William Wordsworth on youth

We must be free or die, who speak the tongue
That Shakespeare spake; the faith and morals hold
Which Milton held.

To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

And ‘t is my faith, that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

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.

George Washington, as a boy, was ignorant of the commonest accomplishments of youth. He could not even lie.

Mark Twain1835–1910“Brief Biographical Sketch of George Washington”, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches (1867), ed. John Paul

When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not.

Mark Twain1835–1910Autobiography of Mark Twain, Mark Twain Project edition, Volume 1 (2010), p. 210