--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Old age is really a disguise that no one…" description: "\"“Old age is really a disguise that no one but the old themselves see through. I feel exactly as I always did, as young inside as when I was twenty-one,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/may-sarton-897_old-age_old-age-is-really-a-disguise-that-no-one_1967730.jpg" --- # Old age is really a disguise that no one but the old… ![“Old age is really a disguise that no one but the old themselves see through. I feel exactly as I always did, as young inside as when I was twenty-one, but the outward shell conceals the real me—sometimes even from itself—and betrays that person deep down inside, under wrinkles and liver spots and…” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/may-sarton-897_old-age_old-age-is-really-a-disguise-that-no-one_1967730.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/may-sarton-897_old-age_old-age-is-really-a-disguise-that-no-one_1967730.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/may-sarton-897_old-age_old-age-is-really-a-disguise-that-no-one_1967730.jpg) > ““Old age is really a disguise that no one but the old themselves see through. I feel exactly as I always did, as young inside as when I was twenty-one, but the outward shell conceals the real me—sometimes even from itself—and betrays that person deep down inside, under wrinkles and liver spots and all the horrors of decay. I sometimes think that I feel things more intensely than I used to, not less. But I am so afraid of appearing ridiculous. People expect serenity of the old. That is the stereotype, the mask we are expected to put on. But”” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging masks inner vitality, yet the true self remains youthful despite external signs of decline. **In simple terms:** Aging hides but does not erase inner youth. Key Takeaway Embrace inner youth despite aging. Themes identity ageing self-perception Mood introspective empathetic Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - career transitions - family dynamics - creative pursuits - health challenges Key Concepts existentialism psychology body image Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor your inner self while aging? - What steps help you defy age stereotypes? A Different Perspective Societal expectations may pressure conformity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) ## Related quotes > [Even under a harsh God-and I do not believe in a harsh God-one is entitled to serenity in old age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-outler/even-under-a-harsh-god-and-i-do-not-believe-in-a-harsh-god-one-is/) Albert Outler > [Is old age really so terrible? Not if you've brushed your teeth faithfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/is-old-age-really-so-terrible-not-if-you-ve-brushed-your-teeth/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [So you see, old age is really not so bad. May you come to know the condition!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/so-you-see-old-age-is-really-not-so-bad-may-you-come-to-know-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [We are as old as we feel. And while I never feel my calendar age, I often feel my Leaper age. And I'll go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-tumlinson/we-are-as-old-as-we-feel-and-while-i-never-feel-my-calendar-age-i/) [Rick Tumlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-tumlinson/) > [“It's not about how old you are, it's about how old you feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-kirk/it-s-not-about-how-old-you-are-it-s-about-how-old-you-feel/) Mimi Kirk > [You're only as old as you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simonon/you-re-only-as-old-as-you-feel/) [Paul Simonon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simonon/) > [“I’m in great shape. I’m 30 years old, and I feel like I’m 29.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-m-in-great-shape-i-m-30-years-old-and-i-feel-like-i-m-29/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I feel great. I feel younger. And I don't feel anything at all. I don't know who knows, but right now I'm, how, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-korbut/i-feel-great-i-feel-younger-and-i-don-t-feel-anything-at-all-i-don-t/) [Olga Korbut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-korbut/) > [You're only as old as you feel, and I feel pretty young. I've got one gear, and till it gets reversed, I'm going all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-styles/you-re-only-as-old-as-you-feel-and-i-feel-pretty-young-i-ve-got-one/) [A.J. Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-styles/) > [“eighteen-year-old Sofia Claremont made five-hundred-year-old me feel like a boy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/eighteen-year-old-sofia-claremont-made-five-hundred-year-old-me-feel/) [Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/) > [This is what it's like to get old: You still feel 19, except your knees hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-daniels-2/this-is-what-it-s-like-to-get-old-you-still-feel-19-except-your-knees/) J. D. Daniels > [You're as old as you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-hodgson/you-re-as-old-as-you-feel/) [Roy Hodgson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-hodgson/) > [I tend to be a little too old to feel guilty about watching anything. Like, I watch 'Survivor' every week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-scott/i-tend-to-be-a-little-too-old-to-feel-guilty-about-watching-anything/) [Adam Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-scott/) > [Why were you so old when we met? I answered with the truth: Age isn't how old you are but how old you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/why-were-you-so-old-when-we-met-i-answered-with-the-truth-age-isn-t/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“You are as old as you feel. So I reckon I'm about sixty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesb/you-are-as-old-as-you-feel-so-i-reckon-i-m-about-sixty/) [Jo Nesbø](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesb/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Old age quotes > [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/) > [“So Mack got kind of a late start in the startup world—he founded TakeOff at the ripe old age of twenty-five”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doree-shafrir/so-mack-got-kind-of-a-late-start-in-the-startup-world-he-founded/) [Doree Shafrir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doree-shafrir/) > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/cast-me-not-off-in-the-time-of-old-age-forsake-me-not-when-my/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [“Give someone more time and they'll appear to have done more with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/give-someone-more-time-and-they-ll-appear-to-have-done-more-with-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Relish love in your old age! Aged love is like aged wine; it becomes more satisfying, more refreshing, more valuable, more appreciated and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/relish-love-in-your-old-age-aged-love-is-like-aged-wine-it-becomes/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [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/) > [“I’m determined to be a big spender in my old age. I want to empty my savings account before I no longer know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-groen/i-m-determined-to-be-a-big-spender-in-my-old-age-i-want-to-empty-my/) [Hendrik Groen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-groen/) > [People do not realize that Alzheimer's is not old age. It is a progressive and fatal disease, and staggering amounts of people develop Alzheimer's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-kanakaredes/people-do-not-realize-that-alzheimer-s-is-not-old-age-it-is-a/) [Melina Kanakaredes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-kanakaredes/) > [“ Wisdom comes through suffering or old age. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-pearse/wisdom-comes-through-suffering-or-old-age/) [Lesley Pearse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-pearse/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-cryer/i-m-59-and-people-call-me-middle-aged-how-many-118-year-old-men-do/) [Barry Cryer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-cryer/) > [“What creature goes on four feet in the morning, on two at noonday, on three in the evening? Man. In childhood he creeps on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oedipus/what-creature-goes-on-four-feet-in-the-morning-on-two-at-noonday-on/) Oedipus > [Old age is not a total misery. Experience helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/old-age-is-not-a-total-misery-experience-helps/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) [Browse all 2,109 Old age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Old age is really a disguise that no one but the old themselves see through. 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