In a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the equally venerable John Adams near the end of his life: “There is a ripeness of time for death, regarding others as well as ourselves, when it is reasonable we should drop off, and make room for another growth. When we have lived our generation out, we should not wish to encroach on another.”
… or something like this:
In a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the equally venerable John Adams near the end of his life: “There is a ripeness of time for death, regarding life as it flourishes as another decays. When we have lived our generation out, we should rejoice and come to the aid of life.”