Old age is far more than white hair, wrinkles, the feeling that is is too late and the game finished, and the stage belongs to the rising generations. The true evil is not the weakening of the body, but the indifference of the soul.

Maurois distinguishes between the outward markers of aging and its deeper, moral-psychological dimension. White hair and physical decline are presented as secondary; what truly makes someone “old” is an inner surrender—the belief that one’s time is over and that life’s “stage” now belongs exclusively to the young. The quote argues that the gravest danger is not bodily frailty but a spiritual slackening: indifference, loss of curiosity, and disengagement from purpose. In this view, vitality is chiefly a matter of attention and commitment; one can remain inwardly young by continuing to care, to desire, and to participate, even as the body weakens.