--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In good truth he had started in London…" description: "\"“In good truth he had started in London with some vague idea that as his life in it would not be of long continuance, the pace at which he elected to t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/charlotte-riddell-51792_aging_in-good-truth-he-had-started-in-london-w_150412.jpg" --- # In good truth he had started in London with some vague… ![“In good truth he had started in London with some vague idea that as his life in it would not be of long continuance, the pace at which he elected to travel would be of little consequence; but the years since his first entry into the Metropolis were now piled one on top of another, his youth was…” quote by Charlotte Riddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/charlotte-riddell-51792_aging_in-good-truth-he-had-started-in-london-w_150412.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/charlotte-riddell-51792_aging_in-good-truth-he-had-started-in-london-w_150412.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/charlotte-riddell-51792_aging_in-good-truth-he-had-started-in-london-w_150412.jpg) > ““In good truth he had started in London with some vague idea that as his life in it would not be of long continuance, the pace at which he elected to travel would be of little consequence; but the years since his first entry into the Metropolis were now piled one on top of another, his youth was behind him, his chances of longevity, spite of the way he had striven to injure his constitution, quite as good as ever. He had come to that period of existence, to that narrow strip of tableland, whence the ascent of youth and the descent of age are equally discernible - when, simply because he has lived for so many years, it strikes a man as possible he may have to live for just as many more, with the ability for hard work gone, with the boon companions scattered, with the capacity for enjoying convivial meetings a mere memory, with small means perhaps, with no bright hopes, with the pomp and the circumstance and the fairy carriages, and the glamour which youth flings over earthly objects, faded away like the pageant of yesterday, while the dreary ceremony of living has to be gone through today and tomorrow and the morrow after, as though the gay cavalcade and the martial music, and the glittering helmets and the prancing steeds were still accompanying the wayfarer to his journey's end. Ah! my friends, there comes a moment when we must all leave the coach with its four bright bays, its pleasant outside freight, its cheery company, its guard who blows the horn so merrily through villages and along lonely country roads. Long before we reach that final stage, where the black business claims us for its own speecial property, we have to bid goodbye to all easy, thoughtless journeying and betake ourselves, with what zest we may, to traversing the common of reality. There is no royal road across it that ever I heard of. From the king on his throne to the laborer who vaguely imagines what manner of being a king is, we have all to tramp across that desert at one period of our lives, at all events; and that period is usually when, as I have said, a man starts to find the hopes, and the strength, and the buoyancy of youth left behind, while years and years of life lie stretching out before him. The coach he has travelled by drops him here. There is no appeal, there is no help; therefore, let him take off his hat and wish the new passengers good speed without either envy or repining. Behld, he has had his turn, and let whosoever will, mount on the box-seat of life again, and tip the coachman and handle the ribbons - he shall take that journey no more, no more for ever. ("The Banshee's Warning")”” [Charlotte Riddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-riddell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A long life accumulates experiences, yet aging brings loss of vigor, companions, and hope, demanding acceptance of reality’s hardships. **In simple terms:** Aging brings loss and the to accept life’s hardships. Key Takeaway Embrace reality while seeking meaning in later years. Themes aging reflection acceptance Mood melancholic hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - elder care - legacy planning - creative pursuits - community involvement Key Concepts philosophy literature existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What gives purpose in later life? - How can society better support aging individuals? A Different Perspective Denial can hinder adaptation to aging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Coach Travelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coach-travelled-1674241/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Journey End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey-end/) [Journeying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journeying/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Middle age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-age/) [Shall Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-journey-1674240/) [Today and tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-and-tomorrow/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wayfarer Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wayfarer-journey-1674242/) [Years and years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-and-years/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-this-point-forth-we-shall-be-leaving-the-firm-foundation-of-fact/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To journey for the sake of saving our own lives is little by little to cease to live in any sense that really matters,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/to-journey-for-the-sake-of-saving-our-own-lives-is-little-by-little/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Hip-hop...has been the proverbial key that's opened the door for me to roam this breathtaking planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/hip-hop-has-been-the-proverbial-key-that-s-opened-the-door-for-me-to/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [“will you please go journeying for your own sake, till I come living a moment of life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-pokhrel/will-you-please-go-journeying-for-your-own-sake-till-i-come-living-a/) [Suman Pokhrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-pokhrel/) > [“By the time I had seen the