1340 things from this book went into her brain. Here are the first 6.
Plutarch says that where legend resists probable fact, he lets reason refine it as far as it can, and asks readers to weigh old stories fairly.
Plutarch says that great founders can still carry serious faults, noting that Theseus and Romulus both faced jealousy and domestic trouble despite their greatness.
Plutarch shows how a vague oracle can be bent to suit whoever wants a certain answer, as Pittheus did when he persuaded Aegeus.
Plutarch has Theseus take the dangerous road to Athens rather than the safe sea route, wanting to prove himself by his own deeds.
Plutarch shows Theseus shamed by the thought of fleeing the dangers Hercules faced, so he chooses to meet them and make his name by action.
Plutarch weighs rival accounts of Sciron by asking which version fits the character of the men involved, a habit of judging old stories by probability.
Plutarch describes Theseus punishing each robber with the same cruelty that robber used on others, so the punishment fits the crime.
Plutarch has Theseus let his father recognise him through the sword token rather than announce himself, so the truth comes out at the right moment.
Plutarch shows Theseus defeating a conspiracy because a crier passed on the enemy's plans, a reminder that good information can beat brute strength.
Plutarch notes that Hecale's hospitality to Theseus was honoured for generations, showing that small kindnesses can outlast great deeds.
Plutarch notes that the Athenian stage painted Minos as a villain, though he was in fact a king and lawgiver, a reminder that storytellers shape how people are remembered.
Plutarch has Theseus offer himself for the tribute without waiting for the lot, choosing to share his people's suffering rather than stand apart from it.
Plutarch shows Theseus preparing his fleet in secret, in quiet places far from common roads, so he arrives before his enemies know he is coming.
Plutarch shows how one forgotten signal, a black sail left up instead of the white, costs Aegeus his life, as joy over success made Theseus neglect a small detail.
Plutarch notes that the Athenians kept replacing the planks of Theseus's ship, which led philosophers to ask whether a thing with all its parts replaced is still the same thing.
Plutarch describes Theseus uniting scattered towns by going from township to township and persuading them, then giving up kingly power to earn their trust.
Plutarch says Theseus welcomed strangers as equals while still giving the growing city clear order and roles, so that openness did not turn into confusion.
Plutarch admits that history from such ancient times is in disorder, so he weighs each surviving trace of the past and trusts it only as far as the evidence goes.
Plutarch sorts old stories by testing them, dismissing a poem's tale as invention while accepting another that the historians do not contradict.
Plutarch tells how Theseus, instead of punishing Pirithous for seizing his oxen, forgave him and made him a lifelong friend, turning a rival into a companion.
Plutarch describes Menestheus winning the crowd by stirring old grudges and promising a dream of liberty, a warning about how easily resentment can be turned against a leader.
Plutarch shows Theseus returning to find the people expecting flattery rather than obedience, and losing ground to factions, a lesson about leading those who have grown used to being pleased.
Plutarch notes that Athenians made Theseus's tomb a refuge for the weak and afflicted, honouring a man who never turned away those who came to him for help.
Plutarch notes that the old authors disagree even about how Rome got its name, a reminder that the origins of great things are often contested.
Plutarch says Romulus and Remus spent their youth on hunting, running and defending the wronged rather than idleness, and that Romulus acted by counsel, which marked him as a leader.
Plutarch has Remus praise a ruler who hears the case before punishing, against one who condemns before the cause is heard, a principle of fair process.
Plutarch observes that people who act out of fear or passion tend to make hasty mistakes, as the tyrant Amulius did when he sent for news of the twins.
Plutarch describes Romulus founding a refuge that welcomed fugitives, servants and debtors, which helped the young city grow quickly, a lesson that openness draws people in.
Plutarch recounts how Remus mocked the work on the city wall and was killed in the quarrel that followed, a warning about scorning the efforts of people building something together.
Plutarch describes the old patron and client bond, where the powerful owed protection and the less powerful gave loyalty, so that each side kept faith with the other.
Plutarch credits much of Rome's growth to its habit of incorporating the peoples it conquered as citizens rather than leaving them outside, a point about how inclusion builds strength.
