--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time; He's…" description: "\"“Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time; He's a Cat who has lived many lives in succession. He was famous in proverb and famous in rhyme A long while befo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/t-s-eliot-2-1761_age_old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s_1108882.jpg" --- # Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time; He's a Cat who has… ![“Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time; He's a Cat who has lived many lives in succession. He was famous in proverb and famous in rhyme A long while before Queen Victoria's accession. Old Deuteronomy's buried nine wives And more – I am tempted to say, ninety-nine; And his numerous progeny prospers…” quote by T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/t-s-eliot-2-1761_age_old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s_1108882.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/t-s-eliot-2-1761_age_old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s_1108882.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/t-s-eliot-2-1761_age_old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s_1108882.jpg) > ““Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time; He's a Cat who has lived many lives in succession. He was famous in proverb and famous in rhyme A long while before Queen Victoria's accession. Old Deuteronomy's buried nine wives And more – I am tempted to say, ninety-nine; And his numerous progeny prospers and thrives And the village is proud of him in his decline. At the sight of that placid and bland physiognomy, When he sits in the sun on the vicarage wall, The Oldest Inhabitant croaks: "Well, of all … Things … Can it be … really! … No! … Yes! … Ho! hi! Oh, my eye! My mind may be wandering, but I confess I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!" Old Deuteronomy sits in the street, He sits in the High Street on market day; The bullocks may bellow, the sheep they may bleat, But the dogs and the herdsman will turn them away. The cars and the lorries run over the kerb, And the villagers put up a notice: ROAD CLOSED — So that nothing untoward may chance to disturb Deuteronomy's rest when he feels so disposed Or when he's engaged in domestic economy: And the Oldest Inhabitant croaks: "Well of all … Things … Can it be … really! … No! … Yes! … Ho! hi! Oh, my eye! My sight's unreliable, but I can guess That the cause of the trouble is Old Deuteronomy!”” [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem humorously portrays Old Deuteronomy as a venerable, almost mythic cat whose age and status inspire both reverence and absurd speculation. **In simple terms:** A legendary cat is revered and joked about. Key Takeaway Respect tradition while seeing its absurdity. Themes tradition humor myth community age Mood playful nostalgic ironic Type literary humorous When to use this quote - village gatherings - market days - public notices - cat folklore - local legends Key Concepts Folklore personification satire Questions to Reflect On - How does reverence for age affect community decisions? - What role does humor play in preserving history? A Different Perspective The satire may overlook the real concerns of the villagers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Deuteronomy Buried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deuteronomy-buried-2944441/) [Deuteronomy Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deuteronomy-lived-2944440/) [Deuteronomy Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deuteronomy-old-2944438/) [Deuteronomy Sits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deuteronomy-sits-2944439/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Old Deuteronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-deuteronomy-2944437/) [Queen Victoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queen-victoria/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Village life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/village-life/) ## Related quotes > [“At all times and in all places, in season and out of season, time is now and England, place is now and England; past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/at-all-times-and-in-all-places-in-season-and-out-of-season-time-is/) [G.M.W. Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) > [“We live, all of us, in sprung rhythm. Even in cities, folk stir without knowing it to the surge in the blood that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/we-live-all-of-us-in-sprung-rhythm-even-in-cities-folk-stir-without/) [G.M.W. Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) > [I wanted to restore an ancient house in Kent, and that's what I did. It was a heap - this Tudor building with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-mcvie/i-wanted-to-restore-an-ancient-house-in-kent-and-that-s-what-i-did-it/) [Christine McVie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-mcvie/) > [Beer was the driving force that led nomadic mankind into village life. It was this appetite for beer-making material that led to crop cultivation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-d-eames/beer-was-the-driving-force-that-led-nomadic-mankind-into-village-life/) [Alan D. Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-d-eames/) > [“Outside the door, a teller with a blue rosette chomps on an apple and asks for my number. She smiles a thank you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-grigg/outside-the-door-a-teller-with-a-blue-rosette-chomps-on-an-apple-and/) [Maddie Grigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-grigg/) > [When the soil's fertility is being conserved instead of raped, when village life is a social unity, when pride of craftsmanship returns, when everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/when-the-soil-s-fertility-is-being-conserved-instead-of-raped-when/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [It deals with so many different aspects of living in South Africa the racial issues of South Africans and Asians with poverty with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-thielen/it-deals-with-so-many-different-aspects-of-living-in-south-africa-the/) [Laura Thielen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-thielen/) > [“what sinks of iniquity these little villages can be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-beaton/what-sinks-of-iniquity-these-little-villages-can-be/) [M.C. Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-beaton/) > [“There is a great deal of wickedness in village life. I hope you dear young people will never realize how very wicked the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/there-is-a-great-deal-of-wickedness-in-village-life-i-hope-you-dear/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“… the countryside and the village are symbols of stability and security, of order. Yet they are also, as I have noted, liminal spaces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-w-wemyss/the-countryside-and-the-village-are-symbols-of-stability-and-security/) [G.M.W. Wemyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-w-wemyss/) > [Our village life would stagnate if it were not for the unexplored forests and meadows which surround it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-village-life-would-stagnate-if-it-were-not-for-the-unexplored/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had never understood why the farmlands of the U.S. had been settled in such a sparse and isolated way, whereas the farming communities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/i-had-never-understood-why-the-farmlands-of-the-u-s-had-been-settled/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [“I like to have my morning newspaper ironed before I read it. I like to have my shoes boned before they are polished. