Plutarch's Lives, Vol. 1

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 100

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Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 4 Summary: “Lycurgus”

Plutarch admits that nothing can be said with certainty about Lycurgus, as many of the details of his life and achievements are disputed. Still, Plutarch sets out to produce a reasonable sketch of Lycurgus based on the available evidence.

He traces Lycurgus’s lineage to Hercules, whose descendants were said to have conquered Sparta. During a tumultuous period in Sparta’s history, Lycurgus becomes regent for his unborn nephew. Fearing the corruption of the Spartan court, Lycurgus eventually leaves Sparta and travels abroad. He travels to Crete, Asia, and perhaps even Egypt, meeting important contemporary figures, such as the philosopher Thales, and learning about different forms of government.

With the support of the people, Lycurgus eventually returns to Sparta. He intimidates the opposition, gets the king on his side, and sets out to reform the Spartan government. He writes a new constitution for Sparta that becomes known as “the Rhetra.” The Rhetra establishes a senate, public legislative assemblies, and redistributes land and wealth. Some of Lycurgus’s reforms, such as his introduction of unwieldy iron currency, are designed to reduce luxury and greed in Sparta. Some of these measures meet with resistance from the upper classes, and one riot results in Lycurgus losing an eye. Nevertheless, Lycurgus’s constitution is ultimately accepted.

Lycurgus refused to write down his laws, believing that doing so would degrade their authority: He wants the Spartan youth to commit them to memory. Plutarch also discusses Lycurgus’s foreign and military policies and his attitudes toward women. Lycurgus ruled that women should train with young men so that they would be strong and healthy and be able to bear strong sons. Plutarch describes Spartan social customs that Lycurgus establishes, including marriage and childrearing customs. Beginning at the age of seven, Spartan boys begin a rigorous training regime to make them good soldiers and obedient citizens. This regime is often brutal, utilizing starvation and severe beatings to make sure Spartans grow up strong and loyal. Lycurgus also significantly reduces Sparta’s contact with the outside world to prevent foreign customs from tainting the Spartan character.

After establishing the new Spartan constitution, Lycurgus goes to Delphi to confirm whether his laws were good. When the oracle tells him that they are, Lycurgus dies by starving himself. He does this because when he left to go to Delphi, he made the Spartans promise to follow his laws until he returned. Now that he is dead, the Spartans will be forced to follow his laws forever.

The Spartans, Plutarch writes, did indeed follow Lycurgus’s laws for several centuries, but eventually, as Sparta became more and more powerful, they were increasingly corrupted by wealth until they eventually lost their power.

Chapter 5 Summary: “Numa Pompilius”

Numa Pompilius was the second king of Rome. Plutarch describes how he succeeds Romulus, the founder of Rome. When Romulus disappears, many suspect the patricians of being somehow involved in his death. To shake off this suspicion, the patricians grant Romulus divine honors and institute a year-long interregnum during which they look for their next king. During the interregnum, the senators act as king in alternating periods of five days. This system soon begins to anger the people of Rome, who fear that the senators are trying to relocate powers into their hands. The Romans and Sabines, who share a government, agree to choose a Sabine to rule over both their populations.

The Romans finally elect the upstanding Sabine Numa as their next king. Numa is a virtuous and ascetic man who studies philosophy. He emphasizes the importance of using reason to rule the passions. He is also very pious, and it is said that the nymph Egera visits him in his country home to counsel him on laws and government. Numa, however, initially declines the offer to become the next king of Rome: He says he is content with his life as it is. Eventually, he is persuaded to use his wisdom, virtue, and piety to improve the Romans, but refuses to accept the office until the oracle is consulted. When the oracle confirms that the gods want Numa to be king, he finally allows himself to be crowned.

Numa immediately sets about reforming the Roman government. He dismisses Romulus’s personal bodyguard and establishes religious institutions such as priesthoods, processions, and sacrifices. He creates the important offices of the Pontifices (the high priests of Rome), the Vestal Virgins, and the Salii and Fecials.

