--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 1913, when Anthony Patch was…" description: "\"“In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at least, d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_age_in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-fi_3109030.jpg" --- # In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years… ![“In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at least, descended upon him. Irony was the final polish of the shoe, the ultimate dab of the clothes-brush, a sort of intellectual «There!» yet at the brink…” quote by F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_age_in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-fi_3109030.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_age_in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-fi_3109030.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_age_in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-fi_3109030.jpg) > ““In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at least, descended upon him. Irony was the final polish of the shoe, the ultimate dab of the clothes-brush, a sort of intellectual «There!» yet at the brink of this story he has as yet gone no further than the conscious stage. As you first see him he wonders frequently whether he is not without honor and slightly mad, a shameful and obscene thinness glistening on the surface of the world like oil on a clean pond, these occasions being varied, of course, with those in which he thinks himself rather an exceptional young man, thoroughly sophisticated, well adjusted to his environment, and somewhat more significant than any one else he knows.”” [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on youthful arrogance, self‑importance, and the thin veneer of honor that masks deeper insecurity. **In simple terms:** Youthful arrogance hides insecurity. Key Takeaway Recognize and temper ego. Themes ego identity illusion arrogance Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career ambition - personal relationships - self‑assessment - creative endeavors Key Concepts existentialism self‑perception social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑image shape your actions? - When do you mask insecurity with confidence? A Different Perspective The narrative may over‑emphasize internal conflict, neglecting external factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Anthony Patch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthony-patch-4711040/) [Descended Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/descended-irony-4711041/) [Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitzgerald/) [Gone Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-irony-4711038/) [Holy ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-ghost/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Irony Final](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony-final-2809308/) [Irony Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony-holy-4711039/) [Shallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shallow/) [Superficial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superficial/) [Two years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-years/) [Young man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/) ## Related quotes > [“In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-five-two-years-were-already/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Faith is a luxury for those who are able to ignore what the rest of us must see every day. Pessimism, distrust, and irony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brando-skyhorse/faith-is-a-luxury-for-those-who-are-able-to-ignore-what-the-rest-of/) [Brando Skyhorse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brando-skyhorse/) > [“Irony was the final polish of the shoe, the ultimate dab of the clothes-brush, a sort of intellectual "There!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/irony-was-the-final-polish-of-the-shoe-the-ultimate-dab-of-the/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“This was his healthy state and it made him cheerful, pleasant, and very attractive to intelligent men and to all women. In this state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/this-was-his-healthy-state-and-it-made-him-cheerful-pleasant-and-very/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I love her and that's the beginning of everything. - F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-love-her-and-that-s-the-beginning-of-everything-f-scott-fitzgerald/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [Fitzgerald never got rid of anything; the ghosts of his adolescence, the failures of his youth, the doubts of his maturity plagued him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aldridge/fitzgerald-never-got-rid-of-anything-the-ghosts-of-his-adolescence/) [John Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aldridge/) > [I have struggled for decades now with the fear of and resistance to change - mostly in the realms of technology, transportation, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/i-have-struggled-for-decades-now-with-the-fear-of-and-resistance-to/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [I definitely grew up to Nina Simone and a lot of Ella Fitzgerald. And I loved Amy Winehouse. I loved that sort of soulful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gugu-mbatha-raw/i-definitely-grew-up-to-nina-simone-and-a-lot-of-ella-fitzgerald-and/) [Gugu Mbatha-Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gugu-mbatha-raw/) > [I'd like to do Nicole Diver in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'Tender Is the Night,' if that ever gets made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamund-pike/i-d-like-to-do-nicole-diver-in-f-scott-fitzgerald-s-tender-is-the/) [Rosamund Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamund-pike/) > [Ultimately, I'd say a lot of my vocal influences are jazz-based, people like Ella Fitzgerald, or Fred Astaire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ward/ultimately-i-d-say-a-lot-of-my-vocal-influences-are-jazz-based-people/) [Bill Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ward/) > [“no girl can permanently bolster up a lame-duck visitor, because these day it's every girl for herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/no-girl-can-permanently-bolster-up-a-lame-duck-visitor-because-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I've studied a lot of different players throughout the years. One of the ones that I think I've pulled a lot of his stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cooper-kupp/i-ve-studied-a-lot-of-different-players-throughout-the-years-one-of/) [Cooper Kupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cooper-kupp/) > [I didn't really grow up on hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald and the old school jazz divas are more my comfort zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gugu-mbatha-raw/i-didn-t-really-grow-up-on-hip-hop-ella-fitzgerald-and-the-old-school/) [Gugu Mbatha-Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gugu-mbatha-raw/) > [“Fitzgerald's work was almost entirely out of print when 'The Lost Weekend' was published in 1944—even 'Gatsby' seemed well on its way to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/fitzgerald-s-work-was-almost-entirely-out-of-print-when-the-lost/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [“Do you read them? Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald?" "Only if I have to. I try to avoid old dead white men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/do-you-read-them-faulkner-hemingway-fitzgerald-only-if-i-have-to-i/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) ## More by F Scott Fitzgerald > [“I had a woman up here last week to look at my feet, and when she gave me the bill you'd of thought she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-had-a-woman-up-here-last-week-to-look-at-my-feet-and-when-she-gave/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“Whenever you feel like criticising any one, just remember that all of the people in the world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/whenever-you-feel-like-criticising-any-one-just-remember-that-all-of/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [Writers aren't exactly people...they're a whole lot of people trying to be one person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/writers-aren-t-exactly-people-they-re-a-whole-lot-of-people-trying-to/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“I'm paralyzed with happiness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-m-paralyzed-with-happiness/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [I love her and that´s the beginning of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-love-her-and-that-s-the-beginning-of-everything/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“He was wondering at the unreality of ideas, at the fading radiance of existence, and at the little absorptions that were creeping avidly into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/he-was-wondering-at-the-unreality-of-ideas-at-the-fading-radiance-of/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmaster of ever afterwards.An author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/an-author-ought-to-write-for-the-youth-of-his-own-generation-the/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“the room had grown smothery. He wanted to be out in some cool and bitter breeze, miles above the cities, and to live serene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/the-room-had-grown-smothery-he-wanted-to-be-out-in-some-cool-and/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“Man kan inte återskapa sitt förflutna (s. 117).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/man-kan-inte-terskapa-sitt-f-rflutna-s-117/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [I love her and that's the beginning of everything. - F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-love-her-and-that-s-the-beginning-of-everything-f-scott-fitzgerald/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“this midnight my desire will see, shadowed among the embers, furled in flame, the splendor and the sadness of the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/this-midnight-my-desire-will-see-shadowed-among-the-embers-furled-in/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go by any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/family-quarrels-are-bitter-things-they-don-t-go-by-any-rules-they-re/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [And in the end, we're all just humans, drunk on the idea that love - only love - could heal our brokenness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/and-in-the-end-we-re-all-just-humans-drunk-on-the-idea-that-love-only/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the “creative temperament”—it was an extraordinary gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/this-responsiveness-had-nothing-to-do-with-that-flabby/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“The soft rush of taxis by him, and laughter, laughters hoarse as a crow's, incessant and loud, with the rumble of the subways underneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/the-soft-rush-of-taxis-by-him-and-laughter-laughters-hoarse-as-a-crow/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) [Explore all 45 F Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) ## 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": "“In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at least, descended upon him. Irony was the final polish of the shoe, the ultimate dab of the clothes-brush, a sort of intellectual «There!» yet at the brink of this story he has as yet gone no further than the conscious stage. As you first see him he wonders frequently whether he is not without honor and slightly mad, a shameful and obscene thinness glistening on the surface of the world like oil on a clean pond, these occasions being varied, of course, with those in which he thinks himself rather an exceptional young man, thoroughly sophisticated, well adjusted to his environment, and somewhat more significant than any one else he knows.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "F Scott Fitzgerald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-five-two-years-were-already-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-five-two-years-were-already-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_age_in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-fi_3109030.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_age_in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-fi_3109030.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e8/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_age_in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-fi_3109030.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this…” — F Scott Fitzgerald", "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": "F Scott Fitzgerald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In 1913, when Anthony Patch was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-five-two-years-were-already-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/in-1913-when-anthony-patch-was-twenty-five-two-years-were-already-2/#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 } } ] } ```