The Sociology of Aging and the Aged.

Old people are found in every society. Although sociological interest in the aged is relatively recent, the old as a significant part of society have been noted and described for centuries. The ancient Greeks, for example, recognized aging and the aged. The words of the aged Cephalus, quoted in Plato's The Republic (Jowett, 1937:593), have a modem sound about them: Men of my age flock together; we are birds of a feather, as the old proverb says; and at our meetings the tale of my acquaintance commonly is—I cannot eat, I cannot drink; the pleasures of youth and love are fled away: there was a good time once, but now that is gone, and life is no longer life. Some complain of the slights which are put upon them by relations, and they will tell you sadly of how many evils their old age is the cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]