If not a great piece of literature, at least the de Senectute is a nice and beautifully written one. The abundance of names in it makes it almost a history of Rome up to Cato's time (and with prophecy and Cicero's personality pointing it beyond). Cato's life is made to stand for the history of Rome, a fact that may help us toward an understanding of Cicero's view of himself. Cato goes through the important events of Roman life and culture and the well known figures, military, political, and literary through reference to himself (our friend Ennius). Cato is in the thick of things: the topic of old age--a universal theme-- lets him (and Cicero) state his (their) views on all sorts of topics: the meaning of life, politics (how a man should act and what are the important things in public life), the meaning of death.

He goes through the objections against old age one by one, with digressions, which he apologizes for by attributing them to the long-windedness of the old, but in reality the essay is much more than its gross outlines (than its "plot" as it were): history, political theory, how to make the most of life, how to face death with equanimity, what is important in life, as well as comments on literature and criticism. The character of Cato is furthermore a fiction, a creation of Cicero's imagination. Cato becomes a man with whom Cicero can identify. Writing is therapy.

By making Cato a humane man, a man through whom the historical, literary, and philosophic tradition can be expressed, Cicero gains far more than is lost by the re-creation of Cato's personality at variance with facts. He did not search for a character from history whose factual biography coincided with the idealized Cato, not only because there was no such person (aside from Cicero himself and he was not old enough), but because he had such a person in his own Cato. He is not lying about Cato, he is simply filling in the gaps, making Cato a complete man.

Cicero's Cato is like Cicero's Cicero, a better man than the historically factual one.

Pleasure -- example of the worst effects of pleasure -- juxtaposed to an example of self-sacrifice, Decius' devotio. Pleasure as an evil is no loss; pleasure as a good is not so important: good pleasures: clubs, banquets (convivia), watching dramas, studying and writing, agriculture, having influence, drama again, and journey.

Cato has tied up his metaphors nicely: drama (play it through to the end): the drama is both an object outside oneself for enjoyment and something in which one takes part. The journey points back to Laelius' question at the beginning and forward to life's last journey. These with nature and agriculture are the dominant metaphor patterns: all have an end and a goal and they all point to their end in part 3.

Death 1) no cause for lament whether we look at life as a drama (a work of art), a harvest, a journey, or a military expedition. 2) greater men have died before us. 3) what philosophy teaches about the soul is hopeful.

Date of Composition: late in 45 or early in 44 B.C.

Dramatic date of the dialogue: 150 B.C. when Scipio was 35, Laelius 36 (and therefore young men) and Cato 84.

• b. 234
• d. 149
• novus homo (like Cicero)

The ancient authorities on his life (besides Cicero) are:

• Plutarch's Life of Cato
• Cornelius Nepos
• Livy 39, 40

Cato held all the offices from quaestor (in 204) to censor (in 184) and is characterized by his honesty and by his old fashioned, almost puritanical morality (which he carried to an extreme). As censor he carried out ruthless attacks on persons with whose way of life he disagreed. Nepos (Cato 2,4): "he never shrank from a quarrel on behalf of the state during all the 80 years or so that elapsed from his youth to his extreme old age." {something of an exaggeration since Cato only lived to be 85, but maybe it seemed longer}

Most of his works are now lost including the Origines, a history of Rome from the kings to his own day. The de agricultura survives.

The portrait is idealized. Cicero omits Cato's harshness. In de agricultura, for example, he recommends turning out or selling old slaves who could no longer render profitable service). But it is true that Cato remained active in his old age. He continued writing and speaking in the senate. It is told of Cato that he was afraid of the growing prosperity of Carthage after the second Punic War and that beginning in 153 he closed every speech in the senate, whatever the subject with the words Carthago est delenda. He died before this happened. In the third Punic War in 146, Rome wiped Carthage off the map after tricking her rival into breaking the treaty.

Cicero brings out the boastfulness for which Cato was well known, as well as his practical nature and his literary and political activity.

Some of his relationships with his contemporaries are correctly described in the de Sen, but he did not admire the younger Scipio. He was opposed to the Greek culture and learning (an early example of cultural imperialism) that was coming into Rome at this time, shortly after her conquest of Greece. There is no reason to believe that he was won over to Greek letters in his old age. Scipio was a lover and supporter of Greek learning. He had about him a circle of Roman intelligentsia including Greek philosophers and scholars.

Ancient convention did not insist upon accuracy in characterization. The convention is to fill in the gaps.

OCD [Cato] "represented a policy of reconstruction, moral, social, and economic."

Scipio

b. 185

He was the son of L. Aemilius Paullus. His original name was Publius Aemilius Paullus. When he was adopted by P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus (the son of the first Africanus), he took the name Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus. In 146 he destroyed Carthage in the Third Punic WAr (the fields were sown with salt). In 133 he conquered Numantia.

d. 129 (foul play was suspected)

b. 186 B.C.

He was a close friend of Scipio. He was called C. Laelius Sapiens from his skill as a lawyer and politician.

Around these two (Scipio and Laelius) there formed a circle which was the most important cultural and literary element in Rome at that time. Cicero calls it grex (troupe), now known as the Scipionic Circle. See de Amicitia 69. OCD warns against exaggerating its scope.

Polybios -- the Greek historian who wrote a history of Rome

Panaitios -- the Stoic philosopher -- both were friends and teachers of Scipio

Terence -- it was said that his patrons were the writers of his plays

Lucilius -- the satirist

See Cicero De Republica where the persons associated with the "circle" are taken to be those used by Cicero as his dramatis personae.