--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Youth is the age of despairs." description: "\"“Youth is the age of despairs.”\" — Lawrence Durrell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/lawrence-durrell-2169_youth_youth-is-the-age-of-despairs-2175581_2175581.jpg" --- # Youth is the age of despairs. ![“Youth is the age of despairs.” quote by Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/lawrence-durrell-2169_youth_youth-is-the-age-of-despairs-2175581_2175581.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/lawrence-durrell-2169_youth_youth-is-the-age-of-despairs-2175581_2175581.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/lawrence-durrell-2169_youth_youth-is-the-age-of-despairs-2175581_2175581.jpg) > ““Youth is the age of despairs.”” [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youth is portrayed as a time of deep emotional turmoil and uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Young people often feel despair. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and navigate youthful doubts. Themes youth despair growth Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - college life - first jobs - relationships - mental health challenges Key Concepts existential angst identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How can youthful despair be transformed into purpose? - What supports help alleviate this angst? A Different Perspective Despair can be a catalyst for growth, not just a setback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age Despairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-despairs-4676550/) [Despairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despairs-1828167/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) [Youth Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth-age-1049494/) ## Related quotes > [I know nothing more mocking than a devil that despairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-know-nothing-more-mocking-than-a-devil-that-despairs/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Everyone becomes brave when he observes one who despairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/everyone-becomes-brave-when-he-observes-one-who-despairs/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [An artist must learn to be nourished by his passions and by his despairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/an-artist-must-learn-to-be-nourished-by-his-passions-and-by-his/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [To live is often only to have a choice of several despairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-leblanc/to-live-is-often-only-to-have-a-choice-of-several-despairs/) [Georgette Leblanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-leblanc/) > [He who despairs is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-who-despairs-is-wrong/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is hope when reason despairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hyles/love-is-hope-when-reason-despairs/) [Jack Hyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hyles/) > [In clothes clean and fresh there is a kind of youth with which age should surround itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/in-clothes-clean-and-fresh-there-is-a-kind-of-youth-with-which-age/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Youth and age touch only the surface of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/youth-and-age-touch-only-the-surface-of-our-lives/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [in the United States ... given the cult of eternal youth, age is ignored unless it can be sentimentalized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/in-the-united-states-given-the-cult-of-eternal-youth-age-is-ignored/) [Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/) > [You've heard of the three ages of man - youth, age, and you are looking wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ve-heard-of-the-three-ages-of-man-youth-age-and-you-are-looking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The age doesn't really matter to me as it seems to matter to other people. A lot of people think that youth or age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/the-age-doesn-t-really-matter-to-me-as-it-seems-to-matter-to-other/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Age is a state of mind. Youth and age exist only among the ordinary people. All the more talented and exceptional of us; are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/age-is-a-state-of-mind-youth-and-age-exist-only-among-the-ordinary/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Experience is a revelation in the light of which we renounce our errors of youth for those of age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/experience-is-a-revelation-in-the-light-of-which-we-renounce-our/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [One thing only has been lent to youth and age in common--discontent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/one-thing-only-has-been-lent-to-youth-and-age-in-common-discontent/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“But when alone--really alone--everyone is a child: or no one?' Youth and age touch only the surface of our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-when-alone-really-alone-everyone-is-a-child-or-no-one-youth-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More by Lawrence Durrell > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“Suddenly at the end of the great couloir my vision is sharpened by a pale disjunctive shudder as a bar of buttercup-yellow thickening gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/suddenly-at-the-end-of-the-great-couloir-my-vision-is-sharpened-by-a/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [To be the equal of reality you must learn how to ignore it without danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/to-be-the-equal-of-reality-you-must-learn-how-to-ignore-it-without/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [The cocktail party - as the name itself indicates - was originally invented by dogs. They are simply bottom-sniffings raised to the rank of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-cocktail-party-as-the-name-itself-indicates-was-originally/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [It only takes one match to ignite a haystack, or one remark to fire a mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/it-only-takes-one-match-to-ignite-a-haystack-or-one-remark-to-fire-a/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“He felt that his mind had become a battle-ground for the forces of good and evil and that his task was to strain every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/he-felt-that-his-mind-had-become-a-battle-ground-for-the-forces-of/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Science is the poetry of the intellect and poetry the science of the heart's affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/science-is-the-poetry-of-the-intellect-and-poetry-the-science-of-the/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/travel-can-be-one-of-the-most-rewarding-forms-of-introspection/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [We live" writes Pursewarden somewhere, "lives based upon selected fictions. Our view of reality is conditioned by our position in space and time -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/we-live-writes-pursewarden-somewhere-lives-based-upon-selected/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [It's unthinkable not to love -you'd have a severe nervous breakdown. Or you'd have to be Philip Larkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/it-s-unthinkable-not-to-love-you-d-have-a-severe-nervous-breakdown-or/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“...man is only an extension of the spirit of place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/man-is-only-an-extension-of-the-spirit-of-place/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“God did not create us, nor did He wish us to be created. We are the work of a lesser deity, a demiurge, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/god-did-not-create-us-nor-did-he-wish-us-to-be-created-we-are-the/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [The steward, according to custom, had stopped all the clocks. This, in the language of Narouz, said "Your stay with us is so brief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-steward-according-to-custom-had-stopped-all-the-clocks-this-in/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Everyone loathes his own country and countrymen if he is any sort of artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/everyone-loathes-his-own-country-and-countrymen-if-he-is-any-sort-of/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“The slither of tyres across the waves of the desert under a sky blue and frost-bound in winter; or in summer a fearful lunar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/the-slither-of-tyres-across-the-waves-of-the-desert-under-a-sky-blue/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) [Explore all 179 Lawrence Durrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) ## More Youth quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [If your life's at a juncture and you need to think about things, there's nowhere better than home. However old you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-your-life-s-at-a-juncture-and-you-need-to-think-about-things-there/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [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/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [A lot of young guys coming up in this league, they're given the spotlight right away, depending on draft stature or whatever the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/a-lot-of-young-guys-coming-up-in-this-league-they-re-given-the/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [When you step up as a young talent, you need to challenge the old lads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-mertesacker/when-you-step-up-as-a-young-talent-you-need-to-challenge-the-old-lads/) [Per Mertesacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-mertesacker/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [“Adolescent youths cry out for us to help them contextualize their life experiences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gurian/adolescent-youths-cry-out-for-us-to-help-them-contextualize-their/) [Michael Gurian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gurian/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) [Browse all 12,126 Youth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Youth is the age of despairs.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lawrence Durrell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/youth-is-the-age-of-despairs/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Youth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/youth-is-the-age-of-despairs/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/lawrence-durrell-2169_youth_youth-is-the-age-of-despairs-2175581_2175581.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/lawrence-durrell-2169_youth_youth-is-the-age-of-despairs-2175581_2175581.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/lawrence-durrell-2169_youth_youth-is-the-age-of-despairs-2175581_2175581.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Youth is the age of despairs.” — Lawrence Durrell", "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": "Lawrence Durrell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Youth is the age of despairs.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/youth-is-the-age-of-despairs/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/youth-is-the-age-of-despairs/#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 } } ] } ```