“On meurt deux Source fois, je le vois bien : > > Cesser d’aimer & d’être aimable, > > C’est une mort insupportable : > > Cesser de vivre, ce n’est rien.”
This topic Cicero – Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy has been extensively researched and documented by historians and scholars.
This poignant French verse speaks to a profound human fear. It suggests we face two deaths: the unbearable end of love and connection, and the simple cessation of life. While this specific sentiment comes from later European writers, it echoes a question that has troubled thinkers for millennia. Indeed, centuries earlier, the great Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero confronted similar anxieties about the final chapters of life. However, he reached a strikingly different conclusion.
Instead of a period of decline, Cicero viewed old age as life’s capstone. He famously argued it was the “crown of life,” a time of wisdom, authority, and serene fulfillment. This perspective was not born in a vacuum of abstract thought. It was forged in the crucible of personal tragedy, political exile, and profound loss. To understand the genesis of his philosophy, we must first understand the man and the turbulent world he inhabited.
Cicero: A Life in the Roman Crucible
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a towering figure in the final days of the Roman Republic. He was a brilliant orator, a skilled lawyer, and a dedicated statesman who rose through the political ranks on the strength of his intellect and rhetoric. His life was a whirlwind of public service, legal battles, and philosophical inquiry. He navigated a treacherous political landscape, making powerful allies and even more dangerous enemies. Consequently, his career was marked by incredible highs and devastating lows.
By 44 BCE, Cicero’s world had crumbled. His beloved daughter, Tullia, had died, plunging him into a deep and inconsolable grief. Furthermore, the rise of Julius Caesar had effectively ended the Republic he fought so hard to preserve, rendering him politically powerless. It was during this period of forced retirement and personal anguish that he penned his masterful essay, De Senectute (On Old Age). This work was more than a philosophical treatise; it was his personal attempt to find meaning and purpose when all seemed lost.
The Four Charges Against Old Age
In De Senectute, Cicero systematically dismantles what he saw as the four primary complaints against growing old. He presents his arguments through the voice of the revered elder statesman, Cato the Elder. This structure allows him to address common fears directly and offer a powerful, reasoned defense of life’s final stage.
First, he tackles the claim that old age removes us from meaningful work. Cicero counters that while the old may lack the physical vigor of youth, they possess something far more valuable: wisdom. He argues that great affairs are guided not by muscle but by thought, character, and judgment. These are qualities that only ripen with time. An older person’s role simply shifts from active participation to providing wise counsel, a contribution he deemed essential for the health of the state and family.
Second, Cicero confronts the assertion that old age inevitably weakens the body. While he acknowledges physical decline, he insists it is not a debilitating sentence. He promotes the idea that the mind should command the body, not the other way around. With proper care, moderate exercise, and intellectual engagement, an individual can maintain sufficient health to perform their duties. He saw the cultivation of the mind as the best defense against the frailties of the flesh.
Finding Freedom in Fading Passions
Third, Cicero addresses the complaint that old age deprives us of sensual pleasures. Rather than viewing this as a loss, he masterfully reframes it as a liberation. He argues that the fiery passions of youth often lead to reckless and foolish decisions. By freeing us from these intense desires, old age allows for the pursuit of more refined and lasting joys. For instance, conversation, intellectual study, and nurturing one’s own garden or farm become sources of profound satisfaction. These calmer pleasures, he suggests, are far superior.
Finally, Cicero confronts the greatest fear of all: that old age is the doorstep to death. Here, his philosophy shines with optimism. Influenced by Greek thinkers like Plato, Cicero did not see death as an end but as a transition. He believed the soul was immortal and that death was merely its release from the