--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige only…" description: "\"“ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige only one step below Therim Pel itself, had descended from its imperial years the way some men and women descend in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/scott-lynch-1437_men-and-women_espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only_87745.png" --- # ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige only one step below… ![“ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige only one step below Therim Pel itself, had descended from its imperial years the way some men and women descend into middle-aged lethargy, discarding the vigor and ambition of youth like a suit of clothes that can no longer be wriggled into.” quote by Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/scott-lynch-1437_men-and-women_espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only_87745.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/scott-lynch-1437_men-and-women_espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only_87745.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/scott-lynch-1437_men-and-women_espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only_87745.png) > ““ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige only one step below Therim Pel itself, had descended from its imperial years the way some men and women descend into middle-aged lethargy, discarding the vigor and ambition of youth like a suit of clothes that can no longer be wriggled into.”” [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The city of Espara, once a prestigious hub just beneath Therim Pel, has faded into mediocrity, likened to people losing youthful vigor as they age. **In simple terms:** Decline of former glory Key Takeaway Prestige erodes over time Themes decline nostalgia status aging imperial legacy Mood melancholy reflective Type descriptive metaphorical When to use this quote - historical analysis - fictional worldbuilding - character backstory Key Concepts social hierarchy urban decay Practical Applications - setting description - thematic illustration Questions to Reflect On - What causes once-great places to lose relevance? - How does this metaphor reflect personal aging? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Middle aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-aged/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [Older fatherhood isn't all bad: testosterone rates drop about 1% per year as men age, making them less reactive and more patient, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/older-fatherhood-isn-t-all-bad-testosterone-rates-drop-about-1-per/) [Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/) > [The young man taught all he knew and more; The middle-aged man taught all he knew; The old man taught all that his students…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-ross/the-young-man-taught-all-he-knew-and-more-the-middle-aged-man-taught/) Arnold Ross > [My mom wouldn't let me buy clothes she didn't like, so I dressed like a middle-aged woman in high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/my-mom-wouldn-t-let-me-buy-clothes-she-didn-t-like-so-i-dressed-like/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [I was scared to say I was in my 40s because at that point, it sounded really old, and to out myself as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/i-was-scared-to-say-i-was-in-my-40s-because-at-that-point-it-sounded/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [The state of the industry is much like the state of politics. It's too middle-aged, white, and male.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-henwick/the-state-of-the-industry-is-much-like-the-state-of-politics-it-s-too/) [Jessica Henwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-henwick/) > [It has been explained to me that toys are packaged in shards, to be assembled by the middle-aged and butter-fingered, because this makes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kerr/it-has-been-explained-to-me-that-toys-are-packaged-in-shards-to-be/) [Jean Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kerr/) > [Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hervey-allen/only-the-middle-aged-have-all-their-five-senses-in-the-keeping-of/) [Hervey Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hervey-allen/) > [With false names, on the right nets, they could be anybody. Old men, middle-aged women, anybody, as long as they were careful about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/with-false-names-on-the-right-nets-they-could-be-anybody-old-men/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-child-like-man-is-not-a-man-whose-development-has-been-arrested-on/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Middle-aged life is merry, and I love to lead it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/middle-aged-life-is-merry-and-i-love-to-lead-it/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I have never yet heard any middle-aged man or woman who worked with his or her brains express any regret for the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-have-never-yet-heard-any-middle-aged-man-or-woman-who-worked-with/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [The middle-aged woman is the ground bed of the audience that watches television, and yet they are absolutely invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-bond/the-middle-aged-woman-is-the-ground-bed-of-the-audience-that-watches/) [Samantha Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-bond/) ## More by Scott Lynch > [“Please, boy. Let’s not start out with either of us insulting the other’s intelligence. There are only three people in life you can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/please-boy-let-s-not-start-out-with-either-of-us-insulting-the-other/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Gentlemen Bastards." hissed Locke, "do not abandon one another, and we do not run when we owe vengeance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/gentlemen-bastards-hissed-locke-do-not-abandon-one-another-and-we-do/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Ha! Yes. When anyone tells you habits die hard, Locke, they’re lying—it seems they never die at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/ha-yes-when-anyone-tells-you-habits-die-hard-locke-they-re-lying-it/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [Advice,' Doña Vorchenza chuckled. 'Advice. The years play a sort of alchemical trick, transmuting one's mutterings to a state of respectability. Give advice at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/advice-do-a-vorchenza-chuckled-advice-the-years-play-a-sort-of/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Ibelius," said Jean. "If what Locke is doing were lurking about, corpses could be acrobats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/ibelius-said-jean-if-what-locke-is-doing-were-lurking-about-corpses/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [Any man can fart in a closed room and say that he commands the wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/any-man-can-fart-in-a-closed-room-and-say-that-he-commands-the-wind/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“What an interesting choice of words. “Not real, and never were.” Could there be any more appropriate literature for men of our profession? Why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/what-an-interesting-choice-of-words-not-real-and-never-were-could/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“Why were all his fantasies so calamitous for that table, which had done him no injury?