For Plutarch, a person's success begins with proper parenting, and proper parenting requires proper parents.
"A goodly treasure is honorable birth."
A man is thus advised to beget offspring of neither courtesans or concubines.
So are these lines terribly old-fashioned and irrelevant -- or still pertinent in this the 21st century?
I think of two people in our modern public eye, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. One was fed with a silver spoon; the other came from the "common class."
Both are today an embarrassment to society. Honorable birth didn't help Paris very much.
My father came from "common stock" -- backwoods folks who lived in ramshackle houses, drank beer and poached deer. Yet he raised me lovingly and no one can reproach me with his name.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Moralia, On the Education of Children
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7 comments:
what does poached mean??
I think what backfired on Britney and Paris was their too early fame and riches.
They think they are liked for how they look and not for who they are.
Bring them to me and in a month I will have them out of the crap.
Nadiyya, can I come too??I'll take pictures for remembrance!!hahaha
ecd, my parents told me i didnt grew up according to plan, maybe there's something wrong with me.
Nadiyya: To poach a deer or any animal is to hunt it illegally, when it is not the proper hunting season.
YeK: I don't know what Your parents' plan was, but You seem to have grown up to be a wonderful person nonetheless.
well, good thing I met you all.
Thanks.
Parents need to realize the power they have in shaping their children.
The only thing you can properly spend on your kids is time. Money doesn’t mean anything. Don’t leave all the teaching to the school system.
Love your kids. Teach your kids. Be a good role model. Have fun. Read. Write. Play together. These things aren’t too hard. Make time for them though because they are the most important things your child, or any child, needs.
Good stuff, Chase. What could be more important to a child's self-image than to realize that he or She is a person of value, an interesting person, a person that others -- starting with his or Her parents -- enjoy spending time with?
"A goodly treasure is honorable birth."
I read that to mean that you are extra lucky to have the 'treasure' or good fortune, to be born to parents who don't provide any socially unacceptable strikes against you.
In our class conscious society, 'honorable' birth may appear an advantage, but I think, for present day purposes, a redefining of 'honorable' may be in order...
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