Cicero’s conclusion reinforces the above themes:

…my old age sits light upon me…, and not only is not burdensome, but is even happy. For as Nature has
marked the bounds of everything else, so she has marked the bounds of life. Moreover, old age is the final CHAINED FIVE
scene … in life’s drama, from which we ought to escape when it grows wearisome and, certainly, when we have
had our fill.
CATO THE ELDER ON OLD AGE
Recap – Cicero’s Lessons on Successful Aging
(ON OLD AGE)
1. A good old age begins in youth – Cultivate the virtues that will serve you well in old age
—moderation, wisdom, courage—in your youth.
Lic BEMS OneanaRDER R. growing EEL
2. Old age can be a good part of life – You can live well in old age if you are wise. INONTAI ENE
3. Youth and old age differ – Accept that as physical vitality declines, wisdom can grow.
Ckero wrote thi s famous ethay at the denim:kga f 44 B.C.. complerioth its
4. Elders can teach the young – Older people have much to teach the young, and younger people can revision sera six months keen and dedicating it hirfrfrndAtIias This Is
invigorate older persons. one. slighter and math rapidly ;alum than On Duties
(Chico' 4), of the
5. We can be active in old age, with limitations. – We should try to remain healthy and active while accepting than (shingly nurnerater philosaphical arm philosophical nada which he
our limitations. Pawed al this than( his enforced yaliikal irwaion during the thaaranhip
ytieser and Es utEREfstary effennarkl
6. The aged should exercise their minds. – We should continually learn new things.
In hie thseussion on ad age. that isedtheire combination of increased
7. Older people should be assertive. – Older people will be respected only if they aren’t too passive. wisdom and &raying powers'. as E. M. Forster cells it, it to which tab hide
8. Sex is overrated – We should accept physical limitations and enjoy other aspects of life. inalligaia is throne. Cicero an gayety, Schapenkaithr and modern earth-
inkgkal intathh. The Wisdom ofiSiclamon was unknown a
lath but he
9. Pursue enjoyable, worthwhile activities. – Happiness derives in large part from doing productive work that thew thou a mendera f Creek treatises on the same withect - he mentions a
gives us joy. rethnn Ant as the author of one, and Theopthasta sans another writer on
10. Don’t fear death. – Don’t cling to life—a good actor knows when to leave the stage. this theme. &won, the discussion which he pretends to ranathe ban is
staged a Rome in Ho au. The main speaker is Marais Pardus Cato the
Eike known as ' the Omar fan, Rumea. gar. wriAL
and stern pathetic theta% aged 84 the DIEN Mu imaginary anemia-
lion. Cicero was a great admirer of Cats (whom Seneca was to
recognize as
the historical entho kitten of the Stoic meek and hal already theruioned kini
ae keg sthly ether hi his uremia's wriangs. Though Oath khan Mai Con
may thirtieth been so profoundly Hellenized a s he appeal s here fie wa
wise no, dr rough 0610g6636f aLai-HefieniC NU&
presented by GRA
unten: he was no peasant bin a capitalist who thought Jibe other Senators,
though more nfarively than most of Arm.
With data art Stink Aellaidirra (Lucius Cornelius Scipio Af
v,rtu the
tiger). ye fk and water - aged 55 di thr fiffie-146.0 war 10
destroy Carthage in the Third Punic War four years Loki; and his friend
Gains Laeliia. 11701111; like data hinisek: et O the wise. Sank and Laelius
L FIDE It °tame wthinv. ft= Wow. ER ESI
MI
 CICra10
also appea r In Omelet State, and Welke lithe Ali !woke' in OnFriond-
ship.&ipio - the leading orators of his day - admired the Greek
philosophical Wed, mid his eirck heMed decisively to Introduce this and other
aspects (Greek culture at Roman erdwarion.
Cicero, writingondera aulorra Who hadprof tedfromdisharmorry.makes
his idealized Coro - a 'pew man' Me himself_ the spokesman for-an un-
spoilt Republion post in which, allegedly, leading politicians had been
friends with one another.

The Romano were like brothers

In tho brave days et' ekt INTRODUCTION

This Menem duelling upon the happy rtiatiom between Cale and Scipio if[ can give you any help, Titus, if' can lighten the carts which aro
Armiliamm, draws a mil over an earlier period in Wad. Cato had deter- implanted in your breast and are roaring and turning you on De spit,
minedly opposed the elder Scipio Africanus eer the laeler's sumessfil ens- what will be my reward?'
chasten (Mt Second Punic War. Dorpocannius attributed those ds the Ilitd earth
bort rich in loyalty'. as he dercnbettl
l Thus Quinctittalamininus. Ike
Cierm's many Whistrationsfrom the history of Rome and other countries -
derivedfrom many sources, including a genealogica/ work by Mims and cave to copy them, Anima, and address them to yourself I am Car-
modem radnshy Varro (including perhaps one on OW Age) - display Lab; however, that you cannot be described, Ma Flanthrimas in the
Cicero at his mourpassed best as raconteur Ma =Swig; the lone Is some- same passage. as lull otanowiwy day and night'. For! know you area
what reminiscent MBA's& I c InerMens on popular philosophy suck as the moderate even-tempered man - who have imported more than just
'Diatribe (leisure Mori) of Bien of Bowe/woes (r. yammyy sz.), your umame from Athens! You have brought back a civilised
ClwretrefieMon.. on inerrartalitycomefrow the heart because (the recent intelligent point of view as wet Neverthclew, I seep= that at times
you tryn are More than a little disturbed by the events which are caus-
death of is beloved daughter Tullio. He hiromeg when he romped this
essay. was sixty-two, and one (his Wm, as he fretted in retimneou may ing me ouch grave nutty today. However, the search for comfort in
ham been m show bathe was still capable of playing an important part these trouhlcs would be too great a task for now, and must be left for
tall of gate. Furthermore. bygiring the chief rale to Cato the Wren he
2111°Elteil
4y presca
l tirrie. intention. inwood, Is to write you an essay on Old Age.
indirealy codipliments his own amwely Republican contemporary Cam the
Wormy (the elder Cato's great-grandson), who Fad killed biortelf Mew For this is a burden which you and I shawl ° ur
nOt thtedy hultalleeNt
M North Africa oficr the failure (the Feriblican raWe at Therm (46 age carrot fail to be upon before long. Withal shall try to compose
wt.). Bum if Cicero often disagreed wish Catris polities (p. my), he for you - as well as for myself- is a consolation for this prospect. True,
you face it, I know, and you mill continue to
watly respected hlt highprim:Irks- and had recently written him ergo:ter- Gm it. with philoso-
ing obituary to which Caeca replied Y6 And-Ca (though each phical calm. That is why, when I thought I would write something
praised the style of the other's pamphlet). about old age, [felt you deserved its dedication! The book was to be
w Dew the gorge epic of the elder Cato's ern Send athUS 439-169
lac.)alaShepheiar ofEpirus ardeffeSleg TitUS Quartetiau Flavaineara, magmata
aPhara ' V fralaCedoil Cynorrephalea (apa e.c). Thn bdso the firstrame
of maw (T. romper/as rattica4
a. °zero raw 0a, AnAlla
an
at,
 CICERO z, ON OLD AGE
something that we should have in common. I have so greatly enjoyed, cATO: You are praising me for something which, in my opinion, Ins
its composition that the task has rid me of any thought of the irrita- not been a very difficult achievement. A penon who lacks the means,
tions which age Nviu bring, and has even made the condition seem within limaelf to live a good and happy life will find any period of
agreeable and attractive. his existence wearisome. But rely for life's blessings on your own re-
No praise, then, is too great for philosophy! - which enables this sourceg and you will not take a gloomy view of any of the inevitable
period in her obedient disciples' lives, like e cry othe period, to be consequences of nature's laws. Everyone hopes to attain an advanced
lived Without anxiety. age; yet when it to they all complain! So foolishly inconsistent
Other aspects ofphilosophical study Than dealt with elsewhere, at and perverse can people be.
length- and 'shall do so again on other occasions- whereas the book Old age, they protest, crept up on them more rapidly than they had
I am sending you now will concentrate on old age. When A:disco f expected. But, to begin with, who was to blame for their mistaken
altos1 wrote on this theme. he made Tithonus his spokesmand have forecast? For age does not steal upon adults any faster than adulthood
not followed his lead because a myth seems too insubstantial. I have steals upon children. Besides, if they were approaching eight hundred
instead put my seatinteats in the Mouth of the aged Marcus Porcius instead of eighty, they would complain of the burden just as loudly!
Cato (the Censor), so that his personality may confer authority upon If old people are stupid enough, then nothing can console them f r
the discussion. At Cam's house, I shall imagine Gaits Laelius and the time that has gone by, h ever great its length.
Eublias Cornelius Scipio Aemilinms. They are expressing wonder at So if you compliment me on being wise - and I ordy wish !lived
the ease with which their host endures being old, and Cato explains up to your estimate and to the name people have given me! - my
why this is And if his arguments may seem to show greater learning explanation istbis. I regard nature as the best guide: hollow and obey
than was habitually displayed in the books he te, the edit ntu t her as a divine being N ince he has planned A the earlier divi-
go to Greek literature- whirls he is knovm to have studied extensively sions of our liver excellently, she is not likely to make a. bad play-
in IA last yens. wrights mistake of skimping the last act. And .a last act was inevitable.
That is all I shall say at this point. Dom now on you will hear my There had to be a time of withering, of readiness to fall, like the ripe-
views on old ge fr Cat ' lip ness which comes to the fruits of the trees and of the earth. But a wise
man will face this prospect with resignation, for resistance against
nature Is as pointless as the battles of the giants against the gods.
L AP L : Yes, Cato, but I have a special request to malc dI can
CATO AND HIS FRIENDS
speak for Scipio too. We hope and desire to live long enough to see
old age. Could you therefore not tell us now, vvell in. advance, how its
screw : Ladius And I often express admiration for you, Cato. Your oncoming can best be mad endurable? If you can, you will be doing
wisdom seems thus outstanding, indeed &whys. But what strikes me us a very great favour.
pardadarly is this. I have never noticed that you find it wearisome to
CAvo If you both really want me to give you my advice, twill,
be old. That is very different from most other old men, who claim to
And their age a heavier burden than Mount Etna itself. thumps • You hay alr dy Ira e/kd far ott the long road for which
we also are destined. IE therefore, this is not asking too much of you,
a. It hat been disputed whether Cicero is refenini to a Stoic pluloaopher
Arista of Chios who a Peripatetic of the same name from Cam Ilthonus, sou we should like to hear your impressions of the place to which you
laomedon, was, through the favour °fats (Dawn), granted ha me.1
of thelhojan
byJupiter etanalEfe,butuoteternalyouthwiredof senility, he wastransformed I. Here, as in other pasnges of this section, Cicero closely follows the dis-
ittrit a vranhoover. cussion in Plato's Repubbh between Socrates and the aged Cephalu..
 CICERO 111. 7 ON OLD ACE
owns : Then I will do the best I can. there is great satisfaction in the knowledge of a life well petit and the
When I talked with my contemporaries - and the ex-consuls Gam memory of many things well done.
Livius Salinatos and Splints Postundus Albinos, who are almost my Wheat was a young man Quintus Fabius Maximus, who captured
age (Like consorts with like, ' says the old proverb) -how they used to Tarentumh was already old. Yet 'Was as fond of him as if we had
grumble/ They had lost all matedd pleasure; they said, and without been contemporaries. His natural dignity had a sociable streak, and
those life was net life at all. They also complained that people who had age had not changed his character. True, when! first knew him, he
once been attentive to them were now neglectful. But I felt they were was by no means extremely old. though he was already getting on in
not directing the blame where this belonged. For if the troubles which years. He had been consul in the year after I was born; and in his
they lamented were due to age, then I and all other veterans would f urth f th flute I n a very young private soldier in his
be suffering the same experiences; whereas 'have known many old army marching on Capua - and then, fly years afterwards, on
mar who had no complaints about their age or its liberating release Tareutum. Four years after that, in the consulships of Publius
from physical pleasures, and who were by no means treated with Senapronius Tuditanus and Marcus Cornelius Cethegus (when I was
contempt by their associates. When you hear protests of this kind, the prestos), Fabius, by now really old poke in support of the Cincian
rouble is due to character, not age If a man controls himself and Law 2 on gifts and rewards.
avoids bad temper and churlishness, then he can endure being old. But Even in quite advanced years he fought his wan With oda
Whe is irritable and churlish then any and every period of his life will determination as any young man. What wore down Haimibal's
seem to him tiresome. youthful exuberance was the patience Fabius showed. My friend.
EaniUs wrote splendidly about him: One Man, by delaying, restored
reams You axe undoubtedly right, Cato. All the same, the objec-
our fortunes: lie reckoned the talk °flits' critics as of less account than
tion might be raised that what helps you to find age more tolerable
the safety of his country. So now his gloriosa:set even more splendidly
is your money and property and position - advantages which kw
thereafter.' What vigilance and strategy he displayed in the recapture
others possess
of Tarentunt! I myself heard Marcus Livius &humor, who had lost
CATOt There is something in that, but it is not the whole story. the town and take:Ind.:de in the citadel! boasting to EMI 'You would
Remember that anecdote of the man from Seriphos: 'he was quarrel- not have recaptured Tanmtum without me. 'Very true,' replied
ling with livemistocles, whose fame this Seriphian attributed to his Fabius with a laugh; Tyou had not lost the place first I should never
country's greatness, not his own. 'Quite right,' answered Menai- have recaptured
stocks; "should certainly not have been famous if I had come fro And he was as distinguished a statesman as a soldier. During his
Seriphos; nor would you if you had come from Athens!' You might second term f office as consul, the tribune Galas Rumbius 4 was
say the same sort of thing about age - even the wisest man wouldnot
find it pleasant to be old if he were very poor, and yen the richest 1. Theleading Creek town of south Katy. cam-media the Second lttmic War
man would not find it particularly tolerable if Ise were very stupid. fry Sc) by Quinton Fabius Mariann 'the Delayer, five times consul, twice
dictator (cL 203 11.4
Old age has its own appropriate weapons: namely the study, and
a. The Crucial% Law forbade gifts which might de/wick's-Cm. and certain
the pracdce, orders; enlightened living. Do all you can to develop donations above a given amount Oat }Lc.).
these attivides all your life and as it draws to a close the harvest you l.A slip by Ckero (or Cato); it was Sahhator's relative Marcus Liviva
reap will be amazing. Thetis partly for the very important reason that Maratus who held the ciradeL
you can go on living in this fashion until your dying day. Besides 4. This apparently deinoaatic statesman and soldier proposed a law for the
settlement of thizen-farmas on the public lands south of itriminum con-
r. A swath insimtificant island in tbe Aegean. Thanistedes Leh. fiscated from the Gauls. The date was not 328 Lc, as given by Cato hae, but
hiaor f Salami; was the aeator of Athenian ass-power. 2322
I

