Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-21
YEARS MEAN LITTLE
Roger A. Pryor Discusses e.
ficiency and Age.

NEW YORK, November H.-'Time is
an abstraction. It's mere passing has no
effect on man or other material things.
Whether man is or is not in full pos
session of his mental faculties in his old
age depends entirely on how he has used
or abused the time that has been given
him.
Judge Roger A. Pryor made this COM
ment of President George Harris of Am
herst College. who gave up his position
because he was sixty-eight years old and
declared that In the latter part Of the
seventh decade a man cannot render his
most efficient service"
Judge H6yor is now in his eighty-fourth
year. He was on the supreme bench
until he was seventy years old, and he
was then forced to retire because of a
statute to that effect in New York law.
He is still as keen and active mentally
as a man Of half his age.
He took something of a straddle on the
question Of mans fitness for the work
Of the world after he had passed the
given time of three score years and ten.
Work Of Old Men Enduring.
1.-The most startling work of the world
has been done by young men," he said,
gravely. land this will always be true.
The most enduring work is done by old
men. And this will always be true. The
work of the most mature minds is likely
to be the most valuable, and old men will
always excel in the arts and sciences that
do not tnvo.ve physical activity.
But Alexander conquered the world
when he was a young man. and Napo-
leon. a youth. had Europe at his feet"
"a butcher must necessarily be physi-
cally vigorous" 1t was suggested. Judge
Pryor nodded.
II see your point and there I agree
with you that the old man will always be
the leader in those lines of mental acttv-
ity which depend largely upon experience
and meditation. he said In law and
philosophy the greater the age, the great
err the value, should be the rule. OF
course l mean that this rule should hold
as long as there is no mental decay.
And now, that / think of it, the great
est field marshal in the history of Austria
conducted one of the greatest campaigns
of the empire in his eighty fourth year.
But we cannot argue from exceptions.
The business Of war Is distinctly the bust
ness OF young men, the Old men, with
come along after the bullets have ceased
to fly and form governments and bui d
empires. Gladstone was past the allotted
time when he dropped the burden of en-
rebuilding and lay down to rest.
Great Writings by Old Men.
I'm literature there are countless ex-
amples of great work done in the twi-
light of life. Darwin was very close
to the line when he gave us the Descent
of Man Macaulay's earlier work. to my
mind, was his best, but the great ma
jority of the leaders of thought and fic-
ton have done their best work when
past fifty and frequently when past sixty
Victor Hugo was sixty-four when he
wrote Toilers of the Sea, and three or
our years later he produced The Man
Who Laughs Goethe and Kant did
scarcely anything until they were fifty.
And SO you can go through the whole list.
After all. the mere passing OF the
years means but little. In order to de-
termine a mans worth in the seventh or
eighth decade Of his life we must first
ind out how he spent the first six or
seven. II the mere passing of time were
the only foe to activity and endurance
this house would stand a million years.
Our usefulness in our old age depends
upon the tranquility and sincerity of our
earlier years"