All would live long, but none would be old.

Franklin’s aphorism points to a common human contradiction: people desire a long life in the abstract, yet they resist the visible and felt realities of aging. The line compresses a social observation into a paradox—longevity is universally wished for, but “being old” is culturally stigmatized and personally feared because it implies decline, dependence, and proximity to death. Read this way, the quote critiques vanity and denial, suggesting that wanting the benefits of time without accepting its costs is incoherent. It also hints at a moral stance associated with Franklin: practical wisdom requires facing natural consequences honestly rather than indulging comforting fantasies.