Franklin observes that people rarely regard their own time as a “golden age”. Periods remembered as unusually prosperous, virtuous or successful tend to acquire that reputation later, when their difficulties have faded from immediate view. By contrast, people living through the present encounter its problems directly and are therefore less likely to see it as an ideal period.

The saying is a warning about historical perspective and nostalgia. It does not claim that all eras are equally good or that genuine periods of progress cannot be identified. Rather, Franklin points to a bias in how societies remember the past and experience the present. Distance can simplify earlier periods and make their advantages more visible than their hardships. The proverb therefore encourages a more critical comparison between present conditions and supposedly better times in history.