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/i-like-to-have-my-morning-newspaper-ironed-before-i-read-it-i-like-to/) [Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/) > [“And I wonder, therefore, how James Atlas can have been so indulgent in his recent essay ‘The Changing World of New York Intellectuals.’ This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-wonder-therefore-how-james-atlas-can-have-been-so-indulgent-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Village life is happy because we become indepedent to do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rmkatta/village-life-is-happy-because-we-become-indepedent-to-do-anything/) [RMKATTA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rmkatta/) ## More by T.S. Eliot > [“I have measured out my life in coffee spoons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/i-have-measured-out-my-life-in-coffee-spoons/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum. What is to be insisted upon is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/shakespeare-acquired-more-essential-history-from-plutarch-than-most/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Bustopher Jones is not skin and bones — In fact, he's remarkably fat. He doesn't haunt pubs — he has eight or nine clubs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/bustopher-jones-is-not-skin-and-bones-in-fact-he-s-remarkably-fat-he/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Politic, cautious, and meticulous; full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/politic-cautious-and-meticulous-full-of-high-sentence-but-a-bit-obtuse/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Our beginnings never know our ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/our-beginnings-never-know-our-ends/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Oxford is very pretty, but I don't like to be dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/oxford-is-very-pretty-but-i-don-t-like-to-be-dead/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“We have therefore to inquire what there is about Machiavelli to impress the mind of Europe so prodigiously and so curiously, and why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/we-have-therefore-to-inquire-what-there-is-about-machiavelli-to/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And a hundred visions and revisions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/and-time-yet-for-a-hundred-indecisions-and-a-hundred-visions-and/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“The world turns and the world changes, But one thing does not change. In all of my years, one thing does not change, However…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/the-world-turns-and-the-world-changes-but-one-thing-does-not-change/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“It is essential that a work of art should be self-consistent, that an artist should consciously or unconsciously draw a circle beyond which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/it-is-essential-that-a-work-of-art-should-be-self-consistent-that-an/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“By destroying traditional social habits of the people, by dissolving their natural collective consciousness into individual constituents, by licensing the opinions of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/by-destroying-traditional-social-habits-of-the-people-by-dissolving/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“We returned to our palaces, these Kingdoms, but no longer at ease here in the old dispensation, with an alien people clutching their gods.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/we-returned-to-our-palaces-these-kingdoms-but-no-longer-at-ease-here/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“…Lady of silences Calm and distressed Torn and most whole Rose of memory Rose of forgetfulness Exhausted and life-giving Worried reposeful The single Rose…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/lady-of-silences-calm-and-distressed-torn-and-most-whole-rose-of/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Destiny waits in the hand of god, shaping the still unshapen..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/destiny-waits-in-the-hand-of-god-shaping-the-still-unshapen/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/i-said-to-my-soul-be-still-and-wait-without-hope-for-hope-would-be-2/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) [Explore all 206 T.S. Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) ## 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? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time; He's a Cat who has lived many lives in succession. He was famous in proverb and famous in rhyme A long while before Queen Victoria's accession. Old Deuteronomy's buried nine wives And more – I am tempted to say, ninety-nine; And his numerous progeny prospers and thrives And the village is proud of him in his decline. At the sight of that placid and bland physiognomy, When he sits in the sun on the vicarage wall, The Oldest Inhabitant croaks: \"Well, of all … Things … Can it be … really! … No! … Yes! … Ho! hi! Oh, my eye! My mind may be wandering, but I confess I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!\" Old Deuteronomy sits in the street, He sits in the High Street on market day; The bullocks may bellow, the sheep they may bleat, But the dogs and the herdsman will turn them away. The cars and the lorries run over the kerb, And the villagers put up a notice: ROAD CLOSED — So that nothing untoward may chance to disturb Deuteronomy's rest when he feels so disposed Or when he's engaged in domestic economy: And the Oldest Inhabitant croaks: \"Well of all … Things … Can it be … really! … No! … Yes! … Ho! hi! Oh, my eye! My sight's unreliable, but I can guess That the cause of the trouble is Old Deuteronomy!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T.S. Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s-a-cat-who-has-lived-many/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s-a-cat-who-has-lived-many/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/t-s-eliot-2-1761_age_old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s_1108882.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/t-s-eliot-2-1761_age_old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s_1108882.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/t-s-eliot-2-1761_age_old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s_1108882.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time; He's a Cat who has lived many lives in succession. He was famous in…” — T.S. Eliot", "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": "T.S. Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s-a-cat-who-has-lived-many/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/old-deuteronomy-s-lived-a-long-time-he-s-a-cat-who-has-lived-many/#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 } } ] } ```