Grocott & Ward, comps. Grocott’s Familiar Quotations, 6th ed. 189-?.
Sear and Yellow Leaf
I have lived long enough: my way of life
Is fallen into the sear, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but, in their stead,
Curses not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.
Shakespeare.—Macbeth, Act V. Scene 3. (Tired of life, and contemplating old age without honour.)
My days are in the yellow leaf;
The flowers and fruits of love are gone;
The worn, the canker, and the grief
Are mine alone.
Byron.—On his attaining the age of thirty-six.