--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like old men. They can be wonderful…" description: "\"I like old men. They can be wonderful bastards because they have nothing to lose. The only people who can be themselves are babies and old bastards.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/john-updike-396_baby_i-like-old-men-they-can-be-wonderful-bas_3005610.png" --- # I like old men. They can be wonderful bastards because… ![“I like old men. They can be wonderful bastards because they have nothing to lose. The only people who can be themselves are babies and old bastards.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/john-updike-396_baby_i-like-old-men-they-can-be-wonderful-bas_3005610.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/john-updike-396_baby_i-like-old-men-they-can-be-wonderful-bas_3005610.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af7/john-updike-396_baby_i-like-old-men-they-can-be-wonderful-bas_3005610.png) > “I like old men. They can be wonderful bastards because they have nothing to lose. The only people who can be themselves are babies and old bastards.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Older people, like babies, can be authentic because they have little to lose, allowing raw honesty. **In simple terms:** Age can bring authenticity and boldness. Key Takeaway Embrace honest expression regardless of age. Themes authenticity age freedom Mood wry observational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - intergenerational dialogues - creative collaborations Key Concepts generational wisdom social candidness Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms come with having little to lose? - How does age affect honesty? A Different Perspective May romanticize reckless behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nothing to lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing-to-lose/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [The little babies are missing their families from their past lives. The babies have old souls and the old souls have to shrink to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/the-little-babies-are-missing-their-families-from-their-past-lives/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [Babies and the old are permitted self-absorption. In between, it provokes resentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/babies-and-the-old-are-permitted-self-absorption-in-between-it/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Men are wonderful. I adore them. They always give you the benefit of the doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-tierney/men-are-wonderful-i-adore-them-they-always-give-you-the-benefit-of/) [Gene Tierney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-tierney/) > [Considering how bad men are, it is wonderful how well they behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-de-madariaga/considering-how-bad-men-are-it-is-wonderful-how-well-they-behave/) [Salvador de Madariaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-de-madariaga/) > [I really had the best time on 'Mad Men.' It was a wonderful place for me, because I never went to an acting school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-really-had-the-best-time-on-mad-men-it-was-a-wonderful-place-for-me/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [I loved working on Of Mice and Men. It was a wonderful group of people. John Malkovich is to me one of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherilyn-fenn/i-loved-working-on-of-mice-and-men-it-was-a-wonderful-group-of-people/) [Sherilyn Fenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherilyn-fenn/) > [Old men's eyes are like old men's memories; they are strongest for things a long way off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/old-men-s-eyes-are-like-old-men-s-memories-they-are-strongest-for/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Oh, you young people act like old men. 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Dweck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-s-dweck/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. 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