Main content

The red flare : Cicero's On old age

Available Formats:

Details:

  • Author: Cicero, Marcus Tullius
    Contributor: Cobbold, G. B.
    Date:
    Created
    2012
    Summary:

    On Old Age is a gentle text. It has the capacity to soothe us when we read it as much as it must have soothed Cicero to write it. It pleases because of its great good sense and lack of sentimentality; because it deals so straightforwardly with a complicated topic that none of us can avoid; and in the end because it gives an answer which will satisfy most of its readers to the famous question "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (I Corinthians xv.55).

    For anyone interested in Roman history or ancient philosophy, or reading the classics in translation.

    Contents:
    • Cicero's place in history
    • On old age
    • A note on the translation
    • De senectute
    • Dedication to Titus Pomponius Atticus and a brief introduction
    • Scipio and Laelius persuade Cato to talk to them about old age
    • Character is more important than age
    • An example of excellent character : Quintus Fabius Maximus
    • Old age need not be anything to complain about
    • Everyone can be useful in old age, even though our roles will change
    • We need not lose our mental powers : the key to happiness is to keep working
    • We must look for new experiences and learn from other people
    • The loss of physical vigor need not be a matter for regret
    • Physical strength is not necessarily relevant to a productive life
    • As our strength fails, we must keep our minds alert
    • Sexual gratification is not what it is cracked up to be; it can even be damaging
    • Moderation is good : there's nothing wrong with good food and good conversation
    • Sex is not as exciting as intellectual activity
    • Farming is a wonderful occupation as we get older
    • Further pleasures of farm life
    • Age does not hold us back from a happy life on the farm; it brings moral authority
    • The authority that comes with old age
    • We do not know when death will come, so it is pointless to be afraid of it
    • Death comes when the time is right; we must recognize when we have had enough of life
    • The nature of the soul : evidence suggests that it is immortal
    • A Persian king talks of the immortality of the soul
    • The prospects for undying glory and for the reunion of souls in another place.
    Genre:
    Social science, Philosophy
    Subject(s): Cicero, Marcus Tullius | Early works to 1800 | Old age | Friendship
    Original Publisher: Mundelein, Illinois, USA, Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.
    Language(s): English