CICERO IV, li ON OLD AGE

trying to allot land in Picenum and Cisalpine Gaul as small-holdings, age gives me no cause for complaint' A fine answer, worthy of a
in defiance of a ruling from the Senate. The other consul Spodus scholar!
Carydius did not raise his voice, but Fabius made every effort to The evils for which ignorant people blame old age are really their
oppose Flamithus. Again, when Fabius was augur, he had the courage own faults and deficiencies. Etinius, whom I mentioned just now, did
to pronounce that 'Wan action were for the good of die state then the not make th t mistake when he compared himself, as an old inan, to
favourable quality of the auspices need not be doubted; and con- a gallant, victorious race-horse: like a courageous steed whisk has often
versely, when any action was opposed to the national interests the won racer in the last lap at Olympia, and now, worn ow by years, rakes his
auspices could not fail to be bad. rest. Probably you can both remember Eimius quite clearly He died
There were many remarkable things about that great man, as I can in the year who Gnaeus Servilius Caepio and Quintus Marcius
vouch, from personal knowledge. But know °lambing more admir- Phiiippus were consuls (the litter's second tenur ), only nineteen years
able than the way in which he received the death of his son, who was before the assumption of office by our present consuls, Titus (Retains
a distinguished forrner consul. The father's funeral ti ' extant Flamithuus and Minim Acilius Balbus. I was sixty-Eve at the time,
f s t read, and when we do, every philosopher is put to shame. and made a speech in favour of the Voconian Law; with the hill
However, the greatness Fabius showed before Rome's public gaze was force Imy still powerful lungs. Ennius lived until he was seventy,
less notable than his achievements in the privacy of his own home. As and at that age he had to endure two of what are regarded as men's
a talker, as a moralist, he excelled; in history, too. and augural law, heaviest burdens -poverty and age. But he bore them so retharkably
his knowledge was outstanding. He was also, for a Roman. very well well that you might almost have thought he as joying them.
read • his mind was stored with information about all the wars our When I think about old age I can find four reasons wlids is re-
country has ever fought, and about wan between foreign countries garded as an unhappy time. First, because it takes us away from active
as well My absorption when I listened to his talk was prophetic, you work. Secondly, because it weakens the body. Thirdly, because it
might have said, of the time to come - when he had diedand I had no derives us of practically all physical pleasures. And fourthly, because
one left to learn from. it is not far from death. If you like we will go over these reasons one
Why have! said so uch about Fabius Maximus? Because you by one, and see how much truth there is in each, f therm
must see how wrong one Would be to describe an old age like his as
unhappy. True, not everyone can be a Scipio or a Maximus and.
Nine berth cities he has captured. the battles he has fought on and II
and sea, the triumphs helms won. But there is another sort of old age ACTIVITIES FOR THE OLD
too: the tranquil and serene evening of a life spent in peaceful, blame-
less, enlightened pursuits. Such, we are told, were the last years f
Plato, who died in his eighty-first year while mill actively engaged 'Old age takes us away from active work.' From what sort of work?
in writing. And then there was Isocrates,1 who informs us himself Presumably from the sort which needs youth and strength. But surely
that he was rising ninety-four when he finished his Panatkmaine; there are also occupations fitted for old men's minds and brains eves
aud he lived for another five years after that. His teacher, Gorgias of when their be dies am infirm. There were occupations enough for
Leontini, had died his one hundred and seventh birthday with- Fabius, as well as for your father,' Scipio - Lucius Aemilius Hats
out ever relaxing from his studies and his labours. When someone Macedonicus, whose son-in-law was my beloved son. And them there
asked him why he chose to stay alive so long, he replied; Old were those then h us d the peri cc aid authority of their
I. Athenian d teache f het ric. 43&438 Ac. Cassias, the mast I. Concerning inheritance by women NCO Ac-).
Lansaw of the l iophistsc is stated to have lived from 485 to ' syS. Conqueror of Wag Peneus ofMacedonidanhe hattkifthelimo,m,
 C10010 az, t s
ON OLD AGE
advancing years for the protection of their country: Gain Pabricius
has been totally destroyed And may the gods save for you, Scipio,
L anus, Manus Curios Dentatutl Tin's Coruncanius. Surely they
could not be described as doing nothing! the honour of completing your grandfather's achievement! He died
Old age made Appius Claudius' blind All the same, when our in the year before I bwam censor nine years after my consulship
(during which he was elected to his second tenure of the same office).
Senate was imbuing towards a peace pact with king Pyrrhus, Appius
did not hesitate to tter the words that Ermius later put into verse: Nearly thirty-three years have gone by since then, but his herein
'What is this madness that has turned your minds, until now firm and memory will remain in the minds of men for time everlasting.
lac had lived to he a hundred, would he regret his age? Surely no .
strong, from their [miner And so on, in the most impressive terms, True, hewould not spend his time running and jumping,
for you know the poem- and indeed Appius's speech itself has come or throwing
spears or swords. Fuc hs would still be employing his
down to . He delivered it seventeen years after his second tenure of wisdom and
the consulship, and since ten years had elapsed between his two logical powers and judgement If Id men did not possess thos
qualities, our ancestors would not have named their highest council
consulships and he had been censor before the first of them yo can
see that by the time of the war with Pyrrhus he was a very old DUD. the 'Senate' - hich means the assembly of old men. The Spartan,
too, call the holders of their Meister:celled the 'elders which iffinsi
Nevertheless, that was his vigorous intervention, as our fathers what they are, And if you choose t read,
recorded it for us. have read to you, the
So people who declare that there are no activities for old age axe histories of foreign count:rim you vsillfmd that the greaten states were
overturned by young people and restored by the old. 'Tell me, how
speaking beside the point. It is like ying that the pilot has nothing
did you lose your great nation so speedily? they ask in Nanills'S play
to do with sailing a ship bemuse he leaves others to climb the masts The Gene? And the most significant answer is this. Because new
and run along the sanlinalo and won the pumps, while he himself public speakers Game forward - silly young men.' Early adulthood is
sit, quietly in the stern holding the sudden He may not be doing what
naturally rash; sound sense only comes with advancing yen
the younger men are doing, but his contribution is much more signi-
Another objection to age is that this weakens the memory. Cer-
ficant and valuable than th irs. G eat deeds are not done by strength
tainly, if you fad to give it exercise, or if you are not particularly
or speed or physique: they are the produtts of thought, and character,
and judgement And far from diminishing, such pain actually intelligent Themistocles had haunt by heart the names of all his
fellowwitiaen • : do you suppose then when he had become old he
increase with age.
would belikely to mistake the son Aristides for the futile Lysimachusl
Now I have fought all Ickids of wan in my time F. at I was a My own acquaintance is by no means limited to those who are
private soldier, then a junior officer, then a commander, and futfily living
today, since I remember their fathers and their grandfathers I often
consul. Well, lam not fighting Wall any longer, so perhaps I seem to
read their epitaphs, and the act of reading about the dead brings them
you to be taking my ease. Yet mine is the advice the Senate listens to
bask to my mind, so lam not at all afraid of losing my memory, as
about which wan to fight, and how to fight them. At present I am they say happens. Besides, I never heard of an old man forgetting
I king well ahead and planntig for war against Carthage: my
where he had buried his money! Old people remember what interns
suspicions of that city will never come to an end until I am certain it
them: the dates fixed for their lawsuits, and the names of their debtors
1. see PP. MS. Thus Corunianitts, consul ago AC" triumphed Over the and creditors.
Etruscans, and was the first plebeian chief priest and an early jurist
a. (Camas): consul 307 and 296 a.m, the earliest Roman prose-miter and And what about elderly lawyers, priests, augurs, and philosophew ?
'first cleat-ad personality in Roman history all speech was atmbardd to a They remember a great many things. Provided the old retain their
meeting of th Sena • 280 >8 me. concentration and application, they stay sound of mind. And that not
3. Scipio Nemlianus was to ead the Third Punic War by destroying Cam only applies to well-konwn public figures, but is equally true ofpeopla
tinge in 146 5.G Cato had repeatedly said 'Carthage mast be destroyed'. S. The Game if Lido is =reel- hoe
