[originaltext] It is curious how often sympathy for the old and infirm takes

It is curious how often sympathy for the old and infirm takes a form which actually humiliates them. Their friends, or mere acquaintances, wishing to show good will, paw them, sometimes leaning forward to rearrange their neckwear, pulling at their shawl, touching their hair or patting their faces—things they would never presume to do, unasked, to one of their contemporaries.
    An equally humiliating habit of many people who are quite unconscious of being rude is to talk about old people in front of them, as if they were not there, discussing their health, or making playful remarks, on the lines of “Well, nurse, has she been a good girl today?”
    It is now universally accepted that children should be encouraged to do as much as they can for themselves in order to develop their brains and muscles, but so few people today seem to have time to allow the elderly the same means of keeping their minds and muscles active. With what they believe to be unselfish kindness they perform innumerable services for them that they would be much better left to do, even with a struggle, for themselves.
    Convenient flats, well-run homes, “motherly” visitors, or organized entertainments cannot make up for the fundamental need which must be satisfied—the need to retain to the end of life, human dignity and respect of 35 one’s fellows.