Age-Adapted Wellbeing in a Consolation for Old Age | Amsterdam University Press Journals Online
2004
Volume 75, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2542-6583
  • E-ISSN: 2590-3268

Abstract

Abstract

As part of NTT JTSR’s series on Key Texts, the present article discusses Cicero’s dialogue (44 ). Over the of western cultural history, the dialogue has been a key cultural reference. Even today, after the rise of modern gerontology, it is frequently cited. However, prevailing interpretations are hard-pressed to offer an even-handed and plausible view of the text. On the one hand, Cicero is presented uncritically as having anticipated all the latest results of today’s gerontological research. On the other hand, he is ridiculed as spokesman for a male Roman elite, drawing an unrealistically positive picture of old age. In this article a fresh interpretation is proposed, to contextualize and mitigate such extreme readings. is primarily a consolation for old age, which uses themes and stratagems of the consolatory genre. It offers a more realistic view of old age than current ideas of ‘successful ageing’ and can contribute to a concept of age-adapted wellbeing.

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