“Next to the very young, I suppose the very old are the most selfish.”
William Makepeace Thackeray book The Virginians
Source: The Virginians (1857-1859), Ch. 61.
Source: Valley of Silence
“Next to the very young, I suppose the very old are the most selfish.”
William Makepeace Thackeray book The Virginians
Source: The Virginians (1857-1859), Ch. 61.
“Spurned by the young, but hugged by the old
To the very verge of the churchyard mould.”
Thomas Hood (1799–1845) British writer
Her Moral; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
20th century
“Speeches easy to young speakers are generally very difficult to old listeners.”
Anthony Trollope book The Duke's Children
Source: The Duke's Children (1879), Ch. 56
Erik Satie (1866–1925) French composer and pianist
Étude pour un buste de M. Erik SATIE peint par lui-même, avec une pensée: je suis venu au monde très jeune dans un temps très vieux.
Written to accompany a self-portrait caricature drawn by himself - see image
General quotes
Ingmar Bergman (1918–2007) Swedish filmmaker
As quoted in "Ingmar Bergman: Summing Up A Life In Film" by Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times Magazine (26 June 1983).
Context: I was very cruel to actors and to other people. I think I was a very, very unpleasant young man. If I met the young Ingmar today, I think I would say, "You are very talented and I will see if I can help you, but I don't think I want anything else to do with you." I don't say I'm pleasant now, but I think I changed slowly in my 50's. At least I hope I've changed.
Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) French Post-Impressionist artist
Source: 1890s - 1910s, The Writings of a Savage (1996), p. 219: quote from 1903