Sen. 2.1SCĪPIŌ.SCIPIO. Sen. 2.1Saepe numerō admīrārī soleō cum hōc C. Laeliō cum cēterārum rērum tuam excellentem, M. Catō, perfectamque sapientiam, tum vel maximē quod numquam tibi senectūtem gravem esse sēnserim, quae plērīsque senibus sīc odiōsa est, ut onus sē Aetnā gravius dīcant sustinēre.Often, together with Gaius Laelius here, I am accustomed to wonder, Marcus Cato, both at your outstanding and perfect wisdom in all other matters and above all at this, that I have never noticed old age being burdensome to you, though it is so hateful to most old men that they say they bear a weight heavier than Etna. Sen. 2.1CATŌ.CATO. Sen. 2.1Rem haud sānē, Scīpiō et Laelī, difficilem admīrārī vidēminī.It is no very difficult thing, Scipio and Laelius, that you seem to wonder at. Sen. 2.1Quibus enim nihil est in ipsīs opis ad bene beātēque vīvendum, eīs omnis aetās gravis est;For those who have no resource within themselves for living well and happily, every age is burdensome; Sen. 2.1quī autem omnia bona ā sē ipsī petunt, eīs nihil potest malum vidērī quod nātūrae necessitās afferat.but those who seek all good things from themselves can think nothing evil that the necessity of nature brings.
Sen. 2.1Quō in genere est in prīmīs senectūs, quam ut adipīscantur omnēs optant, eandem accūsant adeptam ;In this class first of all is old age, which all men wish to reach, and yet, once they have reached it, they find fault with it; Sen. 2.1tanta est stultitiae incōnstantia atque perversitās.so great is the inconsistency and perversity of folly. Sen. 2.1Obrēpere aiunt eam citius quam putāssent.They say that it creeps upon them sooner than they had thought. Sen. 2.1Prīmum quis coēgit eōs falsum putāre?First, who forced them to think falsely? Sen. 2.1Quī enim citius adulēscentiae senectūs quam pueritiae adulēscentia obrēpit?For how does old age creep upon youth more quickly than youth upon childhood? Sen. 2.1Deinde quī minus gravis esset eīs senectūs, sī octingentēsimum annum agerent, quam sī octōgēsimum?Next, how would old age be less burdensome to them if they were living their eight-hundredth year than if they were living their eightieth? Sen. 2.1Praeterita enim aetās quamvīs longa, cum efflūxisset, nūllā cōnsōlātiōne permulcēre posset stultam senectūtem.For past time, however long, once it had flowed away, could not soothe a foolish old age with any consolation.
Sen. 2.5Quōcircā sī sapientiam meam admīrārī solētis, quae utinam digna esset opīniōne vestrā nostrōque cognōmine, in hōc sumus sapientēs, quod nātūram optimam ducem tamquam deum sequimur eīque pārēmus;Therefore, if you are accustomed to wonder at my wisdom — and I wish it were worthy of your opinion and of my surname — I am wise in this, that I follow nature, the best of guides, as a god, and obey her; Sen. 2.5ā quā nōn vērī simile est, cum cēterae partēs aetātis bene discrīptae sint, extrēmum āctum tamquam ab inertī poētā esse neglēctum.and it is not likely that, when the other parts of life have been well laid out, the last act has been neglected by her as if by a lazy poet. Sen. 2.5Sed tamen necesse fuit esse aliquid extrēmum et, tamquam in arborum bācīs terraeque frūctibus, mātūritāte tempestīvā quasi viētum et cadūcum, quod ferendum est molliter sapientī.But still there had to be something final and, as with the berries of trees and the fruits of the earth, something withered, as it were, and ready to fall in its timely ripeness, which the wise man must bear with a calm mind.
Sen. 2.5Quid est enim aliud gigantum modō bellāre cum dīs nisi nātūrae repugnāre?For what else is it to war with the gods after the manner of the Giants but to fight against nature? Sen. 2.6LAELIUS.LAELIUS. Sen. 2.6Atquī, Catō, grātissimum nōbīs, ut etiam prō Scīpiōne pollicear, fēceris, sī, quoniam spērāmus, volumus quidem certē, senēs fierī, multō ante ā tē didicerimus quibus facillimē ratiōnibus ingravēscentem aetātem ferre possīmus.And yet, Cato, you will do us a very great kindness — I may promise for Scipio too — if, since we hope, or at least certainly wish, to become old men, we learn from you long beforehand by what methods we can most easily bear the growing weight of age. Sen. 2.6CATŌ.CATO. Sen. 2.6Faciam vērō, Laelī, praesertim sī utrīque vestrum, ut dīcis, grātum futūrum est.I will indeed, Laelius, especially if, as you say, it is going to be welcome to each of you. Sen. 2.6LAELIUS.LAELIUS. Sen. 2.6Volumus sānē, nisi molestum est, Catō, tamquam longam aliquam viam cōnfēcerīs, quam nōbīs quoque ingrediendum sit, istuc, quō pervēnistī, vidēre quāle sit.We do indeed wish, Cato, unless it is troublesome, to see what sort of place it is that you have reached, as though you had completed some long road which we too must set out upon.