Quotation by

William Butler Yeats

I heard the old, old, men say 'all that's beautiful drifts away, like the waters.'

Men

Understanding this quote AI Analysis

The old men are expressing the idea that everything beautiful in life eventually disappears or fades away, much like how water flows and is never still. They suggest that beauty is temporary and constantly moving beyond our reach.

More by this author

All quotes by William Butler Yeats →

More quotes about Men

See all →

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naive or innocent, who has th…

Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.

Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?

Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.

I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't presume to probe into the faults of others.