A reader has asked me to provide my thoughts on