Youth and Old Age

Arabian Wisdom, by John Wortabet, [1913], at sacred-texts.com

Youth and Old Age

An old man among his people is like a prophet sent from God.

To venerate old age is to revere God.

Youth is a kind of madness.

The wisest young men are they who follow the good example of the old, and the most foolish old men are they who follow the bad example of the young.

It is the duty of every one to be tender to the young and respectful to the old.

An old man should not give up his old habits, nor take to new ones.

An old man speaks of what he has seen, and a young man speaks of what he has heard.

Grey hairs are a sign of wisdom, and are beautified by reverence.

p. 61

A hoary head is a rich cream churned by long years.

Grey hairs are a message from the other world.

After old age there is nothing but infirmity or death.

An old man cries out, "O that youth would return for a day, that I might relate to it what the roll of years has done to me!"

The hair often becomes white, not from the succession of years, but from a succession of evils.

Life is a parting shadow and youth a departing guest.

When a young man says he is hungry, believe him; but when he says he is tired, do not believe him.