De la vieillesse Passage 21

At memoria minuitur. credo , nisi eam exerceas, aut etiam si sis natura tardior. Themistocles omnium civium perceperat nomina; num igitur censetis eum, cum aetate processisset, qui Aristides esset Lysimachum salutare solitum? equidem non modo eos novi qui sunt, sed eorum patres etiam et avos, nec sepulcra legens vereor, quod aiunt, ne memoriam perdam; his enim ipsis legendis in memoriam redeo mortuorum. nec vero quemquam senem audivi oblitum, quo loco thesaurum obruisset. omnia quae curant meminerunt, vadimonia constituta, quis sibi, cui ipsi debeant.

But memory declines. I believe it does, if you do not exercise it, or if you are naturally rather slow. Themistocles had learned the names of all his fellow citizens. Do you suppose, then, that as he advanced in age he was accustomed to greet Aristides as Lysimachus? For my part, I know not only the men now living, but also their fathers and grandfathers. Nor, when reading tombstones, do I fear, as people say, that I shall lose my memory. By reading them I recall the dead themselves. Indeed, I have never heard of any old man forgetting where he buried his treasure. They remember everything they care about: appointed court appearances, who owes them money, and to whom they themselves owe it.

Mais la mémoire diminue. Je le crois, si on ne l’exerce pas, ou même lorsqu’on est naturellement lent. Thémistocle avait appris le nom de tous ses concitoyens. Pensez-vous donc qu’en avançant en âge il ait pris l’habitude de saluer Aristide du nom de Lysimaque ? Pour ma part, je connais non seulement les hommes qui vivent aujourd’hui, mais encore leurs pères et leurs grands-pères. Et lorsque je lis les inscriptions funéraires, je ne crains pas, comme on le dit, de perdre la mémoire : c’est précisément en les lisant que je rappelle les morts à mon souvenir. Je n’ai jamais entendu dire qu’un vieillard eût oublié l’endroit où il avait enfoui un trésor. Ils se souviennent de tout ce qui les intéresse : des comparutions convenues, de ce qu’on leur doit et de ce qu’ils doivent eux-mêmes.