Chapter 11

34 “I imagine you have heard, Scipio, what Masinissa, your family’s hereditary guest-friend, does today at ninety. Once he sets out on foot he never mounts a horse; once he sets out on horseback he never dismounts. Neither rain nor cold can persuade him to cover his head. His body is remarkably lean and hardy, and he carries out every office and duty of a king. Exercise and moderation, then, can preserve something of our former strength even in old age.

“Suppose old age has no strength: strength is not even demanded of it. Both law and custom exempt men of our years from duties that cannot be sustained without it. We are therefore compelled not merely to do nothing beyond our powers, but not even all that we can.”

35 “But many old men are so weak that they cannot perform any duty or any task of life at all. That, however, is a fault not peculiar to old age, but shared by ill health. How weak was the son of Publius Africanus, the man who adopted you! How frail his health—or rather, how nonexistent! Had it not been so, he would have emerged as a second great light of the state: to his father’s greatness of soul he had added a richer learning. Why, then, wonder if old men are sometimes weak, when even the young cannot escape it?

“We must resist old age, Laelius and Scipio, and make up for its failings through diligence. We must fight it as we fight disease, take care of our health,”

36 “practice moderate exercise, and take just enough food and drink to renew our strength, not overwhelm it. Nor should we help the body alone, but much more the mind and spirit: these too are extinguished by old age unless you feed them as you feed a lamp with oil. And though bodies grow heavy with the fatigue of exercise, minds are lightened by exercising. When Caecilius speaks of ‘the foolish old men of comedy,’ he means the credulous, forgetful, dissolute ones: faults not of old age, but of an idle, sluggish, drowsy old age. Just as insolence and lust belong more to the young than to the old, yet not to all the young but to the disreputable, so the foolishness commonly called senile dotage belongs to frivolous old men, not to all.”

37 “Appius governed four vigorous sons, five daughters, so large a household and so many clients, though he was blind and old. He kept his mind stretched taut like a bow, and did not surrender feebly to age. He retained not only authority but command over his family. The slaves feared him; his children revered him; everyone loved him. Ancestral custom and discipline flourished in that house.”

38 “For old age is honorable when it defends itself, maintains its rights, becomes no one’s dependent, and rules its household to the last breath. Just as I approve of a young man who has something of age in him, so I approve of an old man who has something of youth. Whoever follows that principle may be old in body, but never in spirit.

“I am working on the seventh book of my Origins. I collect all the records of antiquity; just now I am preparing the speeches for the notable cases I have defended. I study augural, pontifical, and civil law; I also draw extensively on Greek literature. Following the Pythagoreans, I exercise my memory by recalling each evening what I have said, heard, and done during the day. These are my exercises of talent, my mind’s running courses. Sweating and laboring over them, I feel little need of bodily strength. I stand by my friends; I attend the Senate frequently and bring forward, unasked, matters I have considered long and deeply, defending them by strength of mind, not body. Even if I could not do these things, my couch would still delight me as I thought about the very activities I could no longer perform. But my past life makes their performance possible. For a man who has always lived among such studies and labors does not notice when old age steals upon him. So gradually, imperceptibly, life grows old: it is not suddenly broken, but extinguished by the passage of time.”

34 “Scipio, I suppose you hear about what Masinissa does today, at ninety. The friendship between your families goes back to your grandfather. If he starts a journey on foot, he does not get on a horse at any point. If he starts on horseback, he does not get off. No rain or cold can make him cover his head. His body is exceptionally lean and tough. This lets him carry out all a king’s responsibilities and tasks. So exercise and self-control can keep some of our earlier strength even when we are old.

“Suppose there is no strength in old age. Strength is not even required of it. Our laws and customs release people our age from jobs that cannot be done without physical strength. We are not forced to do what is beyond us. We are not even forced to do everything still within our powers.”

35 “But plenty of old people are so weak that they cannot fulfill any duty or do any of life’s tasks at all. That problem is not specific to age. It comes with poor health at any age. Think how weak the son of Publius Africanus was—the man who adopted you. His health was so frail that he almost had none. Without that weakness, he would have become another great light for our country. Besides his father’s greatness of spirit, he had a fuller education. Why be surprised, then, if older people are sometimes weak, when even young people cannot avoid it?

“Laelius and Scipio, we have to stand up to old age and work carefully to offset its disadvantages. We should fight it as we fight an illness. We must look after our health,”

36 “exercise in moderation, and eat and drink enough to restore our energy without weighing ourselves down. But care for the body is not enough. Our mind and spirit need much more care. They too die out as we age unless we keep feeding them, like adding oil to a lamp. Bodies grow sluggish when exercise tires them, but exercising makes minds more alert. The people Caecilius calls the foolish old men of comedy are the gullible, forgetful, irresponsible ones. Those are not the faults of age itself. They belong to an idle, lazy, sleepy old age. Rudeness and uncontrolled desire occur more in youth than in old age, but not in all young people, only those with bad characters. In the same way, the foolishness people commonly call dotage belongs to old men who lack good judgment, not to every old man.”

37 “Appius was old and blind, but he managed four strong sons, five daughters, an enormous household, and a large body of clients. He kept his mind taut, like a bowstring. He did not lose heart and give in to age. He kept not just his family’s respect but his power to direct them. The slaves were afraid of him. His children treated him with reverence. They all loved him. The old family customs and discipline were strong in that home.”

38 “Old age earns honor by defending itself and keeping its rights. It must not place itself under someone else’s control, and it must remain in charge of its household until its last breath. I like a young person who has some qualities of age, and an old person who has some qualities of youth. Someone who follows that rule may grow old physically, but will never grow old in spirit.

“The seventh book of my Origins is on my desk. I gather every record of the past. Right now I am writing up my speeches in all the important cases I have defended. I work on the law of augury, priestly law, and civil law. I also make extensive use of Greek literature. To train my memory, I follow the Pythagorean practice of going over each evening what I said, heard, and did that day. That is how I train my abilities and put my mind through its paces. Working hard at these things, I do not much miss physical strength. I help my friends and attend Senate meetings regularly. Without waiting to be asked, I raise matters I have thought about at length and defend my views with mental rather than physical energy. Even if I could not do these things, I would enjoy lying on my couch and thinking about the activities I could no longer carry out. But it is my earlier life that allows me to keep doing them. Someone who has always lived with these interests and tasks does not notice when age starts to creep in. Life grows old so slowly that we do not feel it. It does not break suddenly, but goes out over time.”