Cato Maior de senectute /

In spite of the popularity of the de Senectute for early Latin reading, the many school editions for English-speaking students date from roughly a century ago; only the E.S. Shuckburgh and Charles E. Bennett editions are still available. So the present volume is most welcome. But it is much more than a school edition: with its critical examination of the text (large apparatus criticus), well-written introduction (placing the work in context not only of Cicero's writing but of writing on old age in antiquity in general), exhaustive commentary, and three appendixes, it quite surpasses anything that has been done heretofore for readers in any language. It more than upholds the high standards of the series to which it belongs. The commentary is what will prove most useful in elucidating Cicero's text, which, as Powell notes, "touches on a wide range of aspects of life and thought in the ancient world." Particularly helpful is the juxtaposition of parallel texts where Cicero has adapted from Plato and Xenophon. Unfortunately, its high cost, although below any intrinsic worth, will make it an unlikely candidate for text adoption. Therefore, academic libraries should make this item available to students and scholars. A must for all libraries serving classical studies. -R. B. Lloyd, Randolph-Macon Woman's College