Chapter 6
Original Latin
15 etenim, cum complector animo, quattuor reperio causas cur senectus misera videatur: unam, quod avocet a rebus gerendis; alteram, quod corpus faciat infirmius; tertiam, quod privet omnibus fere voluptatibus; quartam, quod haud procul absit a morte. earum, si placet, causarum quanta quamque sit iusta una quaeque videamus.
A rebus gerendis senectus abstrahit. quibus? An eis, quae iuventute geruntur et viribus? nullaene igitur res sunt seniles, quae vel infirmis corporibus animo et mente administrentur? nihil ergo agebat Q. Maximus, nihil L. Paulus, pater tuus, socer optimi viri fili mei? ceteri senes, Fabricii Curii Coruncanii, cum rem publicam consilio et auctoritate defendebant, nihil agebant?
ad Appi Claudi senectutem accedebat etiam ut caecus esset;
16 tamen is, cum sententia senatus inclinaret ad pacem cum Pyrrho foedusque faciendum, non dubitavit dicere illa, quae versibus persecutus est Ennius:quo vobis mentes, rectae quae stare solebantantehac, dementis sese flexere viai?ceteraque gravissime, notum enim vobis carmen est, et tamen ipsius Appi exstat oratio. atque haec ille egit septemdecim annis post alterum consulatum, cum inter duos consulatus anni decem interfuissent censorque ante superiorem consulatum fuisset, ex quo intellegitur Pyrrhi bello grandem sane fuisse, et tamen sic a patribus accepimus.
17 nihil igitur afferunt qui in re gerenda versari senectutem negant, similesque sunt ut si qui gubernatorem in navigando nihil agere dicant, cum alii malos scandant, alii per foros cursent, alii sentinam exhauriant, ille clavum tenens quietus sedeat in puppi; non faciat ea, quae iuvenes; at vero multo maiora et meliora facit. non viribus aut velocitate aut celeritate corporum res magnae geruntur, sed consilio auctoritate sententia, quibus non modo non orbari, sed etiam augeri senectus solet.
18 nisi forte ego vobis, qui et miles et tribunus et legatus et consul versatus sum in vario genere bellorum, cessare nunc videor, cum bella non gero. At senatui quae sint gerenda praescribo et quo modo; Carthagini male iam diu cogitanti bellum multo ante denuntio, de qua vereri non ante desinam quam illam excisam esse cognovero. quam palmam utinam di immortales,
19 Scipio, tibi reservent, ut avi relliquias persequare, cuius a morte tertius hic et tricesimus annus est, sed memoriam illius viri omnes excipient anni consequentes. anno ante me censorem mortuus est, novem annis post meum consulatum, cum consul iterum me consule creatus esset. num igitur, si ad centesimum annum vixisset, senectutis eum suae paeniteret? nec enim excursione nec saltu, nec eminus hastis aut comminus gladiis uteretur, sed consilio ratione sententia, quae nisi essent in senibus, non summum consilium maiores nostri appellassent senatum. apud Lacedaemonios quidem ei,
20 qui amplissimum magistratum gerunt, ut sunt, sic etiam nominantur, senes. quod si legere aut audire voletis externa, maximas res publicas ab adulescentibus labefactatas, a senibus sustentatas et restitutas reperietis.cedo qui vestram rem publicam tantam amisistis tam cito?sic enim percontantur in Naevi poetae Lupo. Respondentur et alia et hoc in primis:proveniebant oratores novi, stulti adulescentuli.temeritas est videlicet florentis aetatis, prudentia senescentis.
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.
15 “When I survey the matter in my mind, I find four reasons why old age is thought miserable: first, it withdraws us from active affairs; second, it weakens the body; third, it deprives us of nearly every pleasure; fourth, it stands not far from death. Let us consider, if you please, how weighty and how just each of these reasons is.
“Old age removes us from active affairs. Which affairs? Those conducted by youth and strength? Are there, then, no activities proper to old age, directed by mind and thought even when the body is weak? Was Quintus Maximus doing nothing? Was Lucius Paulus, your father and my excellent son’s father-in-law? Were those other old men, the Fabricii, Curii, and Coruncanii, doing nothing when they defended the state with counsel and authority?
“Appius Claudius had blindness to bear as well as old age;”
16 “yet when the Senate’s opinion was inclining toward peace and a treaty with Pyrrhus, he did not hesitate to speak the words Ennius put into verse:Where have your minds, once accustomed to stand firm,Turned from their former course along the path of madness?He spoke further with the greatest force—you know the poem—and Appius’s own speech survives as well. He did this seventeen years after his second consulship; ten years had separated his two consulships, and he had been censor before the first. This makes it clear that he was indeed old during the war with Pyrrhus; and this, moreover, is the account handed down by our forefathers.”