 ammo VII, fl
ON OLD AGE
living quietly in retirement. Sophocles went on waiting tragedies brought with you no evil but this: that a penon by living long sees
until he ...clad a very great age. His preoccupation with this literary many things he does not want!' But perhaps the same man also sees
work created the impression that Ise was gleaing h h that he likes! And, after all, even youth has to look at some
finances. So his sans took him to court, urging that he was weak- things it does not care for.
Minded and should have die family property taken out of his control
An even worse sentiment, again expressed by CaecBius., this.
(i'dae us they had lawsempowering such action in Ca5C3 of mismanage- The unhapp t dung, y belie( about being Id feeling that
meat), The story g0125 on, however, that the aged Sophocles read
the men find you Wearisome.' On the contrary: they are much
aloud to the magistrates Earn the play that he hadJust written and was more likely to enjoy your company. An old man is well advised to
still working on, the Oedipus a, Colenue. Then he asked diem if they favour the society of promising young people lithe young cultivate
would describe its author as weak-minded After listening to his
and like him, he will find age more tolerable - and youths welbomc
nacitadon they voted his acquittal Clearly, then, his acti 'ties were an old man's advice, hich helps them to work at living good
not silenced by old age! The same is true of Homer, Haled, lives. I like to think you eagoy my company as much as I enjoy
Sinionides,l and Stesichorus, and the two [mentioned earlier, hocrates yours!
and Gorgin, not to speak of outstanding philosophers such as Pytha-
So oldage, you see.far from being doggish and feeble,ismally very
g ras, Democritus. Plato, and Numerates, or their successon Zeno lively, and perpetually active, =Anil busy with the pursuits of earlier
and Cl Indies or Diogenes the Stoic whom you have both seen at yean. Some people never stop /earning, however old they axe. You
Roma Every one of them remained actively at work until his dying causee Solon.' for example, boasting in hispoems that while he grows
day. old he condones to Mum meshing new every day. That is what I
But, leaving aside superhuman pursuits such as the:at, lean name have beat doing to I In my later years I have learnt to read Greek
.you elderly Roman carmen in the Sabine catmtry, my own friends I have fastened upon this study with the greed of man trying to
and neighbours, who are practically never out of the fields Miring the satisfy a long-endured thirst. And that. incidermdly, is how I know
major farming operations such as sowing and reaping and storing the Greek passages you have heard me quoting. Socrates learnt to play
the crops. Due, their work on the annual harvests deserves I that favourite instalment of the amienta, the lyre, and when I laem of
meat than the rest, since no one is too old to think he has another year the progress he made I wish I could do the ame. but t any rate I
to live. Yet these men are alio winking at things which th y know have worked hard at literature.
they will not live to Re. 'He plants trees for the We of another age, as
our poet Camillus Santis says in his play Comrades in Y046. Nyco ask
a farmer for whose benefit he pi duag, h vvever advanced his age
he will unhesitatingly reply: For the immortal gods, who have
CONSOLATIONS FOR LOST STRENGTH
ordained that should [MSC these things ft y
hand them on to my descendants:
Now, in making that observation about all old 0.111 providing for Nowadays I do not miss the powers of youth - that was the second
ages to come. Caecilius wrote to better purpose than when he made point about the failings of old age - any more than when I was young,
Ifelt the lack of a ball's strength or an elephant's. A man should use
diameter say: By heaveia, Old Age. it would be enough if you
what he has, and in all his doings accommodate himself to has
I. Simenides of Com. 50468 an, Grab lyric and epigrammatic poet;
Xenocraten 397-315111. head oft Atedomy; mogenes the stak, see above, 'From The !Ale Necklace, comedy by Cara= Et. MS Sc). 'The un—
p. rag; for both the other philotophen mentioned here, see above, pp. es happiest Ming': from his Nay Ephecle.
The tragedian Sophoclet is begicved to have rived from C. NM to emi S.C. Athenianstatesman, lawgiver, and poet (,h—Oth penury eon).
222
223
 CICERO EX. 27
ON OLD AGE
strength. There is a story about Milo of Crotona: in his later years,
watch g the athletes train on the race-coarse. With tears in his eyes youth spent in/voodoo° debanehery transmits to later years
that is already worn out. Th e aged a body
he looked at his own muscles, and said a pitiable thing: And dose are Cyrus the elder; on the other hod,
now dead; B t you are the one who is dead, not they, you stupid declared in his deathbed speech (quoted by Xenophon) that
he had
fellow, because your fame never came from yourseg it came from never felt feebkr in age dun he did as a young man. And then consider
brute physical force. Lucius Caecilius Manlius, who four years after his second consulship
Very different were the men who instructed their fellow-citizens became chiefpdest and =tinted the post for twenty-two years • when
in thelaw and remained rpm jurists until their dying breath: Rental I was a boy! remember that he was still so vigonaus, in spite of
Art Pactus Cams 2 and t earlier date Titus Coruncanius,s and extreme old age, that the loss of youth meant nothing to him.
more recently again Publi Licinius Crams Dives. It. true that a laced not remind you of my own easel -though old men like me
public speaker's powers diminish when he becomes old, because his an allowed the privilege of doing so: look at HOMCCS Nestor, and
profession depends on the strength of IS lungs and physique as well how he constantly proclainu his own good
qualities! Nestor taw
as on his brain. Nevertheless, adv nein g years have a way of bringing before him the third generation of meta, and yet he did not need to be
out a fine melodious quality of dehory. I myself still have something afraid of seeming unduly conceited or garrulous jibe paid truthful
of this, and you can see how old Ian. But the oratorical style appro- tribute to himself. 'Speech sweeter than honey Rowed from his
priate for later years is peaceful and restrained: a mild, elegant speech tongue,' says Homer. Now, this sweemet in no way depended upon
physical strength
frontal old but skilfulspeaker very often secures a favourab/o hearing. - and yet the great leader of the Greeks never
prays for ten men like Ajar, but for
Or even if you cannot achieve this yourself, you an instance had them, added ten men like Nestor: if he
Scipio or a Laeliusll cau think ofnothing more agreeable than an old Agamemnon, he knew full well that Troy would
quickly GIL
age surrounded by the activities of young people in their prime. For
surely arthe very least we must concede age the capacity to teach and Buz to return to myself: Jr in my eighty-fourth year, and I wish
I could make the same boast as Cyrus! I
train young men stud& them for jobs of every Idol; andno function must admit, however, that t
coula possibly be more honourable than that. I used to lank .Scipio, no longer have the energy I had as a private soldier and then a quostor
of the good fortune of your great-gra dfathe Publius Cornelius in the Second Punic War, or later LS consul in Spain; or as military
Scipio end his brother Gnartuu Cornelius Sdpio Cabo. and your tribune four years Liter, serving in the Thermopylae campaign
2 under
grandfathers Lucius &talus Pollus and Publius Cornelius Scipio the consul ManiusAdkn Glabrio. SOL this [can say: age has not
Africanus - because they had leading young Romans as their com- altogether shattered or undermined me -as you yourselves
can see.
panions. However infum with age a man ins become, if he is im- For the Senate and the platform, for my friends and dependants and
parting to others a Moral oducati he cannot fail to be accounted guest my strength is still always available;' never
agreed with that
happy. much-praised ancient proverb which advises taking to old age early,
if you want it to last long. Personally, I
ha any case when 111111O9 of bodily vigour do occur they are to be should rather stay old for a
blamed upon youthful dissipations more often than upon old age. A shorter time than become old prematurely! Consequendy, I have
never yet refused an appointment to anyone who wanted to see me.
True, I have
.Inth late dda tim " wrestling at the Olympian less physics/ strength than either of yourselves. But
Games led six times at the Pattiz. neither have you the strength of the centurion Titus Pomba So
a. COmul 190S.0 author at Tripartite which contained the Law of the
Twelve TOO and an anstofitsdeveloputcat. I. Founder of the Persian empire (559-539 BR.). According to another
3. For Companion to p. no. Ousts Diem was carnal in aos n.c.i chief account he was killed fighting against the Scrthians.
2. to which the setencid monarch Andochut lU 'the Great' was defeated
(191 Lc/.
224
22S
 CICERO X , 33
ON OLD
does that make him the better personlA man musthusband his powers
properly and exert himselfin accordance with their capacity, and then always escape physical infirmity, we should not be surprised if old
he a never find them very deficient. Milo is said to have walked men are sometimes sufferers too.