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/why-were-all-his-fantasies-so-calamitous-for-that-table-which-had/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“I more proudly take a speck from a man with empty pockets,” said Sabetha, “than riches from a man whose purse stays heavy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/i-more-proudly-take-a-speck-from-a-man-with-empty-pockets-said/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“He was bewildered at how quickly he had escaped his old life and fallen into this new one with strangely pleasant crazy people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/he-was-bewildered-at-how-quickly-he-had-escaped-his-old-life-and/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [I think piracy is a bit like drinking. You want to stay out all night doing it, you pay the price the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/i-think-piracy-is-a-bit-like-drinking-you-want-to-stay-out-all-night/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“That's a sweet piece," said Jean, briefly forgetting to be aggravated. "You didn't snatch that off a street." "No," said Locke, before taking another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/that-s-a-sweet-piece-said-jean-briefly-forgetting-to-be-aggravated/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“But time’s a river, Locke, and we’ve always drifted farther down it than we think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/but-time-s-a-river-locke-and-we-ve-always-drifted-farther-down-it/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“I understand, my lord. I…don’t wish to embarrass you again.” “Embarrass me? Jean, you misunderstand.” Maranzalla kicked idly at the toy rapier, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/i-understand-my-lord-i-don-t-wish-to-embarrass-you-again-embarrass-me/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [Cold walls do not a prison make, nor iron bands a bondsman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/cold-walls-do-not-a-prison-make-nor-iron-bands-a-bondsman/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) [Explore all 241 Scott Lynch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) ## More Men and women quotes > [“Galton’s gospel of eugenics found fertile soil in Britain, in the intellectual salons of Europe, and in the United States. Beginning in the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-loconte/galton-s-gospel-of-eugenics-found-fertile-soil-in-britain-in-the/) Joseph Loconte > [Hats off to starting a franchise younger than we all did in 'Twilight' and keeping your cool. The 'Harry Potter' men and women had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/hats-off-to-starting-a-franchise-younger-than-we-all-did-in-twilight/) [Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I never knew a man who deserved to be thought well of for his morals who had a slight opinion of our Sex in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/i-never-knew-a-man-who-deserved-to-be-thought-well-of-for-his-morals/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [“I like men and women who don't fit well in the dominant culture, or, as Alvar de Campos calls them, strangers in this place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-like-men-and-women-who-don-t-fit-well-in-the-dominant-culture-or-as/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Relationships are never more important than your own self worth and if you don't have that then any relationship is worthless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/relationships-are-never-more-important-than-your-own-self-worth-and/) Enhance Dreams > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“One had heard and read a great deal about death, and even seen a little of it, and knew by heart the thousand commonplaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/one-had-heard-and-read-a-great-deal-about-death-and-even-seen-a/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Faced with armed men and women and stuck in theater seats while things exploded right outside, the audience tended more toward terror than analysis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-kay/faced-with-armed-men-and-women-and-stuck-in-theater-seats-while/) [Elliott Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-kay/) > [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Men and women shop differently. Men know what they want before they see it. Women don't know what they want until they see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/men-and-women-shop-differently-men-know-what-they-want-before-they/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most times he will pick himself up and carry on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/man-will-occasionally-stumble-over-the-truth-but-most-times-he-will/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [One of the reasons I wanted to start a company is because I wanted an environment that I wanted to work in. I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tory-burch/one-of-the-reasons-i-wanted-to-start-a-company-is-because-i-wanted-an/) [Tory Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tory-burch/) [Browse all 5,305 Men and women quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige only one step below Therim Pel itself, had descended from its imperial years the way some men and women descend into middle-aged lethargy, discarding the vigor and ambition of youth like a suit of clothes that can no longer be wriggled into.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Scott Lynch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only-one-step-below-therim-pel/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Men and women" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only-one-step-below-therim-pel/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/scott-lynch-1437_men-and-women_espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only_87745.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/scott-lynch-1437_men-and-women_espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only_87745.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/scott-lynch-1437_men-and-women_espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only_87745.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige only one step below Therim Pel itself, had descended from its imperial…” — Scott Lynch", "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": "Scott Lynch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“ESPARA, FORMERLY a seat of prestige...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only-one-step-below-therim-pel/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/espara-formerly-a-seat-of-prestige-only-one-step-below-therim-pel/#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 } } ] } ```