If a thing is wanted to know whether it is old, very old, or still young, it must be judged not by the number of years during which it has existed, but by the proportion of that number to the period it is supposed to exist. The same length of time may be considered extreme old age for creatures of one kind, but not for others. Listening to the complaints of the elderly, we learn that nature is noticeably aging and that the sound of the steps with which it is approaching its decline is heard. The climate, these people assure us, is no longer the same as it used to be .. The forces of nature are exhausted, its beauty and correctness diminish. People are not as strong now and do not reach such an age as they used to be .. And this decline is seen as if not only in the natural structure of the Earth, it extends to the moral state of people. Old virtues have outlived their age, and new vices have taken their place. Lies and deceit have changed the former honesty .. This mistaken opinion, which does not even deserve to be refuted, is the fruit not so much of error as of selfishness. Honest old men, who are so vain that they imagine that the sky has tried to produce them in times of greatest prosperity, do not want to agree that even after their death in the world everything can be as beautiful as before their birth. They willingly convince themselves that nature is aging with them, so that it is not a pity to part with the world, which itself is already close to its death.