from end to end oldie rate-course at Olympia with an oxen his back: Age has to be fought against; its faults need vigilant resistan
ce.We
well, which would you prefer to be given. Miles physicil vigour. or must combat them as we should fight a disease - following a fixed
rEginac, taking exercise in
the intellectual might of Pythagoras? In short, enjoy the blessing of moderation. and enough food and drink to
strength while you have it, and have no regrets when it has gone - strengthen yet nor enough to overburden However
the mind and
any more than young menshould regret the end of boyhood, or those spirit need even more attention than the body. for old age easily
extinguishes them,
approaching middle age lament the passing of youth. Life's course is /Pm lamps when they are not given oil. And
invariable - nature has one path only, and you cannot travel along it whereas exercises can wear the body out, they stimulate the mind.
m than Every ge f I fe h its xm ch cter .b ye When Caecilius Stadus writes of 'foolish oldmeaincomewtsi he is
are feeble, youths in their prime are aggressive, middleAged men are referring to the credulous. forgetful, and slovenly type. But Mete are
dignified, oldpeopleare mature. Each one of these qualities is ordained &UltS not of old age in general but only when it has allowed itself to
by nature for harvesting in due season. become slack sluggish and somnolent. The same applies to the bail
I expetY you sometimeshear news of Masinissa. Scipio, lie is ninety qualities of youth. Wrongheadedness and sensuality are more preva-
lent in young men than in old: yet they are
now, yet once he has started a journey on foot, he still never mount,. not found in all young
men, b t [di yo ths
a horse; and having set out on horseback he never dismounts. Even on Serior character. Likewise senile imbeci-
the coldest and stormiest days he goes bareheaded. With his extra- lity, what is called 'dotage, does not occur in all old Mal but only in
those of feeble mind.
ordinary physiq , he arn t all his y I d and net' in
person. That shows how exercise and self-control enable a man to Appius Claudius War blind and aged, yet he maintained control of
preserve a good deal of his former strength even after he has become four vigorous seas, five daughters, a great household, and a host of
old. dependants. For instead of incrdy capitulating to old age he kept his
So advancing years bring a certain diminution of vigour? But mind as taut as a bow. He not only crtread his Iiome. he ruled it; his
vigour is not even expected of Lem. That is why law and custom slaves feared him, his children venerated him, he was loved by every-
exempt men. of my-age from public duties requiring bodily strength. one, and beneath his roof prevailed ancestral custom and discipline.
In fact, we are not only.spared duties that are beyond us, we are even Age will only he respected if it fights for itself, maintains its own
excused functions which wotdd be within our powers. For many old rights, avoids dependence, and asserts control over ' own ph as
long AS life lasts. Forgut as r Hsu young man to
men are supposed to be too infirm to engage in activities, public or have something old
otherwise. But wea/mess of such a kind, far from being peculiar to about him, so I approve of the old man who has a touch of youth. If
age, is a product of poor la alth in get tat Your adoptive farher,a that is his aim whatever the age of his body, inspirit he will never be
old,
Scipio - the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus — was com-
pletely enfeebled by ill-health, indeed his health practically did not / am at work on the seventh book of my Origin,' This involves
exist lid •t had tb collecting all the records ofour
,h w Lii been th d gl ry f early history. And what I am particu-
our nation: for he possessed his father's heroic qualities, and a wider larly engaged upon at the moment is the revision of all the speeches
range of learning besides. Since, therefore, even the young cannot I have delivered in famous cases. I am also preparing a treatise on
augural pontifical and civil law. I am an active student of Greek
5. C.340-594 a.c.„ Ling elthr Numidiato Ind Canny of Cirrhage.
2.Publim contains Scipio, orator and Monday For the relationships of the literature; and to keep my memory in training I adopt the practice of
Sdpiw. we Genealogical Trigg. p. any I. horn 'play ityhtitIvy Menander's Heiress.
226 a. A history (now km) of Rome Corm its foundations until 'to irc
31
.7
 CICERO
ON OLD non
the Pythagoreans and, every evening, run over in my mind all that I there can be no room for self-control; where self-indulgence reigns.
have said and heard and done dining the day. That is my intellectual decent behaviour is excluded.
exercise, my naming-track for the brain - and while I sweat and toil at 'This can be made clear*.continued Archwas, 'if you think ofsome-
the task I do not greatly miss my bodily strength. I also give my one enjoybag the most delightfid sensual pleasure imaginable It will be
frrend legal assistance, and I often attmd the Senate, where after long generally weed that during thc process of enjoyment he i9 incapable
and careful thought I offer topics for discussion and argue my paint of of any rational logical, or cerebral process. The consequence is that
view concerning them such pleasures are exceptionally repulsive and harmful. Indeed their
All this is done by strength of mind, not of body. And even if the
substantial, prolonged indulgawe will plunge the ',Wok light of the
effort were more than I could manage, I should still find satisfaction at spirit WID darkness.'
my reading-couch: I could lie WI thiS and think about the activities Nearchus, a steadfast friend of Rome with wham I was staying at
which were now beyond me. That they we not beyond me is due to Tamotum, told me of the tradition that Anthytas had put forward
the life I bawled. For the man whose whole life consists of study and these views in conversation with Gahm Pontius the Samnite, father of
activity of this kind does not notice old age creeping up on him. the man who defeated WE consuls Spurius Postumius and Thus
Instead, he grows old by slow stages, imp= tr,inibly; there isno sudden Vemrius Calvimns at the Caudine Forks.' Mambos added that the
break-up, only a gradual process of extinction. Athenian philosopher Plato was mo g those ho heard dr pr
nouncement: and I have verified that Plato did c me to Tarentum,
IV ha the year crrhen Lucius Purim Camillus and Appius Claudius
Crassinus ware consuls.
THE PLEASURES OF AGE Now, why luve I gone into a is? To prow to you that, iflegie
andindhgence did =already enable us to avoid lustful pleasures. we
Nat we come to the third allegation against old age. This was in ought to led very grateful to old for removing_the_desire to do
deficiency in sensual pleasures. But if age really EMS M from youth's as wrong. su ge cloud a mails judgement, obstruct
most dangerous failing, then we axe receiving a most Heard gift lus reasomng ca , and blind his intelligence: let sensuality be
Let me tell you, my dear fiends, what was said years ago by that present, and a geod Ith, becomes impossible.
outstandingly distinguished thinker, Archytasl of Tarentum, the city When.! had to eject Lucius QuinCtitiS FlialilsilILIS
from the Senate'
at which I heard of his words wheal was a young soldier serving under this caused me great regret. He was brother of the &MOW Titus, and
Fabius. The most fatal tune given by nature to mankind', said had been consul seven yean previously.But an acdou ofhis, prompted
Archytas, ' is sensual greed: this incites meta to gratify their lusts heed- by a sexual impulse, seemed to me to necessitate this degradation: At
lessly andun controllably. thus bringing bout ' nal bet yals, the time when he was consul in Gaul. a certain man convicted of a
revolutions, and secret neg dad with th y Lust will drive pital Bence was in prison there, During a party, Lucius
/ was urged
mat ay ' and crime under then Mere lust without any by his mistress to execute this man; and he did as she asked him.
additional impulse, is the cause of rape, adultery, and every other While hi, brother was canor (immediately prior to my own tenure).
sexual utrage. Nature, or a god, has given human beings a mind 1.1 Lucius avoided punishment. But since his scandalous capitulation to
their outstanding possession, and this divine gin and endowment has sensual pressum had dishonourcd Roman rule as well as wronging an
no wort foe dun sensuality. For in the realm of the physical passions a. see above, p. mar
a. Cicero (or Cato) ascribes his visit to 349 O.C.; his last visit to
a. Pythagorean philosopher, mathematedan astronomer, and attenuant a many attributed to sea. Italy is
lama of Plato. Ar omen in we i.e.
228 no
 CICERO All. 42
ON OLD AGE
individual. Marcus Valeria! Plums and myself felt quite unable to In%
a boy,'often saw how old Gait's Maus.? Marcus's son - the
condone what he had done
List person ever to defeat the Carthaginians in a sea-lank - when he
I was often told by my elders - who in tuna claimed to have heard was
returning home after a diwier-party used to enjoy being escorted
the story from old men when they were boys - that Gain Fabricitu
by men carrying torches and playing a res. Such behaviour from a
lassciaur was deeply impressed by om thing Inch. hile o
private citizen was unprecedented, but his glorious reputation gave
mission to King Pyrrhus, he had learnt from Ciuma di Thessaf him that uch lice
What Fabricius had been told was that there was an Athenian,' But enough o f others -let me return
professing philosophical insight who asserted that the standard by to myself! Now, to begin with,
I have always had my friends at the dub. I WIS quaestor at the time
which all our actions should be judged VMS pleasure. When Pabdcius
when the dubs were first established at Rome in honour of Cybele
reported this to Mailisla Curios Dentatos 5 and Taus Coruncanius,
and her newly introduced Idacan worship. I used to dine with these
they expressed the hope that the Samnites. and Pyrrhus hinuelf, would
friends quite destly apt with a good deal of eigoyment, since
accept this doarine - for then they would bandou themselves to
I was young in those days; such delights became less vivid with ad-
self-indulgence and become easier to defeat! Ctrius bad been a close vancing years H
blend fPubhus Deans Mus who, while consul for the fourth time the gastronomic pleasures of those parties
did not appeal to me so much as the company and conversation of my
(five years before &aim held the ffice), had =Linty.' his life for friends The w d ancesto vented for a meal where friends
his country. Fabricius and Com:wanks knew him too, and all of
meet was Convigium, a 'living together', and they were quite right,
them, to judge from the lives they led and from that deed of Decius, because oft essential quality of a schial reunion. The Greek
were convinced that certain things are naturally thie and noble in ems 'a
drinking togetin 'and 'feasting together' are as satisfactory since
themselves and are sought afte for their own sake. and that every
they emphasize hat the leas guificant aspect of such o miens.
decent man pursues such aims, and !puma and rejects material indul,
Personally, lain so fond of conversation dint even eMoy afternoon
Bence- parties. At these I like meeting t aly y
Why then do I have so flinch to say about pleasures of this kind? temp ran f
whom very few remain - but yours too, and you yourselves. I
Because the weakening f temptation to indulge in them, far horn actually fed grateful to oW age, .B.cayuin this creas cyan
supplying a pretext to reproach old age, is a reason for offering ic the
most cordial compliment. Age has no banquets, all tables piled high, dame for food andpi drink
na03v
g—rEsVir eerr,cr rsai
nattszekg
does perhaps th
aeuti orize mazerial ua
no Idled and agim
—, S italso. ons drunlienness, and
within limits, I mast nor give the appearance of declaring war on
"on, and ep T—
them outright! Well then granted that food and drink do appeal to
.—Mr ./ever, the alluremenn orpIcasuie are admittedly hard to resist;
some people,! see no reason why these tastes need be wholly lacking
they are the baiter sin' as Plato brilliantly calls them, which catch In the old.
men like fish. I( then, we have to make them some concession. there
I myself appreciate our Iongestablished fommlides of appointing
' eason hy Id age, though spared extravagant feasting, should
toastmasters for such entertainmentts. and of starting the conversation
not gratify itself with entertainments of a more modest =MK While at the head
of the table after the Wine has been brought in. 'enjoy cups
that are small enough to bedew rather than drench' as Xenophon
a. A pupa of Desnostheries and fathom orator, employed by Pyrrhus to
negotiate With the Romans. r. ABMs? Derealted the Carthaginians off mylac in Bay Bring the Mrst
a. Epicurus (p. 58). Punk Wu (260 Lc).
a. For Manias DM= •C P bh Dthos Mus 2. The'Creat Mother ortheGradsh whoseworAtip vas iotroduced to Rome
Isgs a35. 320, 164- from Pessimu pahtlay
4. From Pluto T centre of the cula
230
231
 CICERO xIV. 4 6
put tin his Symposium; and I like my drinks well-cooled in summer ON OLD Ace

