What does it mean?
A dark joke: we learn a lot as time passes, but by the time we are wise, our life is nearly over.
Key vocabulary
- pupils
- students
Who said it?
Hector Berlioz: French composer (1803–1869).
These exact words are widely credited to Hector Berlioz, but they don’t appear in their known work. They may be a later paraphrase or a misattribution.