problems from applying for workers compensation for occupational disease, I had concluded that I was journeying through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/by-the-time-i-had-seen-the-problems-from-applying-for-workers/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“God bless our journey on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/god-bless-our-journey-on-earth/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“We have all become wayfarers and travellers marching on and on …Yet,for those who can adapt themselves to this continuous journeying,there is no regret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/we-have-all-become-wayfarers-and-travellers-marching-on-and-on-yet/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [Of journeying the benefits are many: the freshness it bringeth to the heart, the seeing and hearing of marvelous things, the delight of beholding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-journeying-the-benefits-are-many-the-freshness-it-bringeth-to-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And thus ever by day and night, under the sun and under the stars, climbing the dusty hills and toiling along the weary plains,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-thus-ever-by-day-and-night-under-the-sun-and-under-the-stars/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [ “\[Readers\] are escaping from a narrow, limiting view of the world and journeying to a place where it is possible to experience a deeper… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-smith/readers-are-escaping-from-a-narrow-limiting-view-of-the-world-and/) [Duncan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-smith/) > [To journey without being changed is to be a nomad. To change without journeying is to be a chameleon. To journey and be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/to-journey-without-being-changed-is-to-be-a-nomad-to-change-without/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [Shamanic journeying is the inner art of traveling to the 'invisible worlds' beyond ordinary reality to retrieve information for change in any area of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-ingerman/shamanic-journeying-is-the-inner-art-of-traveling-to-the-invisible/) [Sandra Ingerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-ingerman/) > [“A man who has spent his primal strength in journeying in one direction has not much spirit left for reversing his course.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/a-man-who-has-spent-his-primal-strength-in-journeying-in-one/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“A difficult journey is spiritual rewarding. There is a more dependence on God, His supernatural power, grace and divine favour long the travel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/a-difficult-journey-is-spiritual-rewarding-there-is-a-more-dependence/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For Wayfarers still journeying, for Wanderers at rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/for-wayfarers-still-journeying-for-wanderers-at-rest/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) ## More by Charlotte Riddell > [If quarrelling be really the renewal of love, theirs had been renewed once a day at all events, and frequently much oftener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-riddell/if-quarrelling-be-really-the-renewal-of-love-theirs-had-been-renewed/) [Charlotte Riddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-riddell/) > [“It was a bad night to be about with such a feeling in one's heart. The rain was cold, pitiless and increasing. 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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. 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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": "“In good truth he had started in London with some vague idea that as his life in it would not be of long continuance, the pace at which he elected to travel would be of little consequence; but the years since his first entry into the Metropolis were now piled one on top of another, his youth was behind him, his chances of longevity, spite of the way he had striven to injure his constitution, quite as good as ever. He had come to that period of existence, to that narrow strip of tableland, whence the ascent of youth and the descent of age are equally discernible - when, simply because he has lived for so many years, it strikes a man as possible he may have to live for just as many more, with the ability for hard work gone, with the boon companions scattered, with the capacity for enjoying convivial meetings a mere memory, with small means perhaps, with no bright hopes, with the pomp and the circumstance and the fairy carriages, and the glamour which youth flings over earthly objects, faded away like the pageant of yesterday, while the dreary ceremony of living has to be gone through today and tomorrow and the morrow after, as though the gay cavalcade and the martial music, and the glittering helmets and the prancing steeds were still accompanying the wayfarer to his journey's end. Ah! my friends, there comes a moment when we must all leave the coach with its four bright bays, its pleasant outside freight, its cheery company, its guard who blows the horn so merrily through villages and along lonely country roads. Long before we reach that final stage, where the black business claims us for its own speecial property, we have to bid goodbye to all easy, thoughtless journeying and betake ourselves, with what zest we may, to traversing the common of reality. There is no royal road across it that ever I heard of. From the king on his throne to the laborer who vaguely imagines what manner of being a king is, we have all to tramp across that desert at one period of our lives, at all events; and that period is usually when, as I have said, a man starts to find the hopes, and the strength, and the buoyancy of youth left behind, while years and years of life lie stretching out before him. The coach he has travelled by drops him here. There is no appeal, there is no help; therefore, let him take off his hat and wish the new passengers good speed without either envy or repining. Behld, he has had his turn, and let whosoever will, mount on the box-seat of life again, and tip the coachman and handle the ribbons - he shall take that journey no more, no more for ever. 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