and warmed in winter by sunshine or fire. Even when I am in the at a task he had begun as long ago as daybreak. He used to have the
Sabine commy I go to gatherings of this Sort. Everyday' take a meal satisflaion of fotecarting to us, far in advance
with my neighbours; we talk on all manner of subjects, and prolong and the moon. the edipses of the sim
the party as are as possible into the night. Others. again, were engaged dmingtheir later years, in fratellectual
But the objection is that old people are an longer so enjoyably work which, though less exacting, nevertheless required keenness of
dc.k.1 d by theinemes. I agree-but they do not want robe either! No brain. Nacvius, for instance, was happily absorbed in ha
Plautus in The Savage and The Cheat_ Panic War .1
deprivation is any trouble if you do not miss what you have lost.
I myaelfsaw Livius Andronicusl
When Sciphocks was already well advanced in years someone asked when he had reached a considerable age. lie brought out a play six
him if he still made love_ 'Good heavens, no.' he replied! 'I have years before I was born - when Gains Claudius Canto and Marai
gladly made my escape from that barbarous, savage mater. I Covet s
Sempronius Tuditanus were consuls - but lived on tmol after I was
such things, and the lack of them may well be tiresome and annoying; grown up. And there is no need for me to recall to you Publius
bur if you have had enough of them and are replete. to lack becomes Licinius Crassus Divesa active in priestly and civil law, and our own
more pleasant than to possess! Or rather, if you do not miss cheir Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Cora-
alum,' who was appointed
absence, you cannot be said to lack them - and that is why I say that chic/priest only a few days ago. I have seal every one of them enthu-
not misting them is best of all. siastically engaged in these pursuits of theirs when well advanced in
However, let us admit that youth exceeds age in its enjoyment of years. Marcus Cornelius Cetbegus.. again. whom Eanias righdy
described
this particular kind of pleasure. Then two points need to be made. as the marrow of persuasiveness '; I can
vouch myself for
his technique as a public speaker, even after hehad becom
Eine of all, as I have already said, such pleasures are unimportant; and
e an old man.
secondly in any ease ev if old ge do not po ess them it abun- Ithat pleasures from caring banquets or watching shows or con-
sorting with mistresses are
( dance, it is not wholly deficient in them,The spectators who appre. comparable with delight of such a kind?
date Lucius Ambivius Turpicis' acting most are those In the front Ifs man is sensible and well-educated, his taste for intellectual pursuits
row; hoc the bachhlikTwlso enjoys his performance. The same applies like these increases with the years. So there is truth in that en I just 10
rto-the •least's°, of se quoted, in which Solon observed
onag oplc. who look on them at closh- that as he grew old he learnt much
. may weart •m more eaclong, peop c mo 6E tallr that was new every day. And surely the sansfaaions of the mind are
- as flee y viewing greater than all the rest!
in .
When Its campaigns o smc, ambition, rivalry, quarrelling, and all
the other passion, are ended, the human spirit returns to live within
itself- and is well off There is supreme satisfaction to be derived from V
an old age which has knowledge and learning to feed upon. I saw THE /0 YS OF FARMING
Gains Sulpicius Callus s- your father's friend. Scipio - engaged until
his dying day in meaturing, you might say, the whole heavens and
Now I come to the pleasures of farming. These give me an tmheliev-
the earth. Often at night he would begin constructing some chart, and
able amount of enjoyinent. Old age does not impede them in the
dawn would surprise him still at work - or night would overtake him
least, and in my view they come closest of all things to alit of true
The story is Stem Plate, Republic 1. AV epic on the First Punk War.
Acted and produced the comedies of Terence (c. os—e. 150 IL.C.). 2..e..d84-.C. 2.04 B.C.
COmprned and
Served in the campaign olTydna (16.3 ( acted in Ent Latin comedy and tragedy
B'Ci'l during winch Ee PredWed av zo7).
(20 cc) with Creek models and metres); wrote official expiatory hymn
eclipse of the moon to the army. and hest Latin epic the Odpsib
3. See above, p. ao.
232 a. Gonad ma (abdicated) and sic censer.
S. Consul lova
233
 crcono xv,
OW OLD AGE
wisdom. The bank, you might say, in witch these pleasures keep their
is also the manner of its cultivatio n
accounc is the earth itself. It never fails Co honour their draft; and, and die very nature of the vine
when it returns the principal. interest invariably comes too - not itself the rows of stakes, the joining of the vine-tops to rellises, the
always very much, but often a great deal. tying down of the shoots, their propagation by slips; as well as the
Bur what delights me is not only the product, but the productivity pruning of certain branches., such as I have already mentioned. and the
liberation or others.
and nature of the Earth herself. First the scattered corn-seed is taken
within her soft, subjugated lap. For a tiine is remains hidden -Mae/4- Then - but I cannot go into tilt now- there is the fertilizatio
n of
r MN is our word, from svhich comes poncho: harrowing. Then, the soil, by means of irrigation, ditching, and intensive hoeing. The
uses of manure I shall again leave
warmed by the moist heat ocher embrace, the seed expands and brings undescribed, since you wth mid
than set out in nn book Acrinshor
forth a green and flourishing blade. Supported by the fibres of its • 1 When the learned Hesiod I
roots, this blade gradually matures. Within its shearli it stands firm wrote about farming, he did not mention manure. But Hoie r,..q
I believe to have .i igap_
.q
Th.cann
livebrTh-,
ma ties ear ier. ss how Laertes
upon a jointed stalk; this t its adolescent Stage. Then bursting o Lit con-
soled has longing for his abseirlj es bysii. hi, tillirr
from the sheath, the blade puts forth the cars of corn, the ordered is lasanicT
,pauring --- 'cm ii,E
rows of grabi witli their palisade of spikes protecting them From the
beaks of the SDI aller birds of the sky. Cornfields, meadows, vineyards, woods, all give added pleasure to
To give an account of the vine - its beginnings, ts cultivation, its the cultivator's life. And so do orchards cat tie-pastures
bees in their
expansion - would be 011t of place here, But I must tell you chat this swarms, and flowers in their infante variety. Planting, too, is a deligh
t
is else recreation and satisfaction of my old age: my delight in the vine and so is agriculture's most ingenious operation. grafting.
I
is insatiable. First, a general point, which I pass over briefly. In every could go on at length about the numereth attractions of the
farmer's life ;
product of earth there is an inborn power. This is the power by which but I realize I have spoken rather too long already.
a iiiinute fig-seed, or a grape-stone, or the tiniest seeds of any crop or However, I Itnow you will excuse me. Oily enthusiasm for the subject
astot are transformed into vast trunks and branches. Cuttings of lathes has carried me away - and I nutsr not acquit old age of every fault: it
• ‘obt Stir trem, young twigs springing from a branch, plants formed by
does tend to be long-winded I
I VO n911 dividing routs and lodging an unsevered shoot - who could fad to be Such, then, was the life in which Manaus Curing Denratu
his triumphs a - fter
I amazed and delighted by the products that emerge from these? The over the Sans ites an the Sabines and Pyrrhus spent his
crio• -b natural disposition of vines is to fall to the earth ; hut give them a prop, last years. His country house is not far from my own - and when I
". and they will embrace it with lquid-like tendrils to raise the look at the place I am overwhelmed with admiration for that man s
self-control and the disciplined spirit of his times. lie
aloft. Far and wide they twist and turn until the farmer's skilful knife was sitting by
his fireside once when certain
lops them in case they turn to wood and spread too luxuriantly. Saninges entered, bringing him a
When spring has starred, the branches that have been left on a vine massive rift of gold. He reiecred this however, with die comm.
that possessing gold is stw
put forth their buds at every joint, and these buds are transCorn, ed into not so glorious as dominang its possessors. A
freshly growing grape". At first very hitter to the taste. she moisture man with as noble a chatacteras that must have been capable offindiag
happiness in old age.
of the earth and the rays of the sun mature them, so that they sweeten
1. moss itcatc's be Mriciiirma (De
to ripeness, wrapped round by young foliage which tempers the heat a. In his poem Worki and Flays. HomoRe Parka) sur vives.
and keeps away die too powerful rays orbit Slit What could he more (Odyssey. Book XXI A7) actually says
that Odysseus found Ms father 'albumen the v[ileyard terrace digging
delicious to the taste or more attractive to the eye? mood a
Nor, I repeat, is the usefulness of the sine all that delight me. There plail .nLx times consul, censer. ended
(590), setts= Gauls sa 541. AY wake Wee We0), Conquered Slh3Ele!
I. ()maxic coM.ol not from cerneeithum but from cos, a hoe. Pyrdius ( 575), bilembialle (AWL
tcluolellcd ago,
234
235
 C3CEEO Eon. 56
ON OLD AGE
But I want to talk about my own airs, so let us return to the
us o/d men our two kinds of dice the oblong rod the cube - if
farmers. In those days Senators (that is senes, ' Wen') lived OP their you chow to, that is, for even without them old age can still be
farms - if we an to believe the story that the men sent to tell Lucius
happy!
Quinctius Cihrifinean his appointment as dictator found him at
The writings of Xenophon are in many ways extremely informa-
the plough. His were the orders, as dictator, upon which his Master
tive, and I recommend you to read them carefully; indeed I ow
of the Horse, Gains Servilins Aluda, caught Sparins Machus attempt- that you already do. His book On Estate Management' is
packed with
ing to make himself king, and put him to death. Ivlanius Curius
the praises of agriculture: devotion to farming seemed to him the
Dematus, too, and other veterans, when they were smumoned to the most royal of pursuits. He emphasizes this by a story he makes
Senate-home, came from their farms; and that is why the messengers
Socrates tell &tabular. The younger Cyrus, a Persian prince of out-
sent to kWh them were called violates, 'travellers'.
Surely men like these, who delighted in being famters, cannot have Qc
been unhappy when they WHe old. Penonally I incline to the opinion t
that no life could be h ppier 6211 the reSilleeS. To begin with, the
ierviCer which he performs by his culcivation of die soil are bentheial
. standing intelligence and rank, was visited at Saniis by Lysander. This
enlightened Spartan brought Cyrus gifts from their allies, and was
given a kindly and hospitable recepdon. Among that [tend Os,
Cron showed Lysander an elaborately planted park His visitor cam-
. primented the print:eon the lofty trees, planted in patterns of five, and
to the attire human race. And then there are the delights of which I A on the clean wroktilled soil and the fragrance of the flowers; and what
have spoken, and his abundant and plenteous production.ofall things tk, impressedliim, addedLylandrx, besides the hard work which had been
that are needed for the worship of the gods and the sustenance of devoted to its growth, was the ingenuity with hich the hole p k
mankind had been planned and marked out. Cyrus replied that the planning
Seeing that such material considerations are important to some was all his own: the rows were arranged. the Lay-out designed, by
P plejhpethis t them ill bring me back into favour himself. On hearing this Lysroder gazed at his hosro purpk robe, and
with the hedonists I For an efficient and industrious farmer keeps his resplendent good looks, and the Persian magnificence of his abundant
wine-car. his oil-store, and his larder alw y flaW His whole house golden ornaments and jewels, and declared: 'people are right to call
has a prosperous appearance: within its DOOM are stored generous you happy, Cyrus, bemuse you are not only good, you are fortunate
supplin of pork. goads meat, Iamb, poultry. a cheese, and honey.
There is also his garden. ffich farmers call their 'second leg of pork'. Well, this good fortune of practising agriculture and horticulture
The relish of all these good things is sharpened by labours for time of is one which an old man h able to enjoy: the cultivation of the soil is
leisure such as hawking and hunting. One of the aaivides which age does not impede up t his very last
The greenness of the meadows, the orderedrows of trees, the lovely days. Tradition. records, for example, that Marcus ValniusCorvinus 2
spectacle of vineyards and olive groves - these are themes which. In worked on his farm aran extremely advanced age, indeed until he was
the interests of brevity, 'must pass over. A wall-kept farm is the most a hundred. His first and his srodi consulships Were forty-six years
useful thing in the world. and also th best to I k p And ge far part— • thee d hi p bP lasted f hat ancestors
from impeding enjoyment of your ram. actually increases its pleasures
r. By Xenophon n 430-4 351 ) Cicero tran It S this ' his y uth.
and fascinations. For nowhere ale in the world can an old man better
