---
title: "Like most people of my age, I feel a longing for what is lost and can… — John McCain Quote #77 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "Like most people of my age, I feel a longing for what is lost and cannot be restored. But if the happy pursuits and casual beauty of youth prove ephe… — a quote by John McCain."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # Like most people of my age, I feel a longing for what is lost and cannot be restored. But if the happy pursuits and casual beauty of youth prove ephemeral, something better can endure, and endure until our last moment on earth. And that is the honor we earn and the love we give if at a moment in our lives we sacrifice for something greater than self-interest. We cannot choose the moments. They arrive unbidden by us. We can choose to let the moments pass, and avoid the difficulties they entail. But the loss we would incur by that choice is much dearer than the tribute we once paid to vanity and pleasure.

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## More from John McCain

1. > No one of good character leaves behind a wasted life - whether they die in obscurity or renown. 'Character,' wrote the 19th Century evangelist, Dwight Moody, '…

[Permalink to quote \#76](https://quotesby.net/John-McCain/76/ "Permalink to quote 76")
2. > You have at hand many examples of good character from whom you will have learned the lessons by which you can live your own lives. You are blessed. Make the mo…

[Permalink to quote \#78](https://quotesby.net/John-McCain/78/ "Permalink to quote 78")
3. > Mankind has advanced. Human progress is ceaseless. We can look at Bosnia or Zaire or Rwanda and conclude that building just societies is a fool's errand. We ar…

[Permalink to quote \#75](https://quotesby.net/John-McCain/75/ "Permalink to quote 75")

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