Aging Wisdom from Ancient Rome: Seniors Should Take to Heart This 2,000-Year-Old Advice on Coping with the Inevitable Changes That Come with Old Age

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As the nation ages, but strives to stop the aging clock, we should look back to the wisdom of a philosopher who brilliantly defined the advantages and realities of growing old. It's advice that all seniors should take to heart.

More than 2,000 years ago, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman and writer, set forth a long essay on old age. I plucked out some silver threads of his profundity for this article. He expresses realities many seniors today seem to dismiss. Remarkably, he also states what today's physicians, nutritionists, and philosophers now are telling us--as if it all were as new as morning dew.

At age 63, Cicero wrote: "I have never perceived old age as …