CW1/6 the Younger son of the Persian Dug Curi IL killed Gunnel
Grid sunshine or fireside for his warmth, or shade and .....;g.water Both Xenophon's m isssai were his Wien an cooperation with the
to keep himself cool and well. Spartan general and 'woman Lysander g. 395 Ire.) hod rontribritee to the
Others may have their weapons, horses, spears, foils, and balls, their defeat of Arlen in the Peloponnesian War.
hunting, and their running. Out.of all the sports that exist, just leave a. Mattes Valencia Gorvinus (or Corms) — sir times consul 543-301 osni
dictator 342* 30I, believed to have defeated We Gauls OGG Volsciano BOGS
1. Traditionally vmentedas dictator andconrouror of the Aequi leap] we.
Srrlaire.(ere) eeeed &Cele )333/. Aequi (3014, and alumna (zyn.
136
237
 CICERO gm tict
ON OLD AGE
reckoned to be the duration of a man's life exclude° of old age. And
the last part of his life was happier than the middle, because he was with the observation that the most honourable home for old people
held in greater respect, and had less work to do. was Sparta, seeing that its inhabitants treated age with greater respect
and deference than
any other community. At Athens, on the other
hand, when an o/d man carte into the theatre to see
goes that not MIL of his Fe/low-citizens in the crowded a play, the story
VI auditorium
of6re4 him alllace. When/ however, he reached the section occupied
HONOURS AND FAULTS
by certain Spartans, who had places assigned to them because they
were offk'kl &legate, each one of them ,
rose and invited the DM man
To be respected o-/ is dr_ t glory of old age_ Lucius Caecilius to have his seat This was applauded loud and long by the whole
Mars,tar instance, rezeival enormousrespat So did Aulus Ateius gathering. But one <tithe Spartans commented: 'The Athenians know
Cabanas: 'many nations agree', said kb epitaph, that this was the what good behaviour is- but they do not put their lmowledg into
noblest man ofhis country.' But you know the whole epitaph, because practical'
Among the many fine CLUMP'S practised by your Board of Augurs
O s inscribed on his tomb. The unanimity of the praises that he
seeativedshows how greatly he deserved this veneration. I myselfknew a particularly relevant one to our present subject is this:no:ea/Imo ha
/S613 g‘o • Publius Lititz Crassus Dives, who was high priest, and his successor debategoes by age, which takes priority over official rank, so that en=
‘,1 ITIaTcTiss r7us What great personalities they were! Of the highest functionaries yield place to augurs older than themsel
Coatis Aemilius Faullus, and Pu / Cornelius Scipio Africanus atd Surely the rewards of authority are incomparably superior to bodily
Quintus Fabius Maximus thew is no need to speak/ abmg Fabius I pleasures/ I suggest that those who have male good use of such re-
Live said something !ready Men nth as thew displayed authority wards have acted life's drama nobly to the end. Not for them is the
not only in what they said buck that merest no and the autho port of incompetent performance which breaks down in the last act/
whalbelTings to old-age, especiallyfi v en enhanced lytuished However, old people are also
complained about as morose, and
"ECW,
re IS 1310Itrelious than all thopleasures of youth. petulant, and ill-temperal, and hard to pieta: and on inquiry some of
But please bear in mind, throughout this din/viola. that to deserve them prove to be avaricious as well But these are faults of character,
all these compliments amine, old age must have its foundations well not of age. Besides, moroseness and the other guilts I have mentioned
Lad in early life. Which means?as I once said in public, amid general have a substantial, if not wholly adequate acne • old men believe
approval) that an old age in need of self-justification is unenviable. themselves despised, ignored, and mocked - and a weak body is sensi-
eia Whitebait, Ind wrinkles cannot suddetily usurp authority, since this tive even to the lightest blow. In
any care, however, a decent, en-
only -cat= as I final result of-weLspent Ali yvais_Whe eh lightened character can keep suck faults under control. This can be
/27nIgirgy-Eis arrived, NTC- d- sigis of respect which at first sight, seen in real life, not tospeak of the Brothers in the play of that name,
perhaps, vain unimportant and ordinary-morning visitors and appli- of whom one is highly disagreeable, the ether very pleasant For the
cants f bat Mews- pe pl nuking way for a man and rising at 1113 fact is that not every personality, any more than every wine, grows
approach; escorting him to the Forum and back, and asking for his sour with age. Austerity in old men seems to me proper enough; but
advice. All these ire practices which we observe most scrupulously; Eke everything else I Want this in moderation- without any sourness.
and so do all other civilized societies. Besides, r cannot see the point of old men being miserly. Is it not the
Lysander the Spartan, of whom I wasspeaking just now, is credited height of absurdity for a traveller to think he
needs 11101C fbnds o
a ousts 258 and 254, dictator 249, censor: was a hero of the First Punic his jounwy when it nearly ver?
War. r. Tenure's AA4nt:1
Consul 87 and 75 0:zoor u lead Erb Senate for 27 year&
2.3 8
239
 ON OLD AGE
hoping for he has actually achieved: they want long lives, and he has
had one.
VII
And yet, for goodness sake, what ha the whole human condition
DEATH HAS NO STING lasts for any length of ame? Think of the longest of all possible lives;
let us imagine we shall attain the age of that king of Tartessus -I have
Now we IllUg consider the fourth objection to being old: one hich been earl g b t Arganthonius of Gades who reigned for eighty
might be thought well calculated to worry and distress a man of my years and Lived for a hundred and twenty. Even so, I suggest that
years. I refer to the nearness of dfr h When man is old, there can nothing can be called long if it has an end. For when that end come
obviously be no doubt that it is near. Vet if, taring his! g life, he then all that is gone before has vanished. Only or thing remains -
has failed to grasp that death is of no account he is unfortunate indeed. the credit you have gained by yo g d and igh 'om. Hours,
There are two alternatives: either death completely destroys human days, months, and yean go by: once they have passedthey never come
souls, in hich case it is negligible; or it removes the soul to some again. And what is to come in the fitture we cannot tell. So whatever
place f ternal life -in hich case 'ts outing • greatly Lobe &tired. lie is allotted to us, we ought to be content.
There can be no third possibility. lf, then, after death! shall either lack An actor need not remain on the stage until the very end of the
unhappiness or even be positively happy,! have nothing whatever play: if he wins applause in those acts in which he appears, he will
to &tr. have done well enougk bald°, too, a mancan pia-form his part wisely
Besides. oval the youngest of men would be rash to feel any con- without graying on the stage until the play is finished. However short
fidence that he will still be alive this. evening! Indeed, young people your life may be, it will still be long enough to live honestly and
are actually more liable to acod. e,tal deadia than old: they frill ill more decently. IF on the other hand, its duration is extended, there need be
easily, their illnesses are more severe, and their convalescences are no more sorrow than a farmer feels when the pleasant springtime has
more painful That is why few of them reach Id age. If so many passed, and summer and autumn have arrived. For spring, the season
people did not die young, there would be more examples of decent of youth, gives promise of fruits to come, but the later seasons are
and sensible living. For the people who have sense and prudence and those that reap the harvests and gather them in. And the particular
judgement are the old. Had it not been fo Id men, no state would harvest of old age. I repeat, is its abundant recollection of blessings
ever have existed! acquired in earlier years.
But to return to the imminence of death. This is not a fault to blame All things' keeping with nature ant be classified as good; and
on age, since you can see that youth may suffer from the ant dis- nothing is so completely in keeping with nature than that the old
ability. The loss of nty dear son?. and of your two brothers, Scipio - should die. When the same fate sometimes attacks the young, nature
both destined for brilliant careers -has underlined for both of us that rebels and resists: the death f y nag person reminds me of a flame
death comes to all ages alike. Ocrtairdy you can argue that young men extinguished by a deluge. But the death of the old is like a fire sinking
are entitled to hope for long lives, whereas old men are not. But such and going out of its own accord, without external impulsion. In the
hp a isguided it is unintelligent to mistake certainty for same way as app/es.while green. can ordy be picked hy force, butaftN
imcertainty, and untruth for truth. ripening to tufty fall off by hemsel est death oars to the
'The objector may go on to say that an old man has nothing even to young with violence harm old people when the time is ripe. And the
hope for. Still, he is better off than his juniors, since what they are thought of this ripsaws so gready attracts me that I-approach Jamb
I fed like a man nearing harbour after a long voyage: I seem to be
z. Aho called Minos Pondus Cato. Hi was the Brotherdn-law of Scipio catching sight of /and.
derndianus. Yet old age has no fixed limit: as long asa man remain able to live
240 ata
 OMER° RM. 7 3
ON OLD AGE
up to his obligations and fulfil th m, reckoning death of no account,
sake ofrkeoping his faith with the enemy went hack
he is entitled to live on. That gives age an MIMI advantage over youth
their tortures-and the two Scipios, Publins
in courage and toughness -a conclusion which is illustrated by the and Goaens CaI
blocked the advancing Carthaginians with their
answer Solon once gave Pisistratus. When the king asked what sup- thou, Scipio, there was your grandfather Lucius o n dead -
port Solon relied upon in maintaining such stubborn opposition to his Act:it-Int
rule. Solon replied: 'Old age. who amid Cannae's shameful rout gave his life to atone foi1:;iags,
his
league's anwisdom; and Marcus Claudius Marcellus, who was con- col
The best aid to lift is with mind unclouded and faculties unim-
paired, hen nature herself dissolves what she has put together. The ceded funeral honours even by a merciless foe. But lotus pass these by.
aml ther collider own R I gi mad t h
right person to take a ship or house to pieces is its builder:and by that vritt •f
analogy nature, which constructs human beings them in my OrMins: marthing again and again, with indomitable
tilfully, is also en-
best at their demolition. But anew structure is always hard to destroy, thusiasm, to destinations from which they never expected to retu m.
whereas old buildings come down easily. So what those uneducated, rustic young soldiers think nothing of
should surely not terrify men of advanced education and years)
So the aged ought neither to r g too greedily to their small rem- One has had nough of life.
nants of life nor, conversely, to abandon them before they need. enough fall "ts occupations. Boys in my opinion, when one has had
Pythagoras forbids us desert liM's sentry-post till God, our com- have their ch.h.h.c . tic pursuits,
mander has given the wont Wise Solon wrote 4 couplet exponsing - but adolescents do not hanker after them, since they have their own
the hope that when. he WM dead his friends would grieve and moum. activitkh then these too, in their turn, cease to attract the grown-up
and middle-aged, seeing that they also have their special interests-fo r
His puipose, no doubt, was to ski:m(110w muds he valued their affec-
tion. But am inclined to prefer Ennitn's vetion: 'Let no one weep in which, however, when their time comes, old people fed no desire,
my-honour, or utter lamentations at my last rites.' Ennuis finds death since they again, funny, have interests peculiar to themselves. Then,
like earlier occupations before them, these activities fall away; and
DO Caine for grief, seeing that what comes thereafter is immortality.
when that Lappms a man has had enough oflife and it is dine for him
The act of dying, it is true, may be accompanied- by cettain sensa- to die.
tions, but if so these only last a very short time. especially when one is
old. After death • f r gs 'cher stens ag bkproin
out yma upwards we should bear that inmind, teethe thought will VIII
.encourage us,to regard death as of on account, and without such a
hawks:ion wean have no peace of mind. For we cannotavoid dying: THE AFTER-MFE
perhaps this very day. Since, therefore, death it an imminent possi-
bility from henna hour, you must not let the prospect frighten you, I will tell you what' myself believe about death.? do not see why
or you will be in a state of perpetual anxiety. f the eare this comes the better I feel
I widerstand what it
Them it uo need to argue this point at any length. It is enough to
remember Lucius Junius Bmtus, who fell in the struggle for his coun- I loved your illustrious father Scipio, and yours too, Laelius: and
try's freedom, and the two Decii. who rode fiill speed deliberately to lain certain that they -are sdllalive - living die only life that is worthy
their deaths,' Or we may recall Marcus MMus Regulus, who fror the of the name.