Plutarch relates several legends from Numa’s reign. In one story, a shield falls from heaven to protect the Romans from plague, and Numa has 11 copies of the shield made to prevent it from being stolen. In another story, Numa tricks Jupiter, the ruler of the gods, into revealing the secret of how to charm thunder and lightning.

Numa also redistributes the land and encourages the Romans to pursue husbandry, believing this to be the best way to prevent poverty and promote peace. He creates numerous guilds for different trades and employment, hoping to thus reduce the animosity between the Romans and Sabines. He also reforms the calendar, adding the months of January and February at the beginning of the year.

Numa dies peacefully of old age. He is buried with his books because he wants the Romans to learn his teachings and his laws by heart. He fears that if his laws are written down, they will be neglected.

Chapter 6 Summary: “The Comparison of Numa with Lycurgus”

Plutarch begins by pointing out that the similarities between Numa and Lycurgus are obvious, citing “their moderation, their religion, their capacity for government and discipline, their both deriving their laws and constitutions from the gods” (101). However, the way they rose to power and held their power was different. Both men were reformers, but Lycurgus, who had to reform a corrupt and poorly- organized city, had the harder job.

Lycurgus’s reforms were mostly interested in developing the “fortitude” or his people, while Numa was more interested in “justice” (102). Their approaches to government were also different, with Numa leaning more toward democracy while Lycurgus was more aristocratic and oligarchic. Finally, Plutarch picks apart some of Numa’s and Lycurgus’ social legislation, especially their legislation pertaining to women, marriage, and childrearing. For instance, Numa’s neglect of legislation regulating education meant that as soon as he died, the Romans returned to their old war-mongering ways.

Chapters 4-6 Analysis

More than anything, Lycurgus and Numa are model examples of leadership and morality, speaking to The Role of Leadership and Morality in Public Life. Lycurgus, a Spartan lawgiver who likely lived in the ninth century BCE, is noted for his wisdom, foresight, and incorruptibility. He refuses to take power through improper means, as when his brother’s widow suggests they kill her unborn son so that Lycurgus becomes king. Lycurgus’s new constitution, the Rhetra, puts an end to many of the problems in the Spartan government and ushers in a new era, while Lycurgus, as the architect of the Rhetra, becomes revered throughout the Greek world. Numa, similarly, is an important reformer, introducing religious institutions to the fiery and warlike Romans.

Much of Plutarch’s biographies of Lycurgus and Numa delve into the laws and institutions established by the two men, illustrating why they were so successful and also what their success says about The Universality of Human Nature. Lycurgus, for instance, went to great lengths to curtail the enervating effects of wealth and luxury (especially by replacing Sparta’s currency with unwieldy iron), thus instilling a hardy and warlike character in the Spartans. Numa, who found the Romans already hardy and warlike, had simply to teach them about the gods.

Lycurgus does, however, succeed in one place where Numa does not, and that is in the realm of education. Lycurgus put a lot of effort into consolidating a strict education and training regimen for the upbringing of young Spartans, while Numa did not institute any real educational policies. Since education alone can teach young people about “the common model of virtue” (105), Numa’s failure to introduce legislation on education ultimately undermined many of his reforms: As soon as he was gone, the Romans simply returned to their former martial values and lifestyle.

Plutarch also makes much of the upstanding characters of Lycurgus and Numa. He often uses anecdotes to illustrate the unimpeachable morals of both men. Lycurgus’s incorruptibility is demonstrated, for instance, by his protection of his young nephew, while his self-restraint is demonstrated by the indulgence he shows to Alcander after he puts out his eye. Numa, similarly, shows his moral nature by refusing power even when it is offered to him and only accepts the Roman throne when the oracle confirms he should do so. To that end, the piety of both men is important too. Both Lycurgus and Numa have the support of the gods, as both men receive oracles that validate their laws and policies, and this further enhances the portrait of them as upstanding, righteous, and moral men who have had a positive influence on history.