--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But when alone--really alone--everyone is…" description: "\"“But when alone--really alone--everyone is a child: or no one?' Youth and age touch only the surface of our lives.”\" — C.S. Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/c-s-lewis-121_children_but-when-alone-really-alone-everyone-is_1305186.jpg" --- # But when alone--really alone--everyone is a child: or no… ![“But when alone--really alone--everyone is a child: or no one?' Youth and age touch only the surface of our lives.” quote by C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/c-s-lewis-121_children_but-when-alone-really-alone-everyone-is_1305186.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/c-s-lewis-121_children_but-when-alone-really-alone-everyone-is_1305186.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/c-s-lewis-121_children_but-when-alone-really-alone-everyone-is_1305186.jpg) > ““But when alone--really alone--everyone is a child: or no one?' Youth and age touch only the surface of our lives.”” [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When truly alone, everyone reverts to a childlike state, suggesting age and youth only skim life's deeper layers. **In simple terms:** Alone, we become childlike; age is surface. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and inner child. Themes loneliness human nature innocence existential philosophy Mood contemplative philosophical introspective Type reflective thought‑provoking When to use this quote - solitude - personal crisis - midlife reflection - spiritual seeking Key Concepts psychology spirituality identity growth Questions to Reflect On - What does being "a child" truly mean? - How can we find depth beyond surface experiences? A Different Perspective Alone moments can also be isolating, not just childlike. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Youth and age touch only the surface of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/youth-and-age-touch-only-the-surface-of-our-lives/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The aim of education is to develop resources in the child that will contribute to his well-being as long as life endures; to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/the-aim-of-education-is-to-develop-resources-in-the-child-that-will/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [I was never really a child actor. I was working sporadically in indie films in Pennsylvania, but I was still living at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-mcdermott/i-was-never-really-a-child-actor-i-was-working-sporadically-in-indie/) Charlie McDermott > [It's quite a job, so to speak, when you can really be with your child for 21 out of 24 hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-macmaster/it-s-quite-a-job-so-to-speak-when-you-can-really-be-with-your-child/) [Natalie MacMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-macmaster/) > [Youth is not an age thing. It's a quality. Once you've had it, you never lose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/youth-is-not-an-age-thing-it-s-a-quality-once-you-ve-had-it-you-never/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Youth has no age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/youth-has-no-age/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Youth is the age of despairs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/youth-is-the-age-of-despairs/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [in the United States ... given the cult of eternal youth, age is ignored unless it can be sentimentalized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/in-the-united-states-given-the-cult-of-eternal-youth-age-is-ignored/) [Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/) > [You've heard of the three ages of man - youth, age, and you are looking wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ve-heard-of-the-three-ages-of-man-youth-age-and-you-are-looking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Age is a state of mind. Youth and age exist only among the ordinary people. All the more talented and exceptional of us; are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/age-is-a-state-of-mind-youth-and-age-exist-only-among-the-ordinary/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [One thing only has been lent to youth and age in common--discontent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/one-thing-only-has-been-lent-to-youth-and-age-in-common-discontent/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [In clothes clean and fresh there is a kind of youth with which age should surround itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/in-clothes-clean-and-fresh-there-is-a-kind-of-youth-with-which-age/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Experience is a revelation in the light of which we renounce our errors of youth for those of age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/experience-is-a-revelation-in-the-light-of-which-we-renounce-our/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The age doesn't really matter to me as it seems to matter to other people. A lot of people think that youth or age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/the-age-doesn-t-really-matter-to-me-as-it-seems-to-matter-to-other/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I am beginning to understand the true difference between youth and age. Young people have time to make plans and think of new ideas.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/i-am-beginning-to-understand-the-true-difference-between-youth-and/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) ## More by C.S. Lewis > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. 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