I. Lucius Ruda, Boon Dedi and R gut abo . pp. 4, 564 Ng. (226) w24 Gains Torent2us 4221220. Marcellus raptured Syracuse in lia 4441
The two Scipio are: Puts (the Myr of Scipio Africanus the elder), consul - killed Enhfrag Maim
dG Cal yid h cepa tely ffbytha Haunt° in 204)
Carthaginians in Spailin an sal killed. The colleague olltiunn at Cm= Ilicso sentiments are compardik to the more elaborate Meng of Sn'pia in
Ciecro's work on the ace (p.46).
243
 CICERO xxl,77 ON OLD AGE
e are
As bring as we remain within these bodily frames of ours, w ceased to exist_ Even while I have bee es, with you, you have not seen
undergoing a heavy labour imposed on us by fa For our human my sot& yon lmew it was in this body beca of th acd that
souls have come into our bodies from heaven: they have been sent performed. In the furore, too, my soul will remain invisible to you,
downfrom their lofty abode and plunged, sago speaks into the earth, but you should sail be able to credit its existence just as you have
which is alien to their divine mdeternal nature. As I believe, the reason hitherto.
why the immortal gods implanend souls in human beings WM to pro- 'The renown of famausmtnwouldnot survive their deaths but for
vide the earth with guardians who should reflect their contemplation the continued activity of their own souls in preserving their memory
oldie divine order in the orderly discipline of their own lives. among us. 'have never felt able to believe that, whereas souls remain
My own powers of logic and reasoning have not brought me to alive while they are still in human bodies, they must perish aka they
this conviction unaided. I have also relied upon the weighty and have ceased to dwell in them - for since the soul and not the body
authoritative guidance of outstanding thinkers. For Pythagoras and does the thinking, why should its departure remove this rts by? On
his disciples - practically compatriots of ours, since they were known the contrary, I have preferred to believe chat it is only after liberation
as she 'Italian philosophers _ never doubted, I am told, that of from all bodily natal/tine has de th pure d undefiled that
our souls is a fraction taken from the divine universal Mind Besides, souls enter upon true wisdom. Furthermore, in a human being's dino-
I have studied the arguments concerning the immortality of the soul Laden by death, the destination of his corporeal elements is evident:
which Socrates advanced on the last day of his lir& and he was the each of them returns rot beginnings. Only the soul never appears
man whom the oracle of Apollo had pronounced to be wiser than all at all, either when it is present or when it has departed.
others. 'Again, the closest thing to death (as you can see) 6 sleep. Bid sleep
Homan souls condi t liglsoing speed, equally remarkable for is precisely the condition in which limb most clearly manifest their
thew memory of the past and knowledge of things to Their -vine tore. F Iva they are in this liberated and unrestrained
capabilities, funds of knowledge, and povveh of discovery are endless. state, they can see into the future: and that gives us a hint of what they
Their simultaneous possession of all these talents means, I am con- will be like when they am no longer earth-bound by the hwnan frame.
vinced, that they cannot he mortal. Seeing that their unceasing motion 'if' am right in believing in eternal life, then I am now turning
was self-created ml had no other originator but themselves, they can into a god for you to worship! IL on the other hand, my soul is after
like•ha end, because their self-elimination is inconceivable, all going to die wi.th my bOdy. el I know you va keep me in dutiful
Being, furthermore, homogeneous, with the admixture eine different en ry gy nhip f the gods who rule md watch
or dice Admit element whatever, they are indivisible - that is to say, over the beauties of the Universe
indestructible. The hypothesis that a considerable part of human Those were the dying words of Cyrus. Now let us see about ray
knowledge is of prenatal origin is supported by a strong argument: Own.
even a small child can tackle the most difficult subjects and rapidly No one will ever convince me, my dear ris' that yo father
master innumerable facts about them. This suggests that he is not Lucius &Tullius Paullus Macedonicus, or your grandfathers Lurius
learning for the first time but only recolleaing what is already in his Aemilins Paullus and Publins Conachus Scipio Africanus, or the father
memory. or uncle 'of that Africanus, or other famous men too numeralss to be
That, snore or less, is Plato's teaching. Xenophon tells us that these named, would have done such mighty deeds to be remembered by
problems were debated by the elder Cyrus on his deathbed. 'My dear posterity, if they had not understood that posterity was theirs. And
sons: he said. 'do not conclude that after I have Ica your shall have now let me say, as old men do, some boastful words about myselE
You cannot suppose that I should have workedso hard, day andnight,
I. The Iasi day of Content %dinette:dee inPlatob Maeda.
- 2.1a 77w Education if Cyrus. z. Publiin Cornelius Scipio and Cozens Cornelius Schin Cabnis (see p. 242).
244 245

