The limitations of this presentation do not permit exhaustive answers to any of the questions that have been raised.For one thing,few comparative studies have been undertaken. Secondly, there are wide gaps in time and space in our knowledge of various societies.Observers of other peoples may not have been interested in the aged,or the records have disappeared. Nevertheless, enough information is available to permit us at least to sketch a cross-cultural and historical view of the psychopathology of old people, and perhaps to throw some light on our current concerns.