--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man's liberal and conservative phases…" description: "\"A man's liberal and conservative phases seem to follow each other in a succession of waves from the time he is born. Children are radicals. Youths are ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/e-b-white-1448_age_a-man-s-liberal-and-conservative-phases_3169224.png" --- # A man's liberal and conservative phases seem to follow… ![“A man's liberal and conservative phases seem to follow each other in a succession of waves from the time he is born. Children are radicals. Youths are conservatives, with a dash of criminal negligence. Men in their prime are liberals (as long as their digestion keeps pace with their intellect)…” quote by E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/e-b-white-1448_age_a-man-s-liberal-and-conservative-phases_3169224.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/e-b-white-1448_age_a-man-s-liberal-and-conservative-phases_3169224.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/e-b-white-1448_age_a-man-s-liberal-and-conservative-phases_3169224.png) > “A man's liberal and conservative phases seem to follow each other in a succession of waves from the time he is born. Children are radicals. Youths are conservatives, with a dash of criminal negligence. Men in their prime are liberals (as long as their digestion keeps pace with their intellect). The middle aged run to shelter: they insure their life, draft a will, accumulate mementos and occasional tables, and hope for security. And then comes old age, which repeats childhood - a time full of humors and sadness, but often full of courage and even prophecy.” [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human attitudes shift predictably through life, reflecting age‑related priorities and behaviors. **In simple terms:** Life phases change attitudes. Key Takeaway Adapt expectations with age. Themes psychology aging social change Mood reflective analytical Type sociological psychological When to use this quote - career planning - parenting - retirement counseling - personal reflection Key Concepts life cycle theory behavioral shifts Questions to Reflect On - How do personal experiences alter typical life phases? - What societal factors influence these shifts? A Different Perspective Individual variation can break patterns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Conservatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatives/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Digestion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digestion/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Liberal Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-conservative/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Memento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memento/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-aged/) [Middle ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-ages/) [Negligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negligence/) [Occasional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasional/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Pace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pace/) [Phases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phases/) [Prime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prime/) [Prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophecy/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) [Repeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repeats/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelter/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Succession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succession/) [Tables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tables/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wave/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) [Youths Conservatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youths-conservatives-5761873/) ## Related quotes > [I reject the idea there are just two sides. I think that with the amount of ideas and thoughts there are, it's not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-reject-the-idea-there-are-just-two-sides-i-think-that-with-the/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [ One of the sad things about this political season is that it allows \[requires\] us to get behind our big "Liberal" or "Conservative" banner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/one-of-the-sad-things-about-this-political-season-is-that-it-allows/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [A liberal is a conservative whose conscience is on display](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-gioia/a-liberal-is-a-conservative-whose-conscience-is-on-display/) [Jerome Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-gioia/) > [A liberal conservative is a man who thinks things ought to progress but would rather they remained as they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/a-liberal-conservative-is-a-man-who-thinks-things-ought-to-progress/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [I don't have time to put up with the politics. Who's a Democrat? Who's a Republican? Who's liberal? Who's conservative? Man, can my daughter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/i-don-t-have-time-to-put-up-with-the-politics-who-s-a-democrat-who-s/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [The African-American community is not monolithic. It's liberal and conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-grier/the-african-american-community-is-not-monolithic-it-s-liberal-and/) [Pam Grier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-grier/) > [Sometimes he even embarrassed the company by phrases suggesting that there was some difference between a Liberal and a Conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-he-even-embarrassed-the-company-by-phrases-suggesting-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Investment in early education is not a Liberal or Conservative idea. Nor should it be decided along party lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/investment-in-early-education-is-not-a-liberal-or-conservative-idea/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [“It's not about being liberal or conservative, it's about being human. It's not about being rich or poor, it's about being alive and happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-l-syed/it-s-not-about-being-liberal-or-conservative-it-s-about-being-human/) [Karen