The ABC's of a Charlotte Mason Education

P is for Plutarch

Oct 30, 2024

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“Lives of great men remind us, we can make our lives sublime –

and departing leave behind us footprints in the sands of time...”

Who did Longfellow have in mind when he penned these words? Surely some of his own nation’s great men but also, very likely, men of ages past.

While the name Plutarch is less recognizable today, it would have been one of the writers he was familiar with since Plutarch’s book “The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans” formed the backbone of history studies before the advent of modern history textbooks.

Born in 46 A.D. Plutarch recorded and commented on these (sometimes!) noble Greeks and Romans. He recorded the good, bad, and the ugly and each set of Lives contains two biographies paired to compare and contrast the character, contributions, and legacies of two specific men.

Today this tome is little spoken of in K-12 education outside of Charlotte Mason circles. It is old fashioned, it is wordy, its phrasing is somewhat archaic, and some of the content is enough to make a grown man blush! So why would a Victorian school Marm recommend families read this to their students beginning as young as 4th grade?

Two thoughts relevant to this question come to mind.

The first is to notice under what category Ms. Mason slots Plutarch, this gives a glimpse into purpose. Living Books often speak to many subjects and bleed over the neatly drawn lines we class knowledge into, understanding purpose can allow us to gently steer attention and expectation.

Ms. Mason did not use Plutarch for History, but rather Citizenship. It is a fine point, but an important one. We have record of Ms. Mason giving one of her student teachers a comment of correction when, for an exam question, the teacher leaned the question toward history noticings rather than citizenship noticings. Ms. Mason gently corrects her angle, and we may take note.

“The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans” has opportunity for many history and geography connections and while these are appreciated for context, it seems Ms. Mason’s hope is for a more thoughtful, human look at these “lives of great men”. As we read about potential and power, selfless acts and selfish motives, deeds and feats, fails and successes – sometimes all in one life! We can’t help but see ourselves in all of the potential for both good and bad.

Plutarch is honest, and where there are certainly other books that can carry that sometimes cringe-worthy honor (one of which is the Bible!) Plutarch adds another dimension rarely found elsewhere in that it paints a candid picture of men and their attempts to live in various stages of democratic societies.

What is the correct balance of power? How long can one hold it and not be corrupted? What does duty to a state look like in the best of times... and in the worst of times? What is the citizen’s part in a government of the people and by the people? This is where the Greek-ness and Roman-ness of this special set of biographies becomes invaluable. How did it go for them? Where are the warnings and where is the advice to heed? This is why America’s founders studied Plutarch so thoroughly. It may be more correctly stated that because they were required to study it – their grand experiment was a success; perhaps wasn’t such a leap-of-faith as is sometimes portrayed. They had templates to look at, footsteps to follow, and often clear paths to avoid, thanks to Plutarch.

Citizenship. What is my part in all of these things? Do I have a part? Is there duty here? These are the sorts of things we as parents and teachers may not decide or dictate for a new generation, we can’t know what the future holds for our children and the societies they will be called to live in – rather our part is to sow seeds of past knowledge, past happenings, and stand aside. In this endeavor, Plutarch is your ally.

My second thought is that while Charlotte Mason is up front about her belief that children should be exposed to both good and bad as part of the calibration of conscience, she certainly did not advocate for moral filth – and moral filth is part of the story Plutarch, at times, did not see fit to exclude. This is why with all of her emphasis for “students getting at knowledge for themselves” and encouragements to have students read their own lesson books – Plutarch stands alone as the book that only the teacher has access to, in order to make “suitable omissions”. For the study of Plutarch, even into the upper High School years – this is a read aloud. We need not tell students why less we encourage unhealthy curiosity, but rather acknowledge that as this is in fact a study of citizenship it seems appropriate that it should happen in community, with conversation, as the Greeks and Romans were so fond of hosting in their forums.

Further indications we have on the practical application of Plutarch include:

1. Ignoring Plutarch’s purposeful pairing of lives, simply choose one and read.

2. Keeping him as a weekly staple on the schedule beginning in about the 4th or 5th grade.

3. And choose 2- 3 lives per year using one of several worthy translations, Ms. Mason preferred North’s.

“Lives of great men remind us – we can make our lives sublime,

and departing leave behind us footprints in the sands of time...”

Sometimes those footprints are the footprints of heroes, and we step carefully in our imitations. Sometimes those footprints are of men who serve as warnings. Both types of stories are crucial for the instruction of conscience, both have been preserved for us by Plutarch and Charlotte Mason gives us a strategy for joining in this conversation of the ages.

Sara Timothy 2024

Author’s note:

Recognizing its importance in the Charlotte Mason scheme, many contributions have been made to make Plutarch more accessible to the homeschool community. There are compilations of biographies that make the necessary omissions, segment the readings for short lessons, and provide context for knowledge that Plutarch seems to have assumed – see the links below to begin your journey.