{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.033796296296296297, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0060185185185185185, 'mean_word_length': 4.232445520581114, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Cicero's “On Old Age”

As a geriatrician entering the twilight of my career, I look to the philosophers for guidance on how to navigate my own later years. I discovered a gem in the ancient writings of Cicero (106 BC–43 BC), one of the most distinguished scholars of the Roman Empire, entitled De Senectute – Latin for “On Old Age.” Cicero wrote this at the age of 62, the year before he was executed by Marc Antony's henchmen. In the days of the Roman Empire, life expectancy at birth was in between 20 and 30 years for free citizens and much shorter for slaves. Cicero, by the standards of the day, was quite advanced in years. On Old Age is an optimistic treatise on the spirit of man's declining years, outlining strategies to maximize the enjoyment of life. Written in dialog form, his 84-year-old friend Cato is chosen as the principal speaker. Cato answers the questions of two younger men seeking advice on how best to grow old. Cato answers as a stoic – a school of philosophy holding that a person should be indifferent to both pleasure and pain. Cato believed that the quality of old age depends upon investments made in earlier years, particularly in health, bodily strength, friendships, and memories of “deeds worthily performed.” He compares old age to a brave and victorious horse who won an Olympic trophy. Through Cato, Cicero advises living life to the fullest, guarding against regret. He recommends that all men should “...enjoy the blessing of strength while you have it and do not bewail it when it is gone.” Cato accepts the phenomenon of death, with old age as its final scene in life's drama. In the closing lines of advice to his young friends, he states, “For these reasons..., my old age sits light upon me... and not only is not burdensome, but even happy.” Cato's view of old age as expressed through Cicero is in stark contrast to our contemporary culture that abhors old age and death, with false promises of youth and endless life. We can learn so much from Cicero's outlook, not only with medical decisions to prolong life, but in how we structure our own lives in preparation for old age, and how we live it from day to day.