--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time rides with the old At a great pace…" description: "\"Time rides with the old At a great pace. As travellers on swift steeds See the near landscape fly and flow behind them, While the remoter fields and di..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace_829632.jpg" --- # Time rides with the old At a great pace. As travellers on… ![“Time rides with the old At a great pace. As travellers on swift steeds See the near landscape fly and flow behind them, While the remoter fields and dim horizons Go with them, and seem wheeling round to meet them, So in old age things near us slip away, And distant things go with us.” quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace_829632.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace_829632.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace_829632.jpg) > “Time rides with the old At a great pace. As travellers on swift steeds See the near landscape fly and flow behind them, While the remoter fields and dim horizons Go with them, and seem wheeling round to meet them, So in old age things near us slip away, And distant things go with us.” [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. A poetic reflection on aging, noting how familiar surroundings recede while distant horizons seem to accompany us, symbolizing the fleeting nature of life. **In simple terms:** Aging makes nearby things fade while far things feel closer. Key Takeaway Embrace change and cherish present moments. Themes aging transience perspective Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - life transitions - travel - memory - reflection Key Concepts philosophy poetry Questions to Reflect On - What does the poem suggest about memory? - How can we stay grounded amid change? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize aging, overlooking its hardships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horizon/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Traveller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveller/) [Wheeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheeling/) ## Related quotes > [I actually have grandkids. I'm at that age. And with all the things that go on in our country, I sometimes wonder what sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/i-actually-have-grandkids-i-m-at-that-age-and-with-all-the-things/) [Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/) > [It's nice to get to know people who are the same age as you that do the same things because it's like a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-g/it-s-nice-to-get-to-know-people-who-are-the-same-age-as-you-that-do/) [Becky G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-g/) > [“I guess after a certain age, things change and those things or people or friendships that happen in movies, just don't happen in real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-fuguet/i-guess-after-a-certain-age-things-change-and-those-things-or-people/) [Alberto Fuguet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-fuguet/) > [Twenty is a wonderful age for things to be sparked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oveta-culp-hobby/twenty-is-a-wonderful-age-for-things-to-be-sparked/) [Oveta Culp Hobby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oveta-culp-hobby/) > [It is very different when you age. The things that are significant, or what drives you, or the physical experience of being driven, changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/it-is-very-different-when-you-age-the-things-that-are-significant-or/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [When I was a kid, all I knew was that I felt more comfortable sitting in one chair than in another. And now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/when-i-was-a-kid-all-i-knew-was-that-i-felt-more-comfortable-sitting/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [“It is the curse of age, that all things are reflections of other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-is-the-curse-of-age-that-all-things-are-reflections-of-other-things/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [The things that transpired in my life, they didn't happen in the order that they're supposed to, or are ideal. Everything just kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-finau/the-things-that-transpired-in-my-life-they-didn-t-happen-in-the-order/) [Tony Finau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-finau/) > [Our age is before all things a practical one. It demands of us all clear and tangible results of our work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-svedberg/our-age-is-before-all-things-a-practical-one-it-demands-of-us-all/) Theodor Svedberg > [I don't have time to think about age. There are so many things to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-andress/i-don-t-have-time-to-think-about-age-there-are-so-many-things-to-do/) [Ursula Andress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-andress/) > [This is the year 1492. I am eighty-two years of age. The things I am going to tell you are things which I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/this-is-the-year-1492-i-am-eighty-two-years-of-age-the-things-i-am/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [By Time and Age full many things are taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/by-time-and-age-full-many-things-are-taught/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I love things that age well - things that don't date, that stand the test of time and that become living examples of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-armani/i-love-things-that-age-well-things-that-don-t-date-that-stand-the/) [Giorgio Armani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-armani/) > [“Now, how do the young prepare to meet the old? The same way the old prepare to meet the young: with a little condescension;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/now-how-do-the-young-prepare-to-meet-the-old-the-same-way-the-old/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [It is lovely to meet an old person whose face is deeply lined, a face that has been deeply inhabited, to look in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/it-is-lovely-to-meet-an-old-person-whose-face-is-deeply-lined-a-face/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) ## 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": "Time rides with the old At a great pace. As travellers on swift steeds See the near landscape fly and flow behind them, While the remoter fields and dim horizons Go with them, and seem wheeling round to meet them, So in old age things near us slip away, And distant things go with us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace-as-travellers-on-swift-steeds/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace-as-travellers-on-swift-steeds/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace_829632.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace_829632.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_age_time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace_829632.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Time rides with the old At a great pace. As travellers on swift steeds See the near landscape fly and flow…” — 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": "Time rides with the old At...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace-as-travellers-on-swift-steeds/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/time-rides-with-the-old-at-a-great-pace-as-travellers-on-swift-steeds/#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 } } ] } ```