Yes, this is truly, a Great Series of Historical Short Stories
Dionysius the Younger lost the empire his father built. He was asked what help Plato and philosophy have been to him. He replied, “The power to submit to so great of a change without repining.”
So strong is philosophy and so great are the stories in this third volume. Those who know Plutarch only for his “Lives” and liked them will also enjoy his “Moralia”. These are a series of very short, pithy anecdotes of history. Often, they are amusing:
When Antigonus was called, in a poem, “The Offspring of the Sun”, he replied, “The slave who attends to my chamber pot is not conscious of that!” This has come down to us today as “No man is great to his personal valet”.
And Milton’s line from Paradise Lost, “Tis better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven” surely was inspired by Caesar saying he “would rather be first in a small town in the Alps than second in Rome.”.
These are fascinating reads that range from a few pages to a few paragraphs. And they can be inspiring – such as Anaxandridas response to being asked “Why do Spartans venture boldly into danger?” He replied” Because we train ourselves to have regard for life and not to be timid about it.” And let us not overlook a very famous story of bravery and defiance represented by:
“Molon Labe!”
“Come and take them.” The response of Leonidas to Xerxes when Xerxes tried to order him to hand over his weapons – the proper response of a free man to such a demand. And Agesilaus, when asked which was the better of two virtues, bravery or justice, replied that there is no use for bravery unless justice is present and if all men should become just there would be no need of bravery:
But it is not all about men. There is a very intriguing chapter on the “Bravery of Women”. A favorite is the story of “The Women of Argos”. These brave women, after their men had been annihilated on the battlefield by an advancing enemy, took courage and took their stand by the battlements and manned the wall of the city, leaving the enemy both amazed and defeated. They then celebrated that day with the “Festival of Impudence” in which the men and women exchanged and wore each other’s clothing. This is a festival that should be practiced by Argos to this day – if it isn’t already. How did the women then obtain and relate to men after that battle? Sorry, no need for a spoiler alert here – you will have to enjoy reading the book.
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