--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why, I wonder, do people who at one time…" description: "\"Why, I wonder, do people who at one time or another have all been young themselves, and who ought therefore to know better, generalize so suavely and s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/vera-brittain-12183_accuracy_why-i-wonder-do-people-who-at-one-time-o_477643.png" --- # Why, I wonder, do people who at one time or another have… ![“Why, I wonder, do people who at one time or another have all been young themselves, and who ought therefore to know better, generalize so suavely and so mendaciously about the golden hours of youth-that period of life when every sorrow seems permanent, and every setback insuperable?” quote by Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/vera-brittain-12183_accuracy_why-i-wonder-do-people-who-at-one-time-o_477643.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/vera-brittain-12183_accuracy_why-i-wonder-do-people-who-at-one-time-o_477643.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/vera-brittain-12183_accuracy_why-i-wonder-do-people-who-at-one-time-o_477643.png) > “Why, I wonder, do people who at one time or another have all been young themselves, and who ought therefore to know better, generalize so suavely and so mendaciously about the golden hours of youth-that period of life when every sorrow seems permanent, and every setback insuperable?” [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People romanticize youth despite its hardships, overlooking the lasting pain of early setbacks. **In simple terms:** Youth is often idealized despite real struggles. Key Takeaway Recognize the complexity of youthful experiences. Themes nostalgia illusion growth Mood thoughtful empathetic Type observational reflective When to use this quote - education - mental health counseling - intergenerational dialogue Key Concepts memory bias comingcoming resilience Questions to Reflect On - What truths about youth are we overlooking? - How can we honor both joy and pain of early years? A Different Perspective Idealizing youth can dismiss genuine suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accuracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accuracy/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Golden hour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-hour/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Setback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setback/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [The golden hours on angel wings Flew o'er me and my dearie, For dear to me as light and life Was my sweet Highland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/the-golden-hours-on-angel-wings-flew-o-er-me-and-my-dearie-for-dear/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [Golden hours of vision come to us in this present life, when we are at our best, and our faculties work together in harmony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fletcher-dole/golden-hours-of-vision-come-to-us-in-this-present-life-when-we-are-at/) [Charles Fletcher Dole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fletcher-dole/) > [Some authorities hold that the young ought not to lie at all. That, of course, is putting it rather stronger than necessary; still, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/some-authorities-hold-that-the-young-ought-not-to-lie-at-all-that-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/lost-yesterday-somewhere-between-sunrise-and-sunset-two-golden-hours/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-barrie/you-must-have-been-warned-against-letting-the-golden-hours-slip-by-2/) [James M. Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-barrie/) > [Two golden hours somewhere between sunrise and sunset. Both are set with 60 diamond minutes. No reward is offered. They are gone foreve reward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/two-golden-hours-somewhere-between-sunrise-and-sunset-both-are-set/) Author Name > [Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-morning-you-are-handed-24-golden-hours-they-are-one-of-the-few/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by. Yes, but some of them are golden only because we let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-have-been-warned-against-letting-the-golden-hours-slip-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Two golden hours somewhere between sunrise and sunset. Both are set with 60 diamond minutes. No reward is offered. They are gone forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/two-golden-hours-somewhere-between-sunrise-and-sunset-both-are-set-2/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [YOUTH, n. The Period of Possibility, when Archimedes finds a fulcrum, Cassandra has a following and seven cities compete for the honor of endowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/youth-n-the-period-of-possibility-when-archimedes-finds-a-fulcrum/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Youth is that period when a young boy knows everything but how to make a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-williams/youth-is-that-period-when-a-young-boy-knows-everything-but-how-to/) Carey Williams > [I’ve had many, you know, happy ending sleepovers’in my early youth — my period of exploration. I think that’s essential. Anyone who hasn’t had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-miller/i-ve-had-many-you-know-happy-ending-sleepovers-in-my-early-youth-my/) [Ezra Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-miller/) > [If youth is the period of hero-worship, so also is it true that hero-worship, more than anything else, perhaps, gives one the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-horton-cooley/if-youth-is-the-period-of-hero-worship-so-also-is-it-true-that-hero/) [Charles Horton Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-horton-cooley/) > [Youth is the period of harsh judgments, and a man seldom learns until he reaches thirty that human nature is made up not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/youth-is-the-period-of-harsh-judgments-and-a-man-seldom-learns-until/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Youth is a period of idealism. The Communists attract young people by appealing directly to that idealism. Too often, others have failed either to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hyde/youth-is-a-period-of-idealism-the-communists-attract-young-people-by/) [Douglas Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hyde/) ## More by Vera Brittain > [“At this time of the year it seems that everything ought to be creative, not destructive, and that we should encourage things to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/at-this-time-of-the-year-it-seems-that-everything-ought-to-be/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“Mother says that people like me just become intellectual old maids,' I told him. 'I don't see why,' he protested. 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Accuracy of description in language is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-only-thing-that-words-can-do-with-any-real-precision-or-accuracy/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Am I accurately reporting what I see in such a blossom? 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