Hazlitt begins by discussing how youth have a sense of “eternity” that causes them to make up for everything at the very beginning of the essay. The youth give little thought to future planning and live as though they have a treasure-filled future. Their dreams and hopes have no bounds.
They feel they have a fortunate life and are unable to relate to inactive fantasies like death or old age; to them, these concepts remain fictions. As a result, words like “death” and “old age” have no meaning to them. The youth are filled with needs that keep growing, and they look for any opportunity to satisfy them. They perceive no end to prospect after prospect. They have an optimistic outlook on life and possess the power and vigor to keep up with the rapid pace of the outside world. They lose sight of how they will age and eventually meet death in the midst of their pleasure. Perhaps the ‘young’ sense the essence of immortality because of their very nature.
According to Hazlitt, youth are rocked in the cradle of their wants because they are still in that thin layer of innocence (since they have not yet experienced life). They are preoccupied with various desires, but they do not give any attention to death. Young people have an unimpaired spirit and are led by their own feelings up until they have a slight setback and break their ties to the outside world, at which point their desire for future events loosens its grip and they start to perceive events in their appropriate context. Hazlitt uses Bobby and Sterne as an example of a scullion (a servant used for manual labor). When told of his Master’s passing, Sterne just responds, “So am not I!” insinuating that the beauty of his existence has already been diminished by his repetitive work. The young people’s lack of concern for mortality only seems to reinforce and improve their sense of ownership and love of life. Until they witness Love, Hope, and Joy fading all around them, they likewise fail to appreciate the worth of time.
Hazlitt now discusses the worries and uncertainties that youth experience. Without having experienced life’s splendor, youth cannot depart. The young people absorb it with awe, as if life were like a country fair, and they have no thoughts of returning home or that it would soon be dark. Then, like a “step-mother” in a play, nature holds them in her arms and eventually lets them fall, as if they were an ever-growing burden for her to sustain. This is how Hazlitt relates life to life. However, for a brief period of time, she (Nature) illuminates the youth and lifts them up to witness the universe’s “raree-show” (a miniature display or scene seen in a box).
Hazlitt also makes statements about the features of nature that young people love with full vigor. “To see the golden sun… Nature has poured her riches at our feet.” He talks about how the young person contemplates historical occurrences (such as Tyre of Sidon, a Mediterranean port, and Babylon, a vast, evil city on the Euphrates river where Jews were exiled), as well as the majestic world of nature. The quick onset of maturity and this change from everything to nothing shocks them, and the youthful excitement that once filled with hope and pleasure has turned into an uncomfortable idea. Nevertheless, they recognize and admire the exquisite beauty of nature.
Even if the change from youth to old age, or rather from childhood to adulthood, occurs gradually, it appears to have happened suddenly. Hazlitt describes how art, such as Rembrandt’s paintings, endures for a very long time while young people pay little attention to the passage of time until they one day discover the intricate details of Nature. In other words, as one ages, his health, strength, and hunger decline, and even if he wants to do anything of value to this world (Nature), it becomes rather too tough for him to complete. The painter lives eternally in his work while the observer is transformed to dust.
Sometimes, when we are aware of time’s ravages, we find it desirable to enjoy every second of youth while moaning about how slowly (like a snail) time passes by since we won’t have time to see how swiftly the time has passed. Hazlitt talks about his own youthful experiences during which he took part in the French Revolution. He joined the Movement out of the heat of the moment and youthful vigor, but in the end he only witnessed bloodshed (“For my part… my hopes fell”).
Then, Hazlitt discusses how he develops an opinion about “youth” by thinking back on his earlier experiences. He now understands that the soul must leave something behind that is valuable to this planet in order for it to be pleased. This symbolizes the doubts and anxieties that persist even during the transitioning period. All of the careless, reckless, and impatient attitude disappears, and a concern develops inside of him that he might not leave anything worthwhile for this world.
As one ages, the passing of time becomes extremely apparent; nothing seems to have changed, but in truth, we are the ones who have changed. Hazlitt remarks that the world is a witch that cuts us off with deceptive appearances and performances, implying that all joys and hopes evaporate before our very eyes. The only thing we can anticipate right now (at our advanced age) is a minimal amount of illness and pain, after which we can quietly enter our graves. We have shaped ourselves over time, so the idea of “death” no longer scares us. Faculty after faculty, interests after interests, and attachments after attachments “disappear: we are torn from ourselves while living, year after year sees us no longer the same, and death only consigns the last fragment of what we were to the grave.”
According to Hazlitt, mankind must “wear out by slow stages” in order to comprehend the true meaning of existence. After a while, even the things we study and watch now could appear a little childish. Hazlitt is disparaging young people. Hazlitt leaves the readers with a last question: Why does youth pass away? Why does beauty deteriorate? Life alone won’t suffice to provide answers.
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