[123]
The old, on the other hand, should, it seems, have1
their physical labours reduced; their mental activities [p. 127] should be actually increased. They should
endeavour, too, by means of their counsel and practical wisdom to be of as much service as possible to
their friends and to the young, and above all to the
state. But there is nothing against which old age
has to be more on its guard than against surrendering to feebleness and idleness, while luxury, a vice
in any time of life, is in old age especially scandalous.
But if excess in sensual indulgence is added to
luxurious living, it is a twofold evil; for old age not
only disgraces itself; it also serves to make the
excesses of the young more shameless.
1 (2) age,
M. Tullius Cicero. De Officiis. With An English Translation. Walter Miller. Cambridge. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Mass., London, England. 1913.
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