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[17]
Those, therefore, who allege that old age is devoid
of useful activity adduce nothing to the purpose, and
are like those who would say that the pilot does
nothing in the sailing of the ship, because, while
others are climbing the masts, or running about the
gangways, or working at the pumps, he sits quietly in
the stern and simply holds the tiller. He may not be
doing what younger members of the crew are doing,
but what he does is better and much more important.
It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that
great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of
character, and judgement; in these qualities old age
is usually not only not poorer, but is even richer.
Cicero: De Senectute De Amicitia De Divinatione. With An English Translation. William Armistead Falconer. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1923.
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