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Playfulness and Politics in Cicero´s De Senectute
Series: - Mnemosyne, Supplements, Volume: 510
Author:
De senectute, one of Ciceroâs last works, has often been overlooked as an earnest but misguided tract on old age. This book re-examines it in the context of its composition in 44 BC, revealing a self-conscious, playful, and politically charged dialogue. It traces Ciceroâs witty re-imagining of his protagonist, Cato the Elder, then explores troubling faultlines in the advice Cato gives. Catoâs exhortations to make use of the political authority of old age make little sense in a dictatorship, while his reflections on the horror of suicide cannot help but bring to mind his own great-grandson. In De Senectute, Cato the Elder seems to take aim at Julius Caesar.
Since graduating from St Johnâs College, Cambridge, Tim Morrison has taught Classics at Chigwell, Oundle and Rugby School, co-authoring the OCR A Level textbook on Athenian Democracy. From 2018-2025, while still teaching, he completed a PhD at Birmingham University.
This book will be valuable for students and scholars of Cicero, his philosophy, and his relationship with Caesar. It will interest anyone studying the intellectual and political life of the late Roman Republic.