MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO

CATO THE ELDER

ON OLD AGE

O Titus, should some aid of mine dispel
The cares that now within thy bosom dwell
And wring thy heart and torture thee with pain,
What then would be the measure of my gain? ¹

For, my dear Atticus, I may fitly speak to you in these self-same lines in which,

That man

Of little wealth, but rich in loyalty

speaks to Flamininus. And yet I am perfectly sure that it cannot be said of you, as the poet said of Flamininus,

You fret and worry, Titus, day and night,

for I know your self-control and the even temper of your mind, and I am aware that you brought home from Athens not only a cognomen surname/epithet but culture and practical wisdom too. Nevertheless I suspect that you, at times, are quite seriously perturbed by the same circumstances ² which are troubling me; but to find comfort for them is too difficult a task to be undertaken now and must be deferred until another time.