expectations clash over time. **In simple terms:** Aging changes relationships. Key Takeaway Accept change and communicate. Themes aging expectations disappointment Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - long‑term friendships - family ties - career mentorship Key Concepts psychology relationships time perception Questions to Reflect On - What expectations have you revised? - How can you mitigate disappointment? A Different Perspective Assumes mutual disenchantment is inevitable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He types his labored column - weary drudge! Senile fudge and solemn: spare, editor, to condemn these dry leaves of his autumn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/he-types-his-labored-column-weary-drudge-senile-fudge-and-solemn/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus pornography, for example. There are a lot of feminists who think it is bad, but others think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/things-are-much-more-complicated-feminism-versus-pornography-for/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [What the object of senile avarice may be I cannot conceive. For can there be anything more absurd than to seek more journey money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/what-the-object-of-senile-avarice-may-be-i-cannot-conceive-for-can/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [You can keep your memory intact, preserve your brain's health, and minimize the risk of aging and senile dementia, things that are greatly feared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/you-can-keep-your-memory-intact-preserve-your-brain-s-health-and/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“the houses all seemed a little senile, with arthritic hinges and window screens hanging at embarrassing angles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-houses-all-seemed-a-little-senile-with-arthritic-hinges-and/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [At twenty, a man feels awfully aged and blasé; at thirty, almost senile; at forty, "not so old"; and at fifty, positively skittish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/at-twenty-a-man-feels-awfully-aged-and-blas-at-thirty-almost-senile/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [Your wrinkles either show that you're nasty, cranky, and senile, or that you're always smiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-santana/your-wrinkles-either-show-that-you-re-nasty-cranky-and-senile-or-that/) [Carlos Santana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-santana/) > [The vitality of thought is in adventure. Idea's won't keep. Something must be done about them. When the idea is new, its custodians have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-vitality-of-thought-is-in-adventure-idea-s-won-t-keep-something/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“Ex ‘Fleet man?” “He was a full Commander, last I heard, sir.” “Interesting.” Falconer commented. “Get me his specs. 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Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Only art is capable of dismantling the repressive effects of a senile social system that continues to totter along the deathline: to dismantle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-beuys/only-art-is-capable-of-dismantling-the-repressive-effects-of-a-senile/) [Joseph Beuys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-beuys/) > [When you become senile, you won't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/when-you-become-senile-you-won-t-know-it/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [When I was young I was called a rugged individualist. When I was in my fifties I was considered eccentric. Here I am doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/when-i-was-young-i-was-called-a-rugged-individualist-when-i-was-in-my/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) ## More by Anthony Powell > [I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-was-impressed-for-the-ten-thousandth-time-by-the-fact-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Like everything that's any good, it has about twenty different meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/like-everything-that-s-any-good-it-has-about-twenty-different-meanings/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I have absolutely no histrionic talent, none at all, a constitutional handicap in almost all undertakings of life;but then, after all, plenty of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-have-absolutely-no-histrionic-talent-none-at-all-a-constitutional/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“The crematorium was a blaze of sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-crematorium-was-a-blaze-of-sunshine/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't fulfil the promise of their early years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/parents-are-sometimes-a-bit-of-a-disappointment-to-their-children/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Her expression was oafish, but it was on the whole this quality that gave her face a certain retentive efficacy. She had the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/her-expression-was-oafish-but-it-was-on-the-whole-this-quality-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Enormous simplifications were possibly necessary to carry a deeper truth than lay on the surface of a mass of unsorted detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/enormous-simplifications-were-possibly-necessary-to-carry-a-deeper/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I hate anything superficial. But I will take the book and look at it, and tell you what I think of the writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-hate-anything-superficial-but-i-will-take-the-book-and-look-at-it/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“It is rather an occasion, darling,’ said Moreland, vexed at these objections. ‘After all, I am noted among composers for the smallness of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/it-is-rather-an-occasion-darling-said-moreland-vexed-at-these/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Dinner at the Huntercombes possessed only two dramatic features: the wine was a farce and the food a tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/dinner-at-the-huntercombes-possessed-only-two-dramatic-features-the/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Even then I did not recognise the quest for