Lord Byron on Age
1788–1824 England
← All quotes by Lord Byron
8 quotes
Years steal
Fire from the mind, as vigor from the limb;
And life's enchanted cup but sparkles near the brim.
Age shakes Athena's tower, but spares gray Marathon.
He has grown aged in this world of woe,
In deeds, not years, piercing the depths of life.
So that no wonder waits him.
Oh, for one hour of blind old Dandolo,
Th' octogenarian chief, Byzantium's conquering foe!
My days are in the yellow leaf;
The flowers and fruits of Love are gone;
The worm — the canker, and the grief
Are mine alone!
What is the worst of woes that wait on age?
What stamps the wrinkle deeper on the brow?
To view each loved one blotted from life's page,
And be alone on earth, as I am now.
Just as old age is creeping on apace,
And clouds come o'er the sunset of our day,
They kindly leave us, though not quite alone,
But in good company—the gout or stone.
But now at thirty years my hair is gray––
(I wonder what it will be like at forty?
I thought of a peruke the other day)
My heart is not much greener; and, in short, I
Have squander'd my whole summer while 'twas May,
And feel no more the spirit to retort; I
Have spent my life, both interest and principal,
And deem not, what I deem'd my soul invincible.
Don Juan (1818)