--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Plutarch taught me high thoughts; he…" description: "\"“Plutarch taught me high thoughts; he elevated me above the wretched sphere of my own reflections, to admire and love the heroes of past ages. Many thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/mary-shelley-1789_books_plutarch-taught-me-high-thoughts-he-elev_2494133.jpg" --- # Plutarch taught me high thoughts; he elevated me above the… ![“Plutarch taught me high thoughts; he elevated me above the wretched sphere of my own reflections, to admire and love the heroes of past ages. Many things I read surpassed my understanding and experience. I had a very confused knowledge of kingdoms, wide extents of country, mighty rivers, and…” quote by Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/mary-shelley-1789_books_plutarch-taught-me-high-thoughts-he-elev_2494133.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/mary-shelley-1789_books_plutarch-taught-me-high-thoughts-he-elev_2494133.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/mary-shelley-1789_books_plutarch-taught-me-high-thoughts-he-elev_2494133.jpg) > ““Plutarch taught me high thoughts; he elevated me above the wretched sphere of my own reflections, to admire and love the heroes of past ages. Many things I read surpassed my understanding and experience. I had a very confused knowledge of kingdoms, wide extents of country, mighty rivers, and boundless seas. This book developed new and mightier scenes of action. I read of men concerned in public affairs, governing or massacring their species. I felt the greatest ardour for virtue rise within me, and abhorrence for vice.”” [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading heroic histories inspires admiration for virtue and disgust for vice, expanding one’s imagination beyond personal experience. **In simple terms:** Stories of heroes shape moral aspirations. Key Takeaway Seek inspiration from past exemplars. Themes literature virtue inspiration Mood thoughtful inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts heroic archetypes moral development historical imagination Questions to Reflect On - What virtues do you emulate? - How do heroes influence your actions? A Different Perspective Some may view such admiration as escapism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plutarch/) [Public affairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-affairs/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Human cruelty and treachery surpassed all understanding. There were no answers. Only excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/human-cruelty-and-treachery-surpassed-all-understanding-there-were-no/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I, for my own part, had much rather people should say of me that there neither is nor ever was such a man as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/i-for-my-own-part-had-much-rather-people-should-say-of-me-that-there/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [In 'Plutarch,' her voice begins to come out; there are actual 2,000-year-old quotes from Cleopatra, and they are sly and saucy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/in-plutarch-her-voice-begins-to-come-out-there-are-actual-2-000-year/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“Haymitch? Not able to face something? Wanted a day off, more likely,” I say. “I think his actual words were ‘I couldn’t face it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/haymitch-not-able-to-face-something-wanted-a-day-off-more-likely-i/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [When I ask Plutarch about his absence, he just shakes his head and says, "He couldnt face it." "Haymitch? Not able to face something?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/when-i-ask-plutarch-about-his-absence-he-just-shakes-his-head-and/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Plutarch rushes to reassure me. "Oh, no, Katniss. Not your wedding. Finnick and Annie's. All you need to do is show up and pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/plutarch-rushes-to-reassure-me-oh-no-katniss-not-your-wedding-finnick/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“Plutarch clearly notes that her beauty “was not in itself so remarkable that none could be compared with her, or that no one could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/plutarch-clearly-notes-that-her-beauty-was-not-in-itself-so/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“Can you really ask what reason Pythagoras had for abstaining from flesh? For my part I rather wonder both by what accident and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/can-you-really-ask-what-reason-pythagoras-had-for-abstaining-from/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Why I love the ancients so much? Aside from everything else, when I read them, the entire past between them and me unfolds at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/why-i-love-the-ancients-so-much-aside-from-everything-else-when-i/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [“In some strata of Greek and Roman society the engineer was actually denigrated, higher esteem being accorded to poets, playwrights and sculptors. According to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-dalley/in-some-strata-of-greek-and-roman-society-the-engineer-was-actually/) Stephanie Dalley > [“It was Plutarch, you know, and nothing intrinsically American that prevented George Washington being a King...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/it-was-plutarch-you-know-and-nothing-intrinsically-american-that/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [“Though the ancient poet in Plutarch tells us we must not trouble the gods with our affairs because they take no heed of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/though-the-ancient-poet-in-plutarch-tells-us-we-must-not-trouble-the/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“we should probably keep that up for appearances’ sake on camera,” says Plutarch. “Off camera, he’s all yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/we-should-probably-keep-that-up-for-appearances-sake-on-camera-says/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“What do you say, President?” asks Plutarch. “You could issue an official pardon, given the circumstances. The boy . . . he’s not even of age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/what-do-you-say-president-asks-plutarch-you-could-issue-an-official/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“I never really saw the celerity of your heart When steadily fighting off the Kierkegaardian part I listened to Plutarch While you threw out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/i-never-really-saw-the-celerity-of-your-heart-when-steadily-fighting/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) ## More by Mary Shelley > [“but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/but-now-that-i-had-finished-the-beauty-of-the-dream-vanished-and/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-wished-as-it-were-to-procrastinate-all-that-related-to-my-feelings/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“A sense of security, a feeling that a truce was established between the present hour and the irresistible, disastrous future imparted to me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/a-sense-of-security-a-feeling-that-a-truce-was-established-between/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/who-was-i-what-was-i-whence-did-i-come/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent forever. I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/voyage-to-render-their-seeming-eccentricities-consistent-forever-i/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I agree with you," replied the stranger; "we are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves -- such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-agree-with-you-replied-the-stranger-we-are-unfashioned-creatures/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I write a few lines in haste to say that I am safe—and well advanced on my voyage. This letter will reach England by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-write-a-few-lines-in-haste-to-say-that-i-am-safe-and-well-advanced/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I enjoyed this scene; and yet my enjoyment was embittered both by the memory of the past, and the anticipation of the future. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-enjoyed-this-scene-and-yet-my-enjoyment-was-embittered-both-by-the/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I learned that the possessions most esteemed by your fellow-creatures were, high and unsullied descent united with riches. A man might be respected with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-learned-that-the-possessions-most-esteemed-by-your-fellow-creatures/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death and to induce me to commence this laborious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/these-are-my-enticements-and-they-are-sufficient-to-conquer-all-fear/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I will tell my story, and my reader shall judge for me. I will tell my story, and so contrive to pass some few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-will-tell-my-story-and-my-reader-shall-judge-for-me-i-will-tell-my/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“A man would make but a very sorry chemist if he attended to that department of human knowledge alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/a-man-would-make-but-a-very-sorry-chemist-if-he-attended-to-that/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/learn-from-me-if-not-by-my-precepts-at-least-by-my-example-how/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave or tortured the living animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/who-shall-conceive-the-horrors-of-my-secret-toil-as-i-dabbled-among/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“For some days I haunted the spot where these scenes had taken place, sometimes wishing to see you, sometimes resolved to quit the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/for-some-days-i-haunted-the-spot-where-these-scenes-had-taken-place/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) [Explore all 199 Mary Shelley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Plutarch taught me high thoughts; he elevated me above the wretched sphere of my own reflections, to admire and love the heroes of past ages. Many things I read surpassed my understanding and experience. I had a very confused knowledge of kingdoms, wide extents of country, mighty rivers, and boundless seas. This book developed new and mightier scenes of action. 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