--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You will perceive by my preaching that I…" description: "\"You will perceive by my preaching that I am growing old: it is the privilege of years, and I am sure you will pardon it from the purity of it's motives..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/thomas-jefferson-43_age_you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i_1996913.jpg" --- # You will perceive by my preaching that I am growing old… ![“You will perceive by my preaching that I am growing old: it is the privilege of years, and I am sure you will pardon it from the purity of it's motives.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/thomas-jefferson-43_age_you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i_1996913.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/thomas-jefferson-43_age_you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i_1996913.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/thomas-jefferson-43_age_you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i_1996913.jpg) > “You will perceive by my preaching that I am growing old: it is the privilege of years, and I am sure you will pardon it from the purity of it's motives.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges aging and asks for understanding, emphasizing that his words stem from sincere, pure intentions despite his advancing years. **In simple terms:** He admits growing old and seeks forgiveness, noting his motives are pure. Key Takeaway Accept age with humility and seek sincerity. Themes age humility communication Mood reflective respectful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - personal letters - public speeches - family gatherings - teaching - leadership Key Concepts ethics intentionality Questions to Reflect On - How does age influence credibility? - Can pure motives outweigh perceived flaws? A Different Perspective Age may affect clarity, but honesty remains vital. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Growing old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-old/) [Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Pardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pardon/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Purity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purity/) ## Related quotes > [Never complain about growing old... Some never have the privilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hart/never-complain-about-growing-old-some-never-have-the-privilege/) [Mark Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hart/) > ['Do not regret Growing old it is a privilege denied to MANY!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-guzaldo/do-not-regret-growing-old-it-is-a-privilege-denied-to-many/) [Andrew Guzaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-guzaldo/) > [Never regret growing old; not everyone has that privilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/never-regret-growing-old-not-everyone-has-that-privilege/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [Knowing that Nature never did betray the heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege, through all the years of this our life, to lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/knowing-that-nature-never-did-betray-the-heart-that-loved-her-tis-her/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“To obey orders in this family has been my privilege for the last twenty years--a privilege which has been an unqualified pleasure, except perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/to-obey-orders-in-this-family-has-been-my-privilege-for-the-last/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Do not complain about growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/do-not-complain-about-growing-old-it-is-a-privilege-denied-to-many/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Stop whining about getting old. It's a privilege. A lot of people who are dead wish they were still alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/stop-whining-about-getting-old-it-s-a-privilege-a-lot-of-people-who/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [In a republican nation whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-a-republican-nation-whose-citizens-are-to-be-led-by-reason-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-before-ever-existed-a-century-and-a-half-without-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Most (Christians) have an ungrounded trust in Christ, hoping that He will pardon, justify and save them, while the world has their hearts, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/most-christians-have-an-ungrounded-trust-in-christ-hoping-that-he/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [“God may pardon sin, but Nature cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-may-pardon-sin-but-nature-cannot/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pardon is granted to necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/pardon-is-granted-to-necessity/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: Go hence, to have more talk of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-glooming-peace-this-morning-with-it-brings-the-sun-for-sorrow-will/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [My vigour relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/my-vigour-relents-i-pardon-something-to-the-spirit-of-liberty/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What better can we do than prostrate fall before Him reverent, and there confess humbly our faults, and pardon beg with tears watering the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/what-better-can-we-do-than-prostrate-fall-before-him-reverent-and/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## 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": "You will perceive by my preaching that I am growing old: it is the privilege of years, and I am sure you will pardon it from the purity of it's motives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i-am-growing-old-it-is-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i-am-growing-old-it-is-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/thomas-jefferson-43_age_you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i_1996913.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/thomas-jefferson-43_age_you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i_1996913.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/thomas-jefferson-43_age_you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i_1996913.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You will perceive by my preaching that I am growing old: it is the privilege of years, and I am sure you…” — Thomas Jefferson", "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": "Thomas Jefferson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You will perceive by my preaching...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i-am-growing-old-it-is-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/you-will-perceive-by-my-preaching-that-i-am-growing-old-it-is-the/#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 } } ] } ```