Experience is a revelation in the light of which we renounce our errors of youth for those of age. (Ambrose Bierce)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Experience teaches us to replace youthful mistakes with new, often different ones in older age
Examples
As I grew older, I realized that experience is a revelation in the light of which we renounce our errors of youth for those of age
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Experience is a revelation in the light of which we renounce our errors of youth for those of age. (Ambrose Bierce)” mean?
Experience teaches us to replace youthful mistakes with new, often different ones in older age
Is “Experience is a revelation in the light of which we renounce our errors of youth for those of age. (Ambrose Bierce)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.