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The Voyage of Life

Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Childhood, 1842

The Voyage of Life is a series of four paintings created by Thomas Cole in 1842, representing an allegory of the four stages of human life. The paintings, Childhood, Youth, Manhood, and Old Age, depict a voyager who travels in a boat on a river through the mid-19th-century American wilderness. In each painting, the voyager rides the boat on the River of Life accompanied by a guardian angel. The landscape, each reflecting one of the four seasons of the year, plays a major role in conveying the story. With each instalment, the boat's direction of travel is reversed from the previous picture.

• In childhood, the infant glides from a dark cave into a rich, green landscape.
• As a youth, the boy takes control of the boat and aims for a shining castle in the sky.
• In manhood, the adult relies on prayer and religious faith to sustain him through rough waters and a threatening landscape.
• Finally, the man becomes old and the angel guides him to heaven across the waters of eternity.

Thomas Cole - The Voyage of Life Old Age, 1842

In the first painting, Childhood, all the important story elements of the series are introduced: the voyager, the angel, the river, and the expressive landscape. An infant is safely ensconced in a boat guided by an angel. The landscape is lush; everything is calm and basking in warm sunshine, reflecting the innocence and joy of childhood. The boat glides out of a dark, craggy cave which Thomas Cole himself described as "emblematic of our earthly origin, and the mysterious Past." The river is smooth and narrow, symbolizing the sheltered experience of childhood. The figurehead on the prow holds an hourglass representing time.

The final painting, Old Age, is an image of death.

The man has grown old; he has survived the trials of life. The waters have calmed; the river flows into the waters of eternity. The figurehead and hourglass are missing from the battered boat; the withered old voyager has reached the end of earthly time. In the distance, an angel is descending from heaven, while the guardian angel hovers close, gesturing toward the other. The man is once again joyous with the knowledge that faith has sustained him through life. The landscape is practically gone, just a few rough rocks represent the edge of the earthly world, and dark water stretches onward. Thomas Cole describes the scene: "The chains of corporeal existence are falling away, and already the mind has glimpses of Immortal Life."

גיל from West Semitic root *g-y-l "to rejoice". Compare Arabic جِيل‎ (jīl, “generation”).

Pronunciation: Rhymes: -il

Noun

גִּיל • (gíl) m (plural indefinite גִּילִים‎)

• age, period
• joy, happiness

Proper noun

גִּיל • (gíl) m

A male or female given name, Gil.

Old age

• גיל                age
• מבוגר            adult
• גיל מבוגר       advanced age