“To grow old means to be rid of anxieties about the past.”

—  Stefan Zweig , book Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman

Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman (1927)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "To grow old means to be rid of anxieties about the past." by Stefan Zweig?
Stefan Zweig photo
Stefan Zweig 106
Austrian writer 1881–1942

Related quotes

Alfred, Lord Tennyson photo

“Old men must die, or the world would grow mouldy, would only breed the past again.”

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) British poet laureate

Becket, Prologue, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Raymond Chandler photo

“The tragedy of life, Howard, is not that the beautiful die young, but that they grow old and mean. It will not happen to me.”

Raymond Chandler book The Long Goodbye

Source: The Long Goodbye

Octavia E. Butler photo

“Helpless lust and unreasoning anxiety were just part of growing up.”

Octavia E. Butler book Imago

Source: Imago (1989), Chapter II, “Exile” section 9 (p. 649)

Anne Rice photo

“You see that old woman? That will never happen to you. You will never grow old, and you will never die.
And it means something else too, doesn't it? I shall never ever grow up.”

Anne Rice book Interview with the Vampire

Source: Interview with the Vampire

Philip Pullman photo

“That’s the duty of the old,” said the Librarian, “to be anxious on behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old.”

Philip Pullman book Northern Lights

The Librarian to the Master, in Ch. 2 : The Idea of North
Source: His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass (1995)

Tom Clancy photo

“The thing you have to understand about fighter pilots is they never quite grow past the stage of little boys buzzing past girls on their bicycles.”

Tom Clancy (1947–2013) American author

1990s, CNN interview (1999)

Simone de Beauvoir photo

“Society cares about the individual only in so far as he is profitable. The young know this. Their anxiety as they enter in upon social life matches the anguish of the old as they are excluded from it.”

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist, and social theorist

Conclusion, p. 543
The Coming of Age (1970)

Philip Pullman photo

“That's the duty of the old,' said the Librarian, 'to be anxious on the behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old.'

They sat for a while longer, and then parted, for it was late, and they were old and anxious.”

Philip Pullman book Northern Lights

Source: The Golden Compass

“I'm an archaeologist,' said Hildy. 'I dig up the past.'
The King raised an eyebrow. 'You mean you refresh old quarrels and keep alive old grievances? Surely not.”

Tom Holt book Who's Afraid of Beowulf?

Who's Afraid of Beowulf? (1988)

Related topics