Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow so.

The quotation distinguishes chronological age from what might be called felt or moral age: the inner condition shaped by temperament (habitual outlook, emotional tone) and health (vitality, resilience). Edwards suggests that people can carry “oldness” early—through cynicism, rigidity, or depleted energy—while others remain “young” by sustaining curiosity, flexibility, and vigor. The aphorism implicitly shifts responsibility from the calendar to character and care of the self, challenging the assumption that years automatically confer wisdom or decline. Its appeal lies in reframing aging as partly a psychological and ethical posture, not only an inevitable biological fate.