War was the irrevocable step, as final as death
itself. And he remembered something Nolan had said, just before he
sailed.
"We have had one advantage, Clay. Or maybe it is not an advantage,
after all. Do you realize that you and I have lived through the
Golden Age? We have seen it come and seen it go. The greatest
height of civilization, since the world began, the greatest
achievements, the most opulent living. And we saw it all crash.
It will be a thousand years before the world will be ready for
another."
And later,
"I suppose every life has its Golden Age. Generally we think it
is youth. I'm not so sure. Youth is looking ahead. It has its
hopes and its disappointments. The Golden Age in a man's life
ought to be the age of fulfillment. It's nearer the forties than
the twenties."
"Have you reached it?"
"I'm going to, on the other side."
And Clayton had smiled.
"You are going to reach it," he said. "We are always going to find
it, Nolan. It is always just ahead.
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