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About this quote

What does it mean?
A young man asks an old man why he is hale despite having grey hair.
In plain terms
A young person asks an old man why he is still healthy.
What can you take from it?
People wonder about aging and health.

Where it applies

  • conversations with elders
  • reflecting on age

Putting it to work

  • ask about health
  • value experience

Questions to consider

  • What makes people healthy?
  • How do we treat the elderly?

Another view

This is a fictional dialogue from a poem.

More from Robert Southey

  1. Cold is thy heart and as frozen as Charity!

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  2. 'In my days of youth, I remembered my God, And he hath not forgotten my age.'

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  3. How beautiful is night! A dewy freshness fills the silent air; No mist obscures; nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain, Breaks the serene of heaven: In full-orbed gl…

    Permalink to quote #4

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