This is quite misleading. In fact, the Nikon D40 WILL work with most of the Nikon lenses, including the "golden oldies," but the difference is that it will NOT autofocus with any except the AF-S lenses. Right now there is a paucity of AF-S lenses, especially in the shorter prime lengths.
You can use the D40 and successfully manually-focus any of the lenses you put on that camera. With the older AI-S lenses, though, there is also the issue of metering, as they cannot utilize the camera's metering system.
You can buy and use the 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8 and use them on the D40 -- you'll just have to manually focus. You can use the older 80-200mm f/2.8 zoom on the D40, too. Again, you'll just need to manually focus. Another option: consumers can also purchase some of the Sigma HSM lenses and use those if they really need/want autofocus. Why is that? Because the Sigma HSM lenses, like the Nikon AF-S lenses, have the internal motor. Many people have purchased and use the 30mm f/1.4 Sigma lens on their D40, the 10-20mm wide-angle lens (which is less expensive than Nikon's own 12-24mm), etc......