Dickinson on aging
"Old age comes on suddenly, and not gradually as is thought." Emily Dickinson
Mary Beard surprises with this bit 0f information about the Roman Catiline's lineage in SPQR:
Among his blue-blooded forebears, his great-grandfather was a hero of the war against Hannibal, with the extra claim to fame of being the first man known to have entered combat with a prosthetic hand – probably just a metal hook that replaced his right hand, lost in an earlier battle.
Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome (p. 27). Liveright. Kindle Edition.