1
 CICERO XXIII, Sa ON OLD AGE

in war and peace alike, ifflud bagged that my fame woaddnot out. had to cremate his. Yet his soul has not gone from me. but looks back
uch better to and fastens upon me its regard-and the destination so which that ul
last my life. La that event I ould may ba d
Live in leisurely tranquillity. remote from labour and contention. Yet has departed is surely the place where it knew that I too must come.
somehow my soul seemed to maderstand that its true life would only To the world I have seemed to bear my loss bra ely. That does not
teasingly, it fastened 'in gaze po mean th t I f und 't easy to bear la ti comforted myself with the
begin fret y death- alertly
the generations to come. The souls of out finest men engage in this belief that our parting and separation would be of short duration.
pursuit of immortal fame - and they would not feel this rage unless You remarked, Scipio, that rapt:cared to you and Laelitts to endure
immortality were really in store for them. old age lightly; and I have sold you why I find this no burden but
Besides, the wisest people are those who die with greatest equani- actually enjoyable. Even if I am mistaken in my belief that the soul
mity, and the most smpid SCE the least resigned. This rarely indicates is irrunortal, f make the mistake gladly, for the belief makes me
that the souk of the former, with their longer and clearer taw, per- happy, and is one which as long as 'liver want to retain. True, certain
ceive that they am on their way to abetter world, wfrso. the otlyss, insignificant philosophers I hold that I shall feel nothing after drarh.
with their duller vision, do not mbar that this is so. If so, then at least! need not fear that after their own deaths they will
I respected and loved your fathers; I long to see them both again. be able to mock my conviction! And if we are not going to be im-
Hut those whom I myself have known are not the only men I hope to mortal, well, even so it is still acceptable for a man to come to his end
see. Hook forward also to meeting the personages of whom I have at his props time. For nature, which has masked out the limits of all
heard, and read, and written. So when I start on my jourgity tovnrds things, has marked Out life's limits among them. When life's last act,
them, t tll be extremely difficult for anyone to pull me back. or boil old age. has become wearisome, when we have had enough, the time
me back to life as they did Pell& Indeed if some god granted me the has come to go.
power to cancel my a.dvmeed years and ream to boyhood, and wail That is what I think about old age. May you both live to see the
once more in the cradle. I should firmly refuse. Now that my race is condon! Then you will be able to prove by experience that what'
ran, I have no dente to be called back from the finish to the stating have told you is true.
point! The Enke:teams
For what is the advantage of life! - or rather, are not its troubles
infinite? No, there are advantages too; yet all the mom there comes Summary of Cicero, “On Old Age”Marcus Tullius Cicero
Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC) was a Roman politician and lawyer who is considered one of Rome’s greatest
tim when ne has had enough. That does not mean that I am join- orators and prose stylists. “On Old Age” is an essay written on the subject of aging and death. It has
ing thelaxge and teamed body of life's critics ! I am not sorry to have remained popular because of its profound subject matter as well as its clear and beautiful language.
lived. since the course my life has taken has encouraged me to believe The treatise defends old age against its alleged disadvantages: “first, that it withdraws us from active
that 'have lived to some purpose. But what nature gives to is a place pursuits; second, that it makes the body weaker; third, that it deprives us of almost all physical pleasures;
and, fourth, that it is not far removed from death.” He examines each claim in turn.
to dwell in temporarily, not one to make our own. When Heave life,
therefore, I shall feel as ill am leaving a hostel rather than a home.
Charge #1 – “Old age withdraws us from active pursuits …”
What a great day it will be when I set out to join that divine
assemblage and concourse of souk, and depart from the confusion and Cicero replies that older people remain active, just in different ways than their younger counterparts.
While they may less physically adept than the young, they may do more for their community, or they
corruption of this worldll shall be going to mect not only all those of may be more introspective and philosophical. As he puts it:
whom I have spoke', but also my own sots N better.
Those… who allege that old age is devoid of useful activity… are like those who would say that the
voted man was ever born. He should have cremated my body; but ! pilot does nothing in the sailing of his ship, because, while others are climbing the masts, or running
LIN about the gangways, or working at the pumps, he sits quietly in the stern and simply holds the tiller. He
L. It was 'pintas bath]. hallahrother mann whom toraca NADAL. to may not be doing what younger members of the crew are doing, but what he does is better and much
reanorcdto youth by mating ham up and boiling ham in a caagiron. more important. It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by
reflection, force of character, and judgment; in these qualities old age is usually not … poorer, but is
346 even richer.
 _
So for Cicero, the prudence and wisdom that accompanies aging more than compensates for declining physical vigor. (Research has found that elders outperformed younger adults in, for instance, understanding and solving complex
social situations.) He says that for Homer, Sophocles, Pythagoras, Plato, and others, old age did not “destroy their interests or take away their powers of expression.” Old age can be a busy time where we continue lifelong projects or
develop new interests.

Charge #2 – Old age “makes the body weaker …”

Cicero acknowledges that aging negatively affects the body, but

At my age, I don’t yearn for the physical vigor of a young man … any more than in my youth I yearned for the vigor of a bull or an elephant. Use whatever you have: that is the right way. Do whatever is to be done in proportion as you
have the strength to do it … Use the advantages you have while you have them; when they are gone, don’t sit around wishing you could get them back.

He then proceeds: APPENDIXES AND INDEX

enjoy the blessing of strength while you have it and do not bewail it when it is gone unless… you believe that youth must lament the loss of infancy, or early manhood the passing of youth. Life’s race-course is fixed; Nature has only a
single path and that path is run but once, and to each stage of existence has been allotted its own appropriate quality; so that the weakness of childhood, the impetuosity of youth, the seriousness of middle life, the maturity of old age
— each bears some of Nature’s fruit, which must be garnered in its own season.

He also notes that we can lessen aging’s impact through exercise, moderation in food and drink, and caring for our intellect. Ideally, we should care for our bodies throughout our lives so that they remain strong into old age. Often our
bodies betray us in large part because we have mistreated them in our youth.

Still, it is our intellect that we should cultivate as we age. Physical vigor is good, and we should try to be healthy, but “much greater care is due to the mind and soul; for they, too, like lamps, grow dim with time, unless we keep them
supplied with oil.” So achieving wisdom in old age is paramount.

Charge #3 – Old age “deprives us of almost all physical pleasures …”

Cicero responds that eating and drinking still give sensual pleasure and he finds that he enjoys meals with friends even more than he did as a youth. But to the extent that old age detracts from enjoying such pleasures, this is mostly
beneficial:

the fact that old age feels little longing for sensual pleasures not only is no cause for reproach, but rather is ground for the highest praise. Old age lacks the heavy banquet, the loaded table, and the oft-filled cup; therefore it also lacks
drunkenness, indigestion, and loss of sleep. But if some concession must be made to pleasure, since her allurements are difficult to resist, … then I admit that old age, though it lacks immoderate banquets, may find delight in
temperate repasts.

Regarding sexual pleasure he writes:

… granting that youth enjoys pleasures of that kind with a keener relish … although old age does not possess these pleasures in abundance, yet it is by no means wanting in them. Just as (a great actor) gives greater delight to the
spectators in the front row at the theatre, and yet gives some delight even to those in the last row, so youth, looking on pleasures at closer range, perhaps enjoys them more, while old age, on the other hand, finds delight enough in a
more distant view.

So while the intensity of sensual pleasure diminishes with age, it can be appreciated in new ways.

Charge #4 – Old age “is not far removed from death …”

Cicero responds by dismissing the fear of death:

death should be held of no account! For clearly (the impact of) death is negligible if it utterly annihilates the soul, or even desirable, if it conducts the soul to some place where it is to live forever. What, then, shall I fear, if after death I
am destined to be either not unhappy or happy?

As for the hopes of younger versus older people Cicero states:

the young man hopes that he will live for a long time and this hope the old man cannot have. Yet he is in better case than the young man, since what the latter merely hopes for, the former has already attained; the one wishes to live
long, the other has lived long.

In fact, death should be seen as something to look forward to after a life well-lived:

Therefore, when the young die I am reminded of a strong flame extinguished by a torrent; but when old men die it is as if a fire had gone out without the use of force and of its own accord, after the fuel had been consumed; and, just as
apples when they are green are with difficulty plucked from the tree, but when ripe and mellow fall of themselves, so, with the young, death comes as a result of force, while with the old it is the result of ripeness. To me, indeed, the
thought of this “ripeness” for death is so pleasant, that the nearer I approach death the more I feel like one who is in sight of land at last and is about to anchor in his home port after a long voyage.