--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Middle age snuffs out more talent than…" description: "\"Middle age snuffs out more talent than even wars or sudden death.\" — Gerald Brenan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/gerald-brenan-19175_age_middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-e_2811763.png" --- # Middle age snuffs out more talent than even wars or sudden… ![“Middle age snuffs out more talent than even wars or sudden death.” quote by Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/gerald-brenan-19175_age_middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-e_2811763.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/gerald-brenan-19175_age_middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-e_2811763.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/gerald-brenan-19175_age_middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-e_2811763.png) > “Middle age snuffs out more talent than even wars or sudden death.” [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Middle age often suppresses creative energy more than war or sudden death, as responsibilities and complacency take hold. **In simple terms:** Middle age can stifle talent more than conflict. Key Takeaway Seek creative outlets despite age. Themes aging creativity societal pressure Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career transitions - hobby pursuits - midlife crises - retirement planning Key Concepts psychology life stages cultural expectations Questions to Reflect On - How can you reignite creativity later in life? - What habits protect artistic drive? A Different Perspective Not all middle‑aged individuals lose talent; some thrive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Middle age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-age/) [Middle ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-ages/) [Sudden death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sudden-death/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Middle age snuffs out more talent than even wars or sudden death does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-even-wars-or-sudden-death-does/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Middle age snuffs out more talent than ever wars or sudden deaths do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hughes/middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-ever-wars-or-sudden-deaths-do/) [Richard Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hughes/) > [Scheduling flexibility is the single greatest non-financial tool -- and the number-one dream-job factor -- at your disposal for winning battles in the talent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-tulgan/scheduling-flexibility-is-the-single-greatest-non-financial-tool-and/) [Bruce Tulgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-tulgan/) > [“Like the he-man movie stars who turn out to be queer . . . or the silent-film actors whose voices sound terrible recorded--the audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/like-the-he-man-movie-stars-who-turn-out-to-be-queer-or-the-silent/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Take a pinch of snuff, doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over you in your example.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-arthur-conan-doyle/take-a-pinch-of-snuff-doctor-and-acknowledge-that-i-have-scored-over/) [Sir Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Hazel always used to say There's not enough darkness in the entire universe to snuff out the light of just one little candle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/hazel-always-used-to-say-there-s-not-enough-darkness-in-the-entire/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [Democracy cannot breathe, indeed will die, if those enjoined to protect it and uphold the laws snuff it out - with no consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/democracy-cannot-breathe-indeed-will-die-if-those-enjoined-to-protect/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [Not half as much as I’d miss me if you killed me. (He blinked like a girl and leaned against Ash’s shoulder.) Please don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/not-half-as-much-as-i-d-miss-me-if-you-killed-me-he-blinked-like-a/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [What a vast Traffick is drove, what a variety of Labour is performed in the World to the Maintenance of Thousands of Families that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-de-mandeville/what-a-vast-traffick-is-drove-what-a-variety-of-labour-is-performed/) [Bernard de Mandeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-de-mandeville/) > [“If they can snuff out that part of you that's good, the part of you that won't kill, then they win, don't you see?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/if-they-can-snuff-out-that-part-of-you-that-s-good-the-part-of-you/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [Burn not thy fingers to snuff another man's candle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/burn-not-thy-fingers-to-snuff-another-man-s-candle/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The problem with literature, with writing, is that it works sometimes in terms of correction of social ills. Other times, it just does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-problem-with-literature-with-writing-is-that-it-works-sometimes/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I wouldn't support Limp Bizkit being on some snuff backyard brawling, fighting contest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/i-wouldn-t-support-limp-bizkit-being-on-some-snuff-backyard-brawling/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [While we welcome people of all faiths in America we cannot be so naive as to expect all countries to do the same. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-huffington/while-we-welcome-people-of-all-faiths-in-america-we-cannot-be-so/) [Michael Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-huffington/) ## More by Gerald Brenan > [“It is by sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/it-is-by-sitting-down-to-write-every-morning-that-one-becomes-a-writer/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Every writer and artist wonders what in the world people of other professions can find to live for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/every-writer-and-artist-wonders-what-in-the-world-people-of-other/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Words are as recalcitrant as circus animals, and the unskilled trainer can crack his whip at them in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/words-are-as-recalcitrant-as-circus-animals-and-the-unskilled-trainer/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [We are closer to the ants than to the butterflies. Very few people can endure much leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-are-closer-to-the-ants-than-to-the-butterflies-very-few-people-can/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [In a happy marriage it is the wife who provides the climate, the husband the landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/in-a-happy-marriage-it-is-the-wife-who-provides-the-climate-the/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Miller is not really a writer but a non-stop talker to whom someone has given a typewriter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/miller-is-not-really-a-writer-but-a-non-stop-talker-to-whom-someone/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [One road to happiness is to cultivate curiosity about everything. 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When it reads well it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/when-i-write-a-page-that-reads-badly-i-know-that-it-is-myself-who-has/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [A bad memory is the mother of invention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/a-bad-memory-is-the-mother-of-invention/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [We should all live as if we were never going to die, for it is the deaths of our friends that hurt us, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-should-all-live-as-if-we-were-never-going-to-die-for-it-is-the/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [We soon cease to feel the grief at the deaths of our friends, yet we continue to the end of our lives to miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-soon-cease-to-feel-the-grief-at-the-deaths-of-our-friends-yet-we/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [We confess our bad qualities to others out of fear of appearing naive or ridiculous by not being aware of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/we-confess-our-bad-qualities-to-others-out-of-fear-of-appearing-naive/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Wisdom is keeping a sense of fallibility of all our views and opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/wisdom-is-keeping-a-sense-of-fallibility-of-all-our-views-and-opinions/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [One of the marks of a great poet is that he creates his own family of words and teaches them to live together in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/one-of-the-marks-of-a-great-poet-is-that-he-creates-his-own-family-of/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) [Explore all 33 Gerald Brenan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) ## 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": "Middle age snuffs out more talent than even wars or sudden death.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gerald Brenan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-even-wars-or-sudden-death/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-even-wars-or-sudden-death/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/gerald-brenan-19175_age_middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-e_2811763.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/gerald-brenan-19175_age_middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-e_2811763.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/914/gerald-brenan-19175_age_middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-e_2811763.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Middle age snuffs out more talent than even wars or sudden death.” — Gerald Brenan", "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": "Gerald Brenan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Middle age snuffs out more talent...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-even-wars-or-sudden-death/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/middle-age-snuffs-out-more-talent-than-even-wars-or-sudden-death/#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 } } ] } ```