Literary notes about senescence (AI summary)
Senescence is employed in literature as a multifaceted term that captures both the physical progression of aging and a metaphor for broader processes of decline and transformation. In some contexts, it is used to denote a premature or accelerated deterioration of vitality, as in the critique of early onset decay [1], while other usages evoke the idea of a life fully lived—a transformation marked by an accumulation of experiences that lends a unique, ripened sweetness [2]. At times, authors pair senescence with rejuvenescence, suggesting a dynamic interplay between decline and renewal, though without offering definitive explanations for the phenomena [3]. Additionally, senescence is conceptualized as a challenge for modern science, raising questions about the possibility of arresting or even reversing it [4, 5]. Finally, its thematic range extends to portrayals of societal or cultural aging, where the lifecycle of civilizations mirrors the individual experience of maturation and decline [6].
- It is usually an expression of premature senescence.
— from Degeneracy: Its Causes, Signs and Results by Eugene S. (Eugene Solomon) Talbot - Not that there is any other mark of senescence than the ripened sweetness of a life both publicly and privately well spent.
— from The Function of the Poet, and Other Essays by James Russell Lowell - "Senescence and rejuvenescence" is another sonorous explanation that does not explain, used by Minot, Engelmann, and Hansen.
— from The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation by Austin O'Malley - It is entirely logical, and no more marvellous, that science should be able to arrest senescence, put back the clock.
— from Black Oxen by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton - But we must make further studies before we can answer the question whether our senescence can be ameliorated.
— from The World's Greatest Books — Volume 15 — Science - He also maintains that the life-cycle of each civilization runs through the same phases: youth, maturity, and senescence.
— from The Birth of Civilization in the Near East by Henri Frankfort