17 “Those who deny that old age has a part in active affairs therefore have no case. They are like men who say that a helmsman does nothing in sailing a ship because, while some climb the masts, others hurry along the gangways, and others bail out the bilge, he sits quietly at the stern, holding the tiller. He does not do what the young men do, but he does things far greater and better. Great achievements depend not on strength, speed, or bodily agility, but on judgment, authority, and counsel. Of these old age is not usually deprived; rather, it gains in them.”
18 “Unless perhaps I seem idle to you now because I no longer wage war, though as soldier, military tribune, legate, and consul I have served in many kinds of war. Yet I prescribe to the Senate what must be done and how. Long in advance I announce war upon Carthage, which has long been plotting evil; I shall not cease to fear her until I know she has been destroyed. May the immortal gods reserve that prize,”
19 “Scipio, for you, so that you may finish what your grandfather left undone. This is the thirty-third year since his death, but all the years to come will inherit the memory of that man. He died the year before my censorship, nine years after my consulship, during which he was elected consul for a second time. If he had lived to his hundredth year, would he have regretted his old age? He would not have relied on running or leaping, on spears thrown from afar or swords wielded at close quarters, but on counsel, reason, and judgment. Had old men not possessed these qualities, our ancestors would not have called their highest council the Senate. Among the Spartans, indeed, those”
20 “who hold the highest office are called what they actually are: elders. If you care to read or hear about foreign peoples, you will find that the greatest states have been shaken by young men and upheld and restored by old men.Tell us, how did you lose your mighty state so quickly?That is the question asked in the poet Naevius’s Wolf. Among the answers, this comes first:New speakers were coming forward, foolish young men.Rashness, plainly, belongs to the flowering years; prudence to the years of age.”
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.
15 “When I think the matter over, I find four reasons why old age seems miserable. First, it takes us away from active work. Second, it weakens the body. Third, it takes away almost every pleasure. Fourth, it is close to death. If you agree, let us examine each reason and see how much weight it carries and how fair it is.
“Old age takes us away from active work. What work? The kind that needs youth and physical strength? Are there no tasks suited to older people, tasks managed by thought and intelligence even when the body is weak? Was Quintus Fabius Maximus doing nothing, then? Was Lucius Paulus, your father and the father-in-law of my excellent son, doing nothing? And what about other old men, men like Fabricius, Curius, and Coruncanius? Were they doing nothing when they defended the state through their advice and authority?
“Besides being old, Appius Claudius was blind;”
16 “yet when the Senate began favoring a peace agreement and treaty with Pyrrhus, he readily spoke the words Ennius put into verse:‘Where have your minds, once steady and straight,Turned aside onto a path of madness?’The rest was just as forceful. You know the poem, and Appius’s own speech also survives. He did this seventeen years after his second consulship. Ten years had passed between his two consulships, and he had been censor before his first. This shows that he must have been very old during the war with Pyrrhus. Still, that is the account handed down to us by our fathers.”
17 “So people who say that old age takes no part in active work have no case. They are like someone who says that a ship’s pilot does nothing during a voyage because others climb the masts, run along the decks, or pump out the bilge, while he sits quietly at the stern holding the tiller. The pilot’s job is different from the young men’s work. It is much more important and valuable. Great achievements do not depend on strength, speed, or quick movements of the body. They depend on planning, authority, and judgment. Old age usually does not lose these qualities. It gains more of them.”
18 “Unless, perhaps, you think I am doing nothing now because I no longer fight wars, although I have served in all kinds of wars as a soldier, military tribune, senior officer, and consul. But I tell the Senate what needs to be done and how to do it. I give Carthage plenty of advance warning of war. It has been plotting harm for a long time, and I will not stop fearing it until I know it has been destroyed. May the immortal gods reserve that victory,”
19 “Scipio, for you, so that you can finish the work your grandfather left unfinished. This is the thirty-third year since his death, but every year to come will preserve his memory. He died the year before I became censor, nine years after my consulship. He had been elected to his second consulship while I was consul. Suppose he had reached a hundred. Would being old have made him unhappy? His work would not have depended on running, jumping, hurling spears, or using swords in close combat. He would have relied on planning, reasoning, and judgment. These qualities in old men explain why our ancestors named their supreme council the Senate. In Sparta, those”
20 “who hold the highest office are called old men, which is what they are. If you choose to read or hear about foreign nations, you will find that young men have undermined the greatest states, while old men have supported and restored them.‘Tell me, how did you lose your great state so quickly?’That is the question asked in the poet Naevius’s The Wolf. Among the answers, this one stands out:‘New speakers were coming forward, foolish young men.’Clearly, recklessness belongs to youth, and sound judgment to old age.”
About this section
Chapter 6 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 6 of 23 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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