If I could encourage anyone to do anything that might lift their minds from debase thinking (and their eyes from small black mirrors), it would be this: read Plutarch.
Of course, the Bible comes first, as it should. But Plutarch reigns (after).
Why?
Because through reading Plutarch you will learn how to live well, and to think well.
Plutarch Lives is considered one of the most important and influential works of all the classics.
Plutarch’s Lives was the foundation of much of Shakespeare’s works, the bedrock of American political thought as evidenced in the writings and speeches of Samuel Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson (and that’s the short list).
Plutarch’s Lives was written for the purpose of instruction, the inculcation of the highest virtues of the ancient world, including wisdom, courage, and duty. He accomplished this through the juxtaposition of prominent Roman and Greek personalities, people who embodied the essential elements of true honor, and in great measure.
As a pastor or scholar who chooses to read Plutarch with intent, you commit to entering the stream of consciousness that permeated the Thomists, the Reformers, the Enlightenment thinkers, and beyond.
Perhaps, in the midst of a contemporary educational system that has lost touch with the classics, your personal reading of Plutarch will generate new ideas in your own thinking, ushering you into the company of the great minds who came before and inviting you to live life well along with them.
That alone is worth the price of admission.
Plutarch’s Lives is now available through Community Pricing for the exceptionally low price of $30.00 (the print copies alone will run you $264.00!)
Take advantage of this special offer, and simultaneously contribute to the publication of one of the greatest known works of antiquity.
How about the Moralia? There are some amazing essays there.
Charlotte Mason, an educational reformer in England in the early 1900s included reading Plutarch’s Lives starting around 6th grade for all students. There is a large, and ever growing, group of homeschoolers that ascribe to her methods of teaching and include Plutarch around that same time. There are some great study guides available written by Anne White I believe, that help with that purpose.