--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The man smiled at him a sly smile. As if…" description: "\"“The man smiled at him a sly smile. As if they knew a secret between them, these two. Something of age and youth and their claims and the justice of th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/cormac-mccarthy-181_age_the-man-smiled-at-him-a-sly-smile-as-if_1306653.jpg" --- # The man smiled at him a sly smile. As if they knew a… ![“The man smiled at him a sly smile. As if they knew a secret between them, these two. Something of age and youth and their claims and the justice of those claims. And of the claims upon them. The world past, the world to come. Their common transiencies. Above all a knowing deep in the bone that…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/cormac-mccarthy-181_age_the-man-smiled-at-him-a-sly-smile-as-if_1306653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/cormac-mccarthy-181_age_the-man-smiled-at-him-a-sly-smile-as-if_1306653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de7/cormac-mccarthy-181_age_the-man-smiled-at-him-a-sly-smile-as-if_1306653.jpg) > ““The man smiled at him a sly smile. As if they knew a secret between them, these two. Something of age and youth and their claims and the justice of those claims. And of the claims upon them. The world past, the world to come. Their common transiencies. Above all a knowing deep in the bone that beauty and loss are one.”” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on shared humanity, linking beauty and loss, and the fleeting nature of life across generations. **In simple terms:** Beauty and loss are intertwined. Key Takeaway Recognize shared fleeting humanity. Themes beauty loss transience generational ties Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - artistic creation - intergenerational dialogue - philosophical inquiry Key Concepts existential reflection human connection Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging loss shape our values? - Can beauty arise from sorrow? A Different Perspective Focusing on loss may cause despair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Age and youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-and-youth/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“A man was coming down the road driving a donkey piled high with firewood. In the distance the churchbells had begun. The man smiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/a-man-was-coming-down-the-road-driving-a-donkey-piled-high-with/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [If you don't want me to see, I guess, don't sleep in the same room as me." He looks at her with a sly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mcmann/if-you-don-t-want-me-to-see-i-guess-don-t-sleep-in-the-same-room-as/) [Lisa McMann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mcmann/) > [“She raised her arms away from her sides and looked at me. She smiled in that sly, subversive way she had—teasing, but also amused,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/she-raised-her-arms-away-from-her-sides-and-looked-at-me-she-smiled/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“Timmons, I’m a man.” He smiled in that oh-so-sexy way of his. “My brain can only handle one thought at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elyssa-patrick/timmons-i-m-a-man-he-smiled-in-that-oh-so-sexy-way-of-his-my-brain/) [Elyssa Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elyssa-patrick/) > [“Why do you love me so much, you stupid man?” He smiled down at her. “Because I met you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/why-do-you-love-me-so-much-you-stupid-man-he-smiled-down-at-her/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [“The old man smiled. 'I shall not die of a cold, my son. I shall die of having lived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-old-man-smiled-i-shall-not-die-of-a-cold-my-son-i-shall-die-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“The world loved man when he smiled. The world became afraid of him when he laughed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-world-loved-man-when-he-smiled-the-world-became-afraid-of-him/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Touch me." He instructed as he lifted her hands and placed them on his chest, "See, I am just Alfonzo. I'm human, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-w-frank/touch-me-he-instructed-as-he-lifted-her-hands-and-placed-them-on-his/) [S.W. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-w-frank/) > [“Sonya gave him a sly smile. "And here I thought you had a soft spot for reckless young girls." "Rose never would have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/sonya-gave-him-a-sly-smile-and-here-i-thought-you-had-a-soft-spot-for/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“ First of all," he said, with a sly smile, "we have to kill you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-shan/first-of-all-he-said-with-a-sly-smile-we-have-to-kill-you/) [Darren Shan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-shan/) > [“Yeah.” He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” And then he looked at me and the corner of his mouth pulled up into a sly smile.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-l-johnson/yeah-he-rolled-his-eyes-whatever-and-then-he-looked-at-me-and-the/) [Amber L. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-l-johnson/) > [“She has a sly smile, and eyes that seem to see my essence as they explore my soul and implore my spirit to enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/she-has-a-sly-smile-and-eyes-that-seem-to-see-my-essence-as-they/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Henry looked from Ling to Alma and back again. His mouth slid into a sly smile. “Oh my.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/henry-looked-from-ling-to-alma-and-back-again-his-mouth-slid-into-a/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“Was that a sly smile of the initiate, or a dumb smile of bluffing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/was-that-a-sly-smile-of-the-initiate-or-a-dumb-smile-of-bluffing/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“Drugs to me have always been a pretty girl with a sly smile beckoning me with a finger down the dark path of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/drugs-to-me-have-always-been-a-pretty-girl-with-a-sly-smile-beckoning/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## 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? 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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": "“The man smiled at him a sly smile. As if they knew a secret between them, these two. Something of age and youth and their claims and the justice of those claims. And of the claims upon them. The world past, the world to come. Their common transiencies. 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