Having now detailed the proverbs concerning the parts of the human body, we must weigh those derived from the various stages of life, as well as from other human prerogatives and circumstances. Regarding age, it is first said that *different ages befit different things*, showing that what once suited a young man is no longer appropriate for an elder. We are also told that *we are made wiser by age*, demonstrating that people grow more knowledgeable through experience and that prudence increases over time, just as the famous verse says: *Time, the devourer of all things, increases wisdom alone.*

If we consider specific stages of life, other adages emerge. We speak, for instance, of *fitting the buskins of Hercules onto a small boy* when something massive is ill-suited to something tiny. The phrase *he is a seven-year-old boy, yet has not cut his teeth* can be applied to those of advanced age who still occupy themselves with trifles. We read in Basil the expression *known even to a child*, which is similar to the proverb *obvious even to a blind man*, used for things that are common knowledge to everyone. Juvenal wrote *as children praise the peacock* to describe misers who merely praise poetry while giving nothing to the poets. The adage *do not give a sword to a boy* warns that power should not be granted to children, the ignorant, or the foolish, lest they abuse it to their own ruin or that of others. Another says *men are for oaths, boys for dice*, teaching that playful things belong to children while serious matters belong to men. Suidas records the phrase *a boy and the ice*, used for those who cannot hold onto something but are unwilling to let it go. This seems to be taken from Sophocles, who compared love to children grabbing ice in their hands: it can neither be easily held nor discarded as it melts away. Thus, love cannot be shaken off because of the desire attached to it, nor can it be kept because of the troubles joined to its pleasures.

There is a popular opinion that *I hate a boy of precocious wisdom*, which has persisted even to our own day. People believe that children who mature too early will either not live long or will eventually go mad. Pliny reports that Cato the Censor spoke as if by an oracle when he stated that a "senile youth" was a sign of premature death. In Greek, the word *paizo* (to act like a youth) refers to acting thoughtlessly in the manner of young people. We say *youth is powerful in strength* to describe that flourishing and vigorous stage of life. Another proverb teaches that *work is for the young, counsel for men, and prayers for the elderly*. This suggests that the young should be employed for labor, as that age excels in strength, while middle-aged men should be called to counsel, as their prudence has been seasoned by experience; meanwhile, the elderly, being more religious, should pray to the Gods for the best outcomes. However, the poet Boethus expressed this adage differently in verse: *the deeds of the young, the counsels of the middle-aged, but the farts of the old.*

Having arrived at the topic of old age, we shall now weigh the proverbs concerning it. We speak of *an elderly student* in reference to someone who begins a task too late or at an inopportune time; for just as youth is teachable, old age is stubborn and forgetful. The saying *become an old man early, if you wish to be an old man for a long time* advises us to set aside youthful labors while our health is still intact and to take care of ourselves, since we must travel through a long old age. The phrase *an old man among children* fits those who are educated enough to seem like scholars among commoners, but appear ignorant among the truly learned. We also speak of *the wisdom of the old*, because elders are skilled through long experience and remember many events from previous centuries.

Sophocles mentions *the anger of an old man*, by which he meant a light anger that is easily erased, as the heat of the blood fades at that age. A *thrice-child old man* refers to someone so decrepit that they seem to have returned to childhood. Similar to this is *old men are twice children*, which applies to those who, despite being weighed down by age, nevertheless pursue childish interests. Likewise, the Greeks say *an old man’s skull is like a raisin*, teaching that the elderly body is weak and shriveled, its juices exhausted just like a dried grape. The expression *I grow old in a year* applies to a person burdened by weariness and trouble. Finally, *I grow old always learning many things* signifies that prudence is generated through the experience of life; for this reason, Seneca wrote in a letter to Lucilius that one must keep learning for as long as