March 26, 2009
Living
A time to share
By Gary Hayden
'Is the pilot useless in the ship because, while the crew are running about and sweating at their tasks, the old man sits quietly at the helm?'
- Cicero
Last week I mentioned that Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero identified four reasons why people complain about growing old: It withdraws us from active employment; it enfeebles the body; it deprives us of physical pleasures; and it is the next step to death.
This week, I would like to consider Cicero's response to the first of these complaints. First, a few general remarks regarding Cicero's attitude towards growing old.
Nature - the best of guides
Cicero said the key to a happy and fulfilled old age is to accept the natural order of things. He wrote: 'It is not likely, if [Nature] has written the rest of the play well, that she will be careless about the last act like some idle poet.'
Nature has her times and her seasons: Everything in the natural world must eventually come to its end, just as the berries of a tree must, in the fullness of time, decay and fall. 'A wise man will not make a grievance of this,' said Cicero. 'To rebel against Nature - is that not to fight with the gods?'
Cicero's advice, then, is to approach each stage of life - including old age - with cheerfulness and zest. Old age brings its own unique benefits and opportunities. If we are wise, we will not waste it by indulging in futile regrets concerning what is past.
'Men... who have no resources within themselves for a good and happy life find every age burdensome,' he wrote. 'But those who look for happiness within can never think anything bad which Nature makes inevitable.'
Old age and active employment
Now onto the first of the four accusations people level against old age, namely that it withdraws us from active employment.
Cicero is quite prepared to accept that old age disqualifies us from certain kinds of public service and influence. He freely admitted, for instance, that advancing age disqualifies a man from the sometimes necessary business of 'dashing on a foe', 'hurling spears from a distance' and 'using swords at close quarters'. Such activities require youthful vigour.
But, he asked, is there no employment suitable for old people? No employment which relies on intellect rather than physical strength? Of course there are.
'The great affairs of life are not performed by... nimbleness of body,' he wrote, 'but by deliberation, character and expression of opinion. Of these, old age is not only not deprived, but, as a rule, has them in a greater degree.'
He then went on to recount great deeds of leadership and public service rendered by elderly Roman citizens. These elevated examples would have struck a powerful chord with the Roman nobles to whom his treatise, On Old Age, was addressed. He was also careful to stress that the same principle applies to ordinary people engaged in peaceful pursuits. They too can find plenty of active employment suited to their time of life.
An MYB reader, of what Cicero would call 'advancing age', recently wrote and told me that she had taken some ukulele lessons organised by her church. Soon afterwards, she and her friends travelled to Cambodia and performed at an orphanage. 'At my age, I can still contribute and make a difference,' she wrote. 'My regret is that I did not start earlier to bring joy and make a difference to those wonderful folk.'
Here is another example. A couple of years ago, my wife Wendy worked at a school for children with learning difficulties in Edinburgh, Scotland. Each week, a group of pupils from the school visited a residential home for elderly blind people and would spend the afternoon learning from the residents how to make handicraft items.
These elderly folk were unable to live independently due to their visual impairment. Many were also wheelchair-bound. Nonetheless, they had lots of skills and knowledge to share, together with a plentiful supply of patience and good humour. Wendy told me that the children always thoroughly enjoyed those afternoons and took immense pride in the handicraft items they made.
Old age has its benefits, not least the increased leisure time to devote to interesting and worthwhile activities. There is no reason why it should deprive us of active employment.
Gary Hayden is a freelance writer who specialises in education, science, philosophy, health, well-being, travel and short fiction.
This is the second in a series of four articles on old age.
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