power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/even-then-i-did-not-recognise-the-quest-for-power/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Some of the best of us are quite unambitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/some-of-the-best-of-us-are-quite-unambitious/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/one-passes-through-the-world-knowing-few-if-any-of-the-important/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“He stood pondering this flat, forthright declaration of anti-simianism on Miss Weedon’s part. The notion that some people might not like monkeys was evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-stood-pondering-this-flat-forthright-declaration-of-anti-simianism/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) [Explore all 156 Anthony Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More Senile quotes > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you become senile, you won't know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/when-you-become-senile-you-won-t-know-it/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Only art is capable of dismantling the repressive effects of a senile social system that continues to totter along the deathline: to dismantle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-beuys/only-art-is-capable-of-dismantling-the-repressive-effects-of-a-senile/) [Joseph Beuys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-beuys/) > [Autumn is the very soul of metamorphosis, a time when the world is poised at the door of winter - which is the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/autumn-is-the-very-soul-of-metamorphosis-a-time-when-the-world-is/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Anyone who claimed that old age had brought them patience was either lying or senile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/anyone-who-claimed-that-old-age-had-brought-them-patience-was-either/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“Ex ‘Fleet man?” “He was a full Commander, last I heard, sir.” “Interesting.” Falconer commented. “Get me his specs. If I have to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/ex-fleet-man-he-was-a-full-commander-last-i-heard-sir-interesting/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [The vitality of thought is in adventure. Idea's won't keep. Something must be done about them. When the idea is new, its custodians have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-vitality-of-thought-is-in-adventure-idea-s-won-t-keep-something/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Your wrinkles either show that you're nasty, cranky, and senile, or that you're always smiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-santana/your-wrinkles-either-show-that-you-re-nasty-cranky-and-senile-or-that/) [Carlos Santana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-santana/) > [At twenty, a man feels awfully aged and blasé; at thirty, almost senile; at forty, "not so old"; and at fifty, positively skittish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/at-twenty-a-man-feels-awfully-aged-and-blas-at-thirty-almost-senile/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [“the houses all seemed a little senile, with arthritic hinges and window screens hanging at embarrassing angles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-houses-all-seemed-a-little-senile-with-arthritic-hinges-and/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [You can keep your memory intact, preserve your brain's health, and minimize the risk of aging and senile dementia, things that are greatly feared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/you-can-keep-your-memory-intact-preserve-your-brain-s-health-and/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [What the object of senile avarice may be I cannot conceive. For can there be anything more absurd than to seek more journey money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/what-the-object-of-senile-avarice-may-be-i-cannot-conceive-for-can/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Things are much more complicated. Feminism versus pornography, for example. There are a lot of feminists who think it is bad, but others think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/things-are-much-more-complicated-feminism-versus-pornography-for/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [He types his labored column - weary drudge! Senile fudge and solemn: spare, editor, to condemn these dry leaves of his autumn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/he-types-his-labored-column-weary-drudge-senile-fudge-and-solemn/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [When I was young I was called a rugged individualist. When I was in my fifties I was considered eccentric. Here I am doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/when-i-was-young-i-was-called-a-rugged-individualist-when-i-was-in-my/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) Browse all 44 Senile quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I had not expected him to be in the least senile, but the sharpness of his manner may have been amplified by some apprehension, shared by myself, that changes must have taken place in both of us during the last twenty years, which could prove mutually disenchanting.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Powell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-least-senile-but-the-sharpness-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Senile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-least-senile-but-the-sharpness-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/anthony-powell-2659_quote_i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-leas_1840430.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/anthony-powell-2659_quote_i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-leas_1840430.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/anthony-powell-2659_quote_i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-leas_1840430.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had not expected him to be in the least senile, but the sharpness of his manner may have been amplified by…” — Anthony Powell", "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": "Anthony Powell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I had not expected him to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-least-senile-but-the-sharpness-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-had-not-expected-him-to-be-in-the-least-senile-but-the-sharpness-of/#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 } } ] } ```