I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.
You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?
But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.
Man is not made for defeat.
I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars.
It is good that we do not have to try to kill the sun or the moon or the stars. It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers.
Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man.
I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.
Fish," he said, "I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.
He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy. He never dreamed about the boy. He simply woke, looked out the open door at the moon and unrolled his trousers and put them on.
Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.
To hell with luck. I'll bring the luck with me.
We do not count a man's years until he has nothing else to count.
When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.
You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother.
Know what you are talking about.
The fish is my friend too...I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars. Imagine if each day a man must try to kill the moon, he thought. The moon runs away. But imagine if a man each day should have to try to kill the sun? We were born lucky; he thought
Middle age is the time when a man is always thinking that in a week or two he will feel as good as ever.
or simply:
