Senes

The Old Man

In a kingdom (Rome) in which anyone who reaches the age of seventy is killed, a young man hides his aging father in his basement, and tells everyone that he has died. His old father passes on his wisdom to his son in secret, and guided by his advice, the young man soon becomes a known as a judicious, thoughtful man and a respected public official. However, his enemies conspire against him, and believing these detractors, the emperor sets him a series of impossible tests. First, he must appear before the court neither naked nor clothed; on his father's advice, the young man dresses himself in a net, and thus meets the requirements. Next, the emperor asks the young man to appear before the court with his worst enemy, and with his best friend. The man asks for a month's grace, and demands that if he should fulfill this requirement, the emperor will end the senecidal law; the emperor agrees. [Incomplete]

Critical Literature

No critical literature available

The inset story appears in the following manuscripts

This inset story appears in no manuscripts of the database

The inset story appears in the following versions and secondary versions

Version	Original Language	Branch of Tradition	Adapted from
Dolopathos		West