By common consent gray hairs are a crown of glory the only object of respect that can never excite envy.

Bancroft treats old age—symbolized by “gray hairs”—as a socially ratified honor (“by common consent”), likening it to a “crown of glory.” The second clause sharpens the point: unlike wealth, beauty, rank, or talent, age commands respect without provoking jealousy, because it is not a prize that can be seized or outcompeted for; it arrives through time and endurance. The remark elevates longevity and experience into a moral distinction, suggesting that the authority of elders rests on shared human recognition rather than on contested status. Implicitly, it also critiques forms of prestige that depend on rivalry and comparison.