The second line of the poem is startling in its direct contradiction
of the language and lamentation of conventional poetry. Regret for
lost youth and terror before old age are stock ideas in poetry, and
in human meditation; but here we are invited to look forward to old
age as the best time of life. Not to grow old gracefully, in
resignation, but to grow old eagerly, in triumph--this is the
Rabbi's suggestion. There is not the slightest doubt that he is right,
provided one lives a mental, rather than an animal existence. A
short time ago, Mr. Joseph H. Choate was addressing a large company
in New York: he said, "Unquestionably the best period of life is the
time between seventy and eighty years of age: and I advise you all
to hurry up and get there as soon as you can."
God loveth whom He chasteneth. Our doubts and fears, our sorrows and
pains, are spurs, stimulants to advance; rejoice that we have them,
for they are proofs that we are alive and moving!
In the seventh stanza comes an audacious but cheering thought.
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