Chapter 5
Original Latin
13 quorsum igitur haec tam multa de Maximo? Quia profecto videtis nefas esse dictu miseram fuisse talem senectutem. nec tamen omnes possunt esse Scipiones aut Maximi, ut urbium expugnationes, ut pedestris navalisve pugnas, ut bella a se gesta, ut triumphos recordentur. est etiam quiete et pure atque eleganter actae aetatis placida ac lenis senectus, qualem accepimus Platonis, qui uno et octogesimo anno scribens est mortuus, qualem Isocratis, qui eum librum, qui Panathenaicus inscribitur, quarto nonagesimo anno scripsisse dicit vixitque quinquennium postea; cuius magister Leontinus Gorgias centum et septem complevit annos, neque umquam in suo studio atque opere cessavit. qui, cum ex eo quaereretur cur tam diu vellet esse in vita, nihil habeo, inquit, quod accusem senectutem.
14 praeclarum responsum et docto homine dignum!
sua enim vitia insipientes et suam culpam in senectutem conferunt, quod non faciebat is, cuius modo mentionem feci, Ennius:sic ut fortis equus, spatio qui saepe supremovicit Olympia, nunc senio confectus quiescit.equi fortis et victoris senectuti comparat suam; quem quidem probe meminisse potestis; anno enim undevicesimo post eius mortem hi consules, T. Flamininus et M’. Acilius, facti sunt; ille autem Caepione et Philippo iterum consulibus mortuus est, cum ego quinque et sexaginta annos natus legem Voconiam magna voce et bonis lateribus suasissem. Annos septuaginta natus, tot enim vixit Ennius, ita ferebat duo quae maxima putantur onera, paupertatem et senectutem, ut eis paene delectari videretur.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation made directly from the Latin in all 23 chapters and 85 sections. Latin-source editorial review recorded; no human specialist certification is claimed.
13 “Why, then, have I said so much about Maximus? Because you surely see how wrong it would be to call such an old age miserable. Yet not everyone can be a Scipio or a Maximus and look back upon captured cities, battles fought on land or sea, wars conducted, and triumphs celebrated. There is also the calm and gentle old age of a life passed quietly, purely, and with refinement. Such, we are told, was Plato’s: he died writing in his eighty-first year. Such was that of Isocrates, who says that he wrote the book entitled Panathenaicus in his ninety-fourth year and lived five years longer. His teacher, Gorgias of Leontini, completed a hundred and seven years, never ceasing from his studies and his work. Asked why he wished to remain alive so long, he replied, ‘I have no complaint to make against old age.’”
14 “An excellent answer, worthy of a learned man!
“For fools charge their own faults and failings to old age. Not so Ennius, whom I mentioned just now:Like a gallant horse that often, on the final stretch,Won at Olympia, now worn with years he rests.He compares his old age to that of a gallant, victorious horse. You can surely remember him well: the present consuls, Titus Flamininus and Manius Acilius, took office in the nineteenth year after his death. He died during the consulship of Caepio and Philippus, the latter’s second, when I, at sixty-five, supported the Voconian law with a strong voice and sound lungs. At seventy—for that was the age Ennius reached—he bore the two burdens generally thought the greatest, poverty and old age, as though he almost delighted in them.”
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted Plain English translation made independently and directly from the Latin in separate source-only production passes, not from Musean or a historical English translation. Latin-source editorial review recorded.
13 “Why have I said so much about Fabius Maximus? Because you surely see that it would be outrageous to call an old age like his miserable. Still, not everyone can be a Scipio or a Fabius Maximus, able to look back on captured cities, battles on land or sea, wars they commanded, and triumphs. A life lived quietly, honestly, and with good taste can also lead to a peaceful, gentle old age. We are told that Plato had that kind of old age. He died while writing, in his eighty-first year. Isocrates also had a peaceful old age. He says he wrote the book called Panathenaicus in his ninety-fourth year, and he lived another five years after that. His teacher, Gorgias of Leontini, lived to be a hundred and seven. He never stopped studying and working. When someone asked why he wanted to stay alive so long, he said, ‘I have no complaint to make against old age.’”
14 “An excellent answer, worthy of an educated man!
“Foolish people blame old age for their own faults and failings. Ennius, whom I mentioned just now, did not do that:‘Like a strong horse that often won at Olympia in the final stretch,Now worn out by age, he rests.’He compares his own old age to that of a strong, winning horse. You can certainly remember him well. Titus Flamininus and Manius Acilius, the consuls this year, entered office in the nineteenth year following his death. He died when Caepio and Philippus were consuls, Philippus for the second time. I had just spoken in support of the Voconian law, at the age of sixty-five, with a loud voice and strong lungs. At seventy—that was how long Ennius lived—he bore the two burdens people think heaviest, poverty and old age, so well that he almost seemed to enjoy them.”
About this section
Chapter 5 is part of On Old Age by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 5 of 23 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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