“Lines for an Old Man” - T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

The tiger in the tiger-pit Is not more irritable than I. The whipping tail is not more still Than when I smell the enemy Writhing in the essential blood Or dangling from the friendly tree. When I lay bare the tooth of wit The hissing over the arched tongue Is more affectionate than hate, More bitter than the love of youth, And inaccessible by the young. Reflected from my golden eye The dullard knows that he is mad. Tell me if I am not glad!

Study of an Old Man with a Gold Chain, Rembrandt, 1632