“The value of old age depends upon the person who reaches it. To some men of early performance it is useless. To others, who are late to develop, it just enables them to finish the job.”

Victorian English novelist and poet, Thomas Hardy is best known for his novels exploring rural life and human suffering, particularly *Tess of the d’Urbervilles* and *Jude the Obscure*. His later work shifted toward poetry, where he grappled with themes of mortality and the passage of time.