L. Syed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-l-syed/) > [We don't see ourselves as liberal or conservative. We consider ourselves an outlet that addresses the issues that matter the most to our audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-welteroth/we-don-t-see-ourselves-as-liberal-or-conservative-we-consider/) [Elaine Welteroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-welteroth/) > [Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, whether you are a liberal or a conservative, we know that neither this President nor prior Presidents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whether-you-are-a-democrat-or-republican-whether-you-are-a-liberal-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't know how you make a record on liberal and conservative these days. We've had a conservative Republican Congress, so to speak, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-nunn/i-don-t-know-how-you-make-a-record-on-liberal-and-conservative-these/) [Sam Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-nunn/) > [I find labels "liberal" and "conservative" of little meaning. Our language has become perverted along with the thoughts of many of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-find-labels-liberal-and-conservative-of-little-meaning-our-language/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [The fossil fuel industry has made advocating alternative energy sources a liberal/conservative thing, and an ideological battle, when it should really be about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-densmore/the-fossil-fuel-industry-has-made-advocating-alternative-energy/) [John Densmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-densmore/) > [People ask me if I'm liberal or conservative. I say neither - I'm pragmatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sestak/people-ask-me-if-i-m-liberal-or-conservative-i-say-neither-i-m/) [Joe Sestak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sestak/) ## More by E. B. White > [Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/writing-is-an-act-of-faith-not-a-trick-of-grammar/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [“To hear, in the short space of one week, a Scottish terrier booed by an audience and President Roosevelt criticized by Charles Lindbergh was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/to-hear-in-the-short-space-of-one-week-a-scottish-terrier-booed-by-an/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The sea answers all questions, and always in the same way; for when you read in the papers the interminable discussions and the bickering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-sea-answers-all-questions-and-always-in-the-same-way-for-when-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation; and better than most dense communities it succeeds in insulating the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/new-york-blends-the-gift-of-privacy-with-the-excitement-of/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The terror of the atom age is not the violence of the new power but the speed of man's adjustment to it, the speed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-terror-of-the-atom-age-is-not-the-violence-of-the-new-power-but/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [When my wife's Aunt Caroline was in her nineties, she lived with us, and she once remarked: 'Remembrance is sufficient of the beauty we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/when-my-wife-s-aunt-caroline-was-in-her-nineties-she-lived-with-us/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/sailors-have-an-expression-about-the-weather-they-say-the-weather-is/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/anyone-who-writes-down-to-children-is-simply-wasting-his-time-you/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. ... A writer has the duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-writer-should-concern-himself-with-whatever-absorbs-his-fancy-stirs/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/every-morning-i-awake-torn-between-a-desire-to-save-the-world-and-an/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [I seldom went to bed before two or three o'clock in the morning, on the theory that if anything of interest were to happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/i-seldom-went-to-bed-before-two-or-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-on/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Necessity first mothered invention. Now invention has little ones of her own, and they look just like grandma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/necessity-first-mothered-invention-now-invention-has-little-ones-of/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The bonus is really one of the great give-aways in business enterprise. It is the annual salve applied to the conscience of the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-bonus-is-really-one-of-the-great-give-aways-in-business/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [There's no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/there-s-no-limit-to-how-complicated-things-can-get-on-account-of-one/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The critic leaves at curtain fall To find, in starting to review it, He scarcely saw the play at all For starting to review…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-critic-leaves-at-curtain-fall-to-find-in-starting-to-review-it-he/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) [Explore all 240 E. B. White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) ## 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? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. 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": "A man's liberal and conservative phases seem to follow each other in a succession of waves from the time he is born. Children are radicals. Youths are conservatives, with a dash of criminal negligence. Men in their prime are liberals (as long as their digestion keeps pace with their intellect). The middle aged run to shelter: they insure their life, draft a will, accumulate mementos and occasional tables, and hope for security. And then comes old age, which repeats childhood - a time full of humors and sadness, but often full of courage and even prophecy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. B. 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