--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Old age is wasted on the elderly: the…" description: "\"Old age is wasted on the elderly: the young know what to do with it-insist on something different.\" — Herbert Gold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/herbert-gold-30296_age_old-age-is-wasted-on-the-elderly-the-you_1112983.png" --- # Old age is wasted on the elderly: the young know what to… ![“Old age is wasted on the elderly: the young know what to do with it-insist on something different.” quote by Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/herbert-gold-30296_age_old-age-is-wasted-on-the-elderly-the-you_1112983.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/herbert-gold-30296_age_old-age-is-wasted-on-the-elderly-the-you_1112983.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/herbert-gold-30296_age_old-age-is-wasted-on-the-elderly-the-you_1112983.png) > “Old age is wasted on the elderly: the young know what to do with it-insist on something different.” [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The elderly often waste their later years, while youth possess the vigor to use time wisely. **In simple terms:** Young have more energy to use time. Key Takeaway Encourage youth to act purposefully. Themes age wisdom potential generational tension Mood reflective critical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - education - mentorship Key Concepts time management life purpose Questions to Reflect On - How can youth gain wisdom? - What can elders share? A Different Perspective Youth may lack experience to make wise choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Elderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“The elderly were formerly young before being utterly overtaken by years. 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Maybe, to paraphrase Goethe who said that, "Youth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-kahn/i-like-being-old-even-if-the-names-i-hear-are-more-and-more/) [Wolf Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-kahn/) > [Let us see as steadily and completely as possible the realities of our age: the wasted lives, the scattered and misused resources (human and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-john-laughlin/let-us-see-as-steadily-and-completely-as-possible-the-realities-of/) [Clarence John Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-john-laughlin/) > [RESPECT the elderly when you're YOUNG HELP the weak when you're STRONG ADMIT your mistakes when you're WRONG. Because one day, you will grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/respect-the-elderly-when-you-re-young-help-the-weak-when-you-re/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Respect old people: they graduated highschool without Google or Wikipedia!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/respect-old-people-they-graduated-highschool-without-google-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sure I'm for helping the elderly. I'm going to be old myself someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-gordy-carter/sure-i-m-for-helping-the-elderly-i-m-going-to-be-old-myself-someday/) [Lillian Gordy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-gordy-carter/) > [The elderly have so much to offer. They're our link with history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/the-elderly-have-so-much-to-offer-they-re-our-link-with-history/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [“The young man pities his elders, fearing the day he, too, will join their ranks. The elderly man pities the younger generation, well-knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-i-fisher/the-young-man-pities-his-elders-fearing-the-day-he-too-will-join/) [Lynda I Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-i-fisher/) > [“Malnutrition is a plague in the elderly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/malnutrition-is-a-plague-in-the-elderly/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [A change of opinions is almost unknown in an elderly military man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-change-of-opinions-is-almost-unknown-in-an-elderly-military-man/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Elderly men who are popular with young women usually lack wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nachman-of-breslov/elderly-men-who-are-popular-with-young-women-usually-lack-wisdom/) [Nachman of Breslov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nachman-of-breslov/) > [Elderly people are like plants. Whereas some go to seed, or to pot, others blossom in the most wonderful ways. I believe beauty competitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-simpson/elderly-people-are-like-plants-whereas-some-go-to-seed-or-to-pot/) James Simpson > [I am no more young. So there is no harm in playing an elderly role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hema-malini/i-am-no-more-young-so-there-is-no-harm-in-playing-an-elderly-role/) [Hema Malini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hema-malini/) > [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/) ## More by Herbert Gold > [To construct a proper privacy, making it a privilege rather than a burden, we first need to construct a community-love, family, politics, art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/to-construct-a-proper-privacy-making-it-a-privilege-rather-than-a/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [He carried his childhood like a hurt warm bird held to his middle-aged breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/he-carried-his-childhood-like-a-hurt-warm-bird-held-to-his-middle/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [Sometimes he advertises himself assiduously, writing a few words and then rushing to the talk show to wave his flag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/sometimes-he-advertises-himself-assiduously-writing-a-few-words-and/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [Literature boils with the madcap careers of writers brought to the edge by the demands of living on their nerves, wringing out their memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/literature-boils-with-the-madcap-careers-of-writers-brought-to-the/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [Conformity is inevitable when folks huddle together in rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/conformity-is-inevitable-when-folks-huddle-together-in-rebellion/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [With short stories, the story-teller must have a story to tell, not merely some sweet prose to take out for a walk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/with-short-stories-the-story-teller-must-have-a-story-to-tell-not/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [The fact that all of us die anyway (the rumor turns out to be true) is a mere detail in the celestial glow of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/the-fact-that-all-of-us-die-anyway-the-rumor-turns-out-to-be-true-is/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [The magic will which makes us see the other side of our natures-dream and disaster, catastrophe and fulfillment-is the great permanent challenge of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/the-magic-will-which-makes-us-see-the-other-side-of-our-natures-dream/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [Diverting the internal traffic between the Writer as Angel of Light and the Writer as Hustler is that scribbling child in a grown-up body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/diverting-the-internal-traffic-between-the-writer-as-angel-of-light/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [I always ask young writers, 'Are you certain you want to be a writer? If you're absolutely sure, then do it.' 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It sounds like a bad joke:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/if-mankind-is-naturally-good-he-is-sure-going-against-his-nature-more/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) > [The steady pressure to consume, absorb, participate, receive, by eye, ear, mouth, and mail involves a cruelty to intestines, blood pressure, and psyche unparalleled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-gold/the-steady-pressure-to-consume-absorb-participate-receive-by-eye-ear/) [Herbert Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) [Explore all 17 Herbert Gold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-gold/) ## 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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