---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is autumn; not without But within me…"
description: "\"It is autumn; not without But within me is the cold. Youth and spring are all about; It is I that have grown old.\" — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60f/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-i_1160520.jpg"
---

#  It is autumn; not without But within me is the cold. Youth…

![“It is autumn; not without But within me is the cold. Youth and spring are all about; It is I that have grown old.” quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60f/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-i_1160520.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60f/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-i_1160520.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60f/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-i_1160520.jpg)

> “It is autumn; not without But within me is the cold. Youth and spring are all about; It is I that have grown old.”

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker feels the cold of autumn within, contrasting youthful spring with aging.

**In simple terms:** Autumn brings inner cold, youth fades.

Key Takeaway

Accept aging as natural change.

Themes

aging seasonality reflection

Mood

melancholic contemplative

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- life transitions
- seasonal awareness
- mental health

Key Concepts

Existential melancholy temporal cycles

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you find warmth in later seasons?
- What does youth mean to you now?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize aging.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Autumn Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn-cold-3319893/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Cold Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-youth-3319894/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Grown Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-old/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/)

## Related quotes

> [The autumn always gets me badly, as it breaks into colours. I want to go south, where there is no autumn, where the cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-autumn-always-gets-me-badly-as-it-breaks-into-colours-i-want-to/)

[D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/)

> [Magnificent autumn! He comes not like a pilgrim, clad in russet weeds; not like a hermit, clad in gray; but like a warrior with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/magnificent-autumn-he-comes-not-like-a-pilgrim-clad-in-russet-weeds/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [There is a beautiful spirit breathing now Its mellowed richness on the clustered trees, And, from a beaker full of richest dyes, Pouring new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/there-is-a-beautiful-spirit-breathing-now-its-mellowed-richness-on/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [“He could have loved her as a man loves a woman, protected her, provided for her, given her children, grown old with her and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-could-have-loved-her-as-a-man-loves-a-woman-protected-her-provided/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [They that have grown old in a single state are generally found to be morose, fretful and captious; tenacious of their own practices and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/they-that-have-grown-old-in-a-single-state-are-generally-found-to-be/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [“You are surprised that the world is losing its grip, that the world is grown old? Think of a man: he is born, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/you-are-surprised-that-the-world-is-losing-its-grip-that-the-world-is-2/)

[Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/)

> [I've grown up, but not grown old; I hope there's a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-rudd/i-ve-grown-up-but-not-grown-old-i-hope-there-s-a-difference/)

[Phil Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-rudd/)

> [Might not most men be as well named boys grown old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/might-not-most-men-be-as-well-named-boys-grown-old/)

[Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/)

> [You don't stop cheering because you've grown old - you grow old because you've stopped cheering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/consequences/you-don-t-stop-cheering-because-you-ve-grown-old-you-grow-old-because/)

[Consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/consequences/)

> [“When we lose our spiritual child then that is when we have grown old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/when-we-lose-our-spiritual-child-then-that-is-when-we-have-grown-old/)

[Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/)

> [In childhood, death stirred me not; in middle age, it pursued me like a prowling bandit on the road; now, grown an old man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/in-childhood-death-stirred-me-not-in-middle-age-it-pursued-me-like-a/)

[Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/)

> [But wanderlust is like a pretty girl - you wake up one morning, find she's grown old and decide that either you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-leduff/but-wanderlust-is-like-a-pretty-girl-you-wake-up-one-morning-find-she/)

[Charlie LeDuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-leduff/)

> [On that first day when we look back, either happily or with remorse, to the stony ways over which we have traveled, losing concern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-reed/on-that-first-day-when-we-look-back-either-happily-or-with-remorse-to/)

[Myrtle Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myrtle-reed/)

> [Child who's grown old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/child-who-s-grown-old/)

[Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/)

> [When our memories outweigh our dreams, we have grown old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/when-our-memories-outweigh-our-dreams-we-have-grown-old/)

[Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/)

## More by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

> [The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-spring-came-suddenly-bursting-upon-the-world-as-a-child-bursts/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [In old age our bodies are worn-out instruments, on which the soul tries in vain to play the melodies of youth. But because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/in-old-age-our-bodies-are-worn-out-instruments-on-which-the-soul/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [“ Endymion The rising moon has hid the stars; Her level rays, like golden bars, Lie on the landscape green, With shadows brown between.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/endymion-the-rising-moon-has-hid-the-stars-her-level-rays-like-golden/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [There's nothing fair nor beautiful, but takes Something from thee, that makes it beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/there-s-nothing-fair-nor-beautiful-but-takes-something-from-thee-that/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/fame-comes-only-when-deserved-and-then-is-as-inevitable-as-destiny/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Nature paints not; In oils, but frescoes the great dome of heaven; With sunsets, and the lovely forms of clouds; And flying vapors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/nature-paints-not-in-oils-but-frescoes-the-great-dome-of-heaven-with/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [“  Thus dwelt together in love these simple Acadian farmers,—   Dwelt in the love of God and of man. Alike were they free from   Fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/thus-dwelt-together-in-love-these-simple-acadian-farmers-dwelt-in-the/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/heights-by-great-men-reached-and-kept-were-not-obtained-by-sudden/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [All things come round to him who will but wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/all-things-come-round-to-him-who-will-but-wait/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Ah, how skillful grows the hand That obeyeth Love's command! It is the heart, and not the brain, That to the highest doth attain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/ah-how-skillful-grows-the-hand-that-obeyeth-love-s-command-it-is-the/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Thus departed Hiawatha, Hiawatha the Beloved, In the glory of the sunset, In the purple mists of evening, To the regions of the home-wind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/thus-departed-hiawatha-hiawatha-the-beloved-in-the-glory-of-the/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Books are sepulchres of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/books-are-sepulchres-of-thought/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning - an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/morality-without-religion-is-only-a-kind-of-dead-reckoning-an/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [Buried was the bloody hatchet; Buried was the dreadful war-club; Buried were all warlike weapons, And the war-cry was forgotten. Then was peace among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/buried-was-the-bloody-hatchet-buried-was-the-dreadful-war-club-buried/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

[Explore all 755 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

## 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": "It is autumn; not without But within me is the cold. Youth and spring are all about; It is I that have grown old.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-is-the-cold-youth-and-spring/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-is-the-cold-youth-and-spring/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60f/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-i_1160520.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60f/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-i_1160520.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60f/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-i_1160520.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is autumn; not without But within me is the cold. Youth and spring are all about; It is I that have grown…” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow",
                "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": "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is autumn; not without But...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-is-the-cold-youth-and-spring/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/it-is-autumn-not-without-but-within-me-is-the-cold-youth-and-spring/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
