A. González Hernández, M. V. Domínguez Rodríguez
Neurosciences and History 2025;13(4): 203-211
Article type: ORIGINAL
AUTHORS
A. González Hernández1,2, M. V. Domínguez Rodríguez3,4
1Department of Neurology. Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Dr. Negrín, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
2Universidad Fernando Pessoa Canarias, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
3Department of Modern Philology, Translation, and Interpreting. Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
4Research Institute of Text Analysis and Applications, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
This study was featured as an oral presentation at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Spanish Society of Neurology (2024).
ABSTRACT
Introduction. The concept of active ageing began to be used by the World Health Organization in the late 1990s as a model for understanding the factors affecting the way in which people age. Several determinants of active ageing were already known in the classical world. The objective of this work is to review the work Cato Maior de senectute, identifying and selecting aspects related to current understanding of cognitive impairment and active ageing, in order to offer an overview of the understanding of these subjects in classical Rome.
Methods. This study is based on a reading of Marcus Tullius Cicero’s De senectute. We analysed the structure and historical context of the work and extracted all references to the current concepts of cognitive impairment and active ageing.
Results. Some quotes from the text stress the importance of maintaining adequate cognitive activity, physical exercise, social relationships, and a balanced diet. References to pathological ageing are less frequent.
Conclusions. Many of the principles of active ageing were already known in the classical world, as part of a virtuous life. However, this view of ageing may stigmatise pathological ageing and loss of functional independence, which may have led classical authors not to write about these aspects, explaining the lack of information that has reached us today.
KEYWORDS
Cicero, active ageing, De Senectute, Rome, old age, geriatrics
Neurosciences and History 2025;13(4): 203-211