💀 Dying Every Day

Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year) is a podcast by the Perennial Leader Project. Each episode turns a selected passage from Stoic philosophy into a guided meditation designed to help you (and me) learn how to live.

Cicero on philosophy and old age

Welcome back to Dying Every Day (Stoicism in a Year). This is Day 109.

We all desire to age with grace—to be listened to, remembered, even admired. Yet Cicero reminds us that such a life doesn’t emerge at the end by accident. It’s the result of decades of character formation.

In On Old Age, Cicero offers this reminder:

But please bear in mind that throughout this whole discussion I am praising an old age that has its foundation well laid in youth. Thus it follows—as I once said with the approval of all who heard me—that an old age which must defend itself with words alone is unenviable. Wrinkles and gray hair cannot suddenly demand respect. Only when the earlier years of life have been well spent does old age at last gather the fruits of admiration.

Here, Cicero exposes a simple truth: aging itself deserves no automatic respect. Gray hair and decades alone do not command reverence. What earns admiration in old age is not age—but virtue.

Dedicating the early years to discipline, reflection, and wisdom can lead to a quiet dignity in later life.

This shouldn’t be read as harsh—it’s a call to moral responsibility over time. The old age that inspires others, that speaks without needing to argue for its worth, is the one supported by a lifetime of consistent, honorable choices.

Wisdom isn't something we gain in a single moment. It's built brick by brick, often during unseen and difficult seasons.

Seneca echoes this idea in a letter to his friend Lucilius:

Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end. Let us postpone nothing… He who puts the finishing touches to his life daily is never in want of time.

Both Cicero and Seneca emphasize that to age with dignity, you should start living purposefully today. Don’t put off developing your character until later. Begin cultivating the habits, virtues, and self-discipline now that you wish to embody in old age.

This passage also teaches humility. Someone who has gained wisdom, helped others, and lived with integrity doesn’t need to defend themselves vocally; their character speaks for itself.

We should all ask (rather often): Are we becoming the kind of person whose life will speak clearly, even in silence?

The “fruits of admiration,” as Cicero calls them, are not given. They are grown. Slowly, daily, through the choices we make, the discipline we cultivate, and the virtues we embody.

Aging, then, is not something to fear—but something to prepare for.

Reflection Prompt

Consider reflecting or journaling on how you think about preparing for old age. You could ask yourself, “What kind of old age are my current habits and values preparing me for?” And/or “How can I begin to build the kind of life that will one day speak for itself?”

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Thank you for reading/listening; I hope you found something useful.

Until next time, be wise and be well.

J.W.

P.S. Feel free to catch up on the previous episodes of “Dying Every Day” below: