“ If he were ever a big old man, he has shrunk into a little old man; if he were always a little old man, he has dwindled into a less old man. ”
Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit (1857). copy citation
| Author | Charles Dickens |
|---|---|
| Source | Little Dorrit |
| Topic | |
| Date | 1857 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/963/963-h/963-h.htm |
Context
“(who might be supposed to have dropped from the stars, if there were any star in the Heavens dull enough to be suspected of casting off so feeble a spark) , creeping along with a scared air, as though bewildered and a little frightened by the noise and bustle. This old man is always a little old man. If he were ever a big old man, he has shrunk into a little old man; if he were always a little old man, he has dwindled into a less old man. His coat is a colour, and cut, that never was the mode anywhere, at any period. Clearly, it was not made for him, or for any individual mortal. Some wholesale contractor measured Fate for five thousand coats of such quality, and Fate has lent this old coat to this old man, as one of a long unfinished line of many old men.”
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