On Old Age

In On Old Age, Richard Steele offers a pastoral guide designed to "instruct, warn, and comfort" the elderly. Written from the perspective of an aging minister experiencing his own physical decline, Steele combines biblical exegesis with practical observation to navigate the final season of life. He organizes the treatise into seven distinct sections, moving from the physical reality of aging to the spiritual duties required of it.

Steele defines old age not merely by years, but by the "decay of strength." While he suggests fifty as a general starting point, he acknowledges that constitution and lifestyle make this variable. He identifies causes for aging including humanity's fall and sin which introduced mortality, the gradual decline of vital energy, and factors that hasten decay such as unhealthy air, excessive worry, unbridled passions, and intemperance.

Steele argues that while aging is inevitable, it can be mitigated by two primary preservatives: Piety (a life of holy obedience that cheers the heart) and Sobriety (moderation in food, drink, and passions). He warns that old age often brings specific vices including irritability, talkativeness, envy of the young, conceit, and covetousness.

To counter these vices, Steele encourages the cultivation of specific graces: knowledge gained from years of study, faith built on experiencing God's faithfulness, wisdom to manage affairs with discretion, patience in enduring infirmities, and charity in demonstrating a loving spirit toward others.

Steele provides a balanced view by contrasting the miseries of old age with its unique privileges. While he acknowledges the "evil days" including loss of physical pleasure, decay of strength, weakening of memory and senses, and the approach of death, he argues that old age possesses dignities that youth cannot claim: authority, experience, freedom from youthful lusts, and nearness to heaven.

The treatise concludes with the specific duties of the elderly: repentance and self-examination, gaining assurance of salvation, dedicating time to prayer and praise, passing wisdom to the younger generation, and preparing for death by setting one's house in order and dying to the world daily.