Plutarch observes that those who profit from a traitor's help tend to despise the traitor once the work is done, a reminder that someone who betrays for a reward will betray again.
Plutarch describes Romulus, wounded and with his army in flight, turning to face them and calling them back, so that shame and respect for their leader stopped the retreat.
Plutarch tells how the women who had been carried off stepped between the armies and begged for peace, ending the battle by appealing to the love both sides had for them.
Plutarch shows how a leader who delays punishing a crime lets the quarrel grow, as Tatius's failure to act on a murder led to his own killing.
Plutarch says Romulus, raised by great success, grew haughty and dropped the popular manner that had won him support, as many who rise by good fortune do.
Plutarch shows how a leader who makes decisions without the council meant to advise him breeds suspicion, so that when Romulus vanished the senate fell under blame.
Plutarch shows Romans readily accepting a sworn tale of Romulus's ascent while they were grieving, a reminder that people in grief tend to believe comforting accounts.
Plutarch recounts the servant Philotis, who, rather than let the Romans either fight or hand over their women, set a false signal that let them ambush the enemy, a lesson in finding a third way.
Plutarch contrasts a man who takes on hard things by free choice with one who grows brave only from necessity, suggesting the braver act is the one chosen when you need not act.
Plutarch says a leader who is too lax or too harsh loses respect, one through easiness and the other through pride, so a good leader must avoid both extremes.
Plutarch admits the historians disagree so much about Lycurgus that little is certain, so he follows the accounts least contradicted, a sound method for any uncertain history.
Plutarch says that when Eurypon loosened the strict monarchy to win popularity, later kings were pushed into force or weakness, and disorder followed, showing how small concessions compound.
Plutarch has Lycurgus refuse a wicked offer from the queen and hold power only as guardian for the child, earning a trust that his rivals could not match.
Plutarch says Lycurgus went abroad to avoid envy at home, studying other peoples' laws and keeping only the parts that would serve his own country.
Plutarch says Lycurgus valued Homer for its serious lessons on conduct and gathered them, judging that the good outweighed the poor lines.
Plutarch notes that the Spartans wanted a leader whose character itself earned obedience, not one who only held the titles of royalty.
Plutarch has Lycurgus argue that a few patched laws cannot cure a sick state, which needs a full change of its basic arrangements, much as a physician treats a complicated illness.
Plutarch praises Lycurgus's senate as ballast in a ship, keeping the state steady between the pull of monarchy on one side and mob rule on the other.
Plutarch tells how king Theopompus, asked whether he left his heirs less power, replied that he left them greater, since it would last longer, showing that yielding a little can keep the whole.
Plutarch notes that when the trade in luxuries was cut off, Spartan craftsmen turned their skill to plain, useful things and made them well, a lesson that good work can come from simplicity.
Plutarch tells how Lycurgus, struck and blinded by a hot-tempered young man, answered with calm and then kept him close, and the young man became one of the city's most steady citizens.
Plutarch says the shared meals taught young men temperance and listening to older statesmen, and kept a rule that no words went out of the room, a lesson in discretion.
Plutarch says Lycurgus would not write his laws down, trusting that good education would form the habits the law exists to protect, and keeping minor rules open to change.
Plutarch says Lycurgus warned against fighting the same enemy too often, since that trains them to be better soldiers, a lesson that rivals grow sharper from every contest with you.
Plutarch says the Spartan boys were trained to judge people and things quickly and to give a reason in as few words as possible, a skill any leader still needs.
Plutarch notes that people who talk loosely seldom say many sensible things, and admires the Spartan habit of saying much in few words, a good test for anyone who speaks for a living.
Plutarch records the Spartan saying that whoever knows how to speak also knows when to, so timing matters as much as the words themselves.
Plutarch describes Spartan soldiers marching calmly in step, moved by steady hope rather than fury, and stopping the chase once the enemy gave up, which he calls both noble and wise.
Plutarch credits Lycurgus with helping to set up the sacred truce for the Olympic games, which he takes as a sign of a man who loved peace and quiet.
