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A review by papidoc
How to Grow Old: Ancient Wisdom for the Second Half of Life by Marcus Tullius Cicero
5.0
First of Marcus Tullius Cicero's works I've ever read, but it was mentioned in another volume of philosophy I was reading and sounded interesting. It was indeed! This is the version translated by Philip Freeman, published by the Princeton University Press.
The book is constructed in the form of a dialogue with Cato the Elder, a Roman leader from the previous century who Cicero greatly admired. Cato has a conversation with two younger friends in which he shows how old age can be the best phase of life for those who apply themselves to living wisely. A few of my favorite quotes (among many) from the book follow, occasionally with commentary:
Growing old isn’t as much of a problem as many people think: “Those who lack within themselves the means for living a blessed and happy life will find any age painful. But for those who seek good things within themselves, nothing imposed on them by nature will seem troublesome.”
“...old age has its own appropriate defenses, namely the study and practice of wise and decent living. If you cultivate these in every period of your life, then when you grow old, they will yield a rich harvest.”
“He plants trees for the use of another age.” Just because we get old doesn’t mean we stop working, learning, contributing to society and serving those around us. Even though we may not live to see the final outcome, that doesn’t make the work any less important.
Cicero also argued that we should keep learning, no matter how old we become. As he says, Cato taught himself Greek at an old age so that he could read their literature. And as an old man, Socrates learned to play the lyre.
“I also devote much of my time to the study of Greek literature. And to exercise my memory, I follow the practice of the Pythagoreans and each evening go over everything I have said, heard, or done during the day. These are my mental gymnastics...”
“They had a passion for learning, a passion that in sensible and educated people advances as the years go by. So, there is truth in Solon’s verse I quoted in which he said that as he grew older, he learned more and more every day. Surely there can be no greater pleasure than the pleasure of the mind.”
“The good fortune of growing things is something every old person can enjoy. The cultivation of the soil is something we can pursue even to the end of our days.”
“The crowning glory of old age is respect. ... But please bear in mind that throughout this whole discussion I am praising an old age that has its foundation well laid in youth. ... Wrinkles and gray hair cannot suddenly demand respect...all [the] troubles of age can be eased by a decent and enlightened character.”
“For when that end comes, all that came before is gone. All that remains then are the good and worthy deeds you have done in your life. Hours and days, months and years flow by, but the past returns no more and the future we cannot know.”
“...as death grows nearer, the more I feel like a traveler who at last sees the land of his home port after a long voyage.”
“[W]hile we are trapped within these earthly frames of ours, we carry out a heavy labor imposed on us by fate. Indeed, the soul is a heavenly thing come down from the celestial realm, pressed down and plunged into the earth, contrary to its divine and eternal nature. But I believe that the immortal gods planted souls in human bodies to have beings who would care for the earth and who would contemplate the divine order and imitate it in the moderation and discipline of their own lives.”
This is a book I will revisit and think about from time to time. Glad I took good notes!
The book is constructed in the form of a dialogue with Cato the Elder, a Roman leader from the previous century who Cicero greatly admired. Cato has a conversation with two younger friends in which he shows how old age can be the best phase of life for those who apply themselves to living wisely. A few of my favorite quotes (among many) from the book follow, occasionally with commentary:
Growing old isn’t as much of a problem as many people think: “Those who lack within themselves the means for living a blessed and happy life will find any age painful. But for those who seek good things within themselves, nothing imposed on them by nature will seem troublesome.”
“...old age has its own appropriate defenses, namely the study and practice of wise and decent living. If you cultivate these in every period of your life, then when you grow old, they will yield a rich harvest.”
“He plants trees for the use of another age.” Just because we get old doesn’t mean we stop working, learning, contributing to society and serving those around us. Even though we may not live to see the final outcome, that doesn’t make the work any less important.
Cicero also argued that we should keep learning, no matter how old we become. As he says, Cato taught himself Greek at an old age so that he could read their literature. And as an old man, Socrates learned to play the lyre.
“I also devote much of my time to the study of Greek literature. And to exercise my memory, I follow the practice of the Pythagoreans and each evening go over everything I have said, heard, or done during the day. These are my mental gymnastics...”
“They had a passion for learning, a passion that in sensible and educated people advances as the years go by. So, there is truth in Solon’s verse I quoted in which he said that as he grew older, he learned more and more every day. Surely there can be no greater pleasure than the pleasure of the mind.”
“The good fortune of growing things is something every old person can enjoy. The cultivation of the soil is something we can pursue even to the end of our days.”
“The crowning glory of old age is respect. ... But please bear in mind that throughout this whole discussion I am praising an old age that has its foundation well laid in youth. ... Wrinkles and gray hair cannot suddenly demand respect...all [the] troubles of age can be eased by a decent and enlightened character.”
“For when that end comes, all that came before is gone. All that remains then are the good and worthy deeds you have done in your life. Hours and days, months and years flow by, but the past returns no more and the future we cannot know.”
“...as death grows nearer, the more I feel like a traveler who at last sees the land of his home port after a long voyage.”
“[W]hile we are trapped within these earthly frames of ours, we carry out a heavy labor imposed on us by fate. Indeed, the soul is a heavenly thing come down from the celestial realm, pressed down and plunged into the earth, contrary to its divine and eternal nature. But I believe that the immortal gods planted souls in human bodies to have beings who would care for the earth and who would contemplate the divine order and imitate it in the moderation and discipline of their own lives.”
This is a book I will revisit and think about from time to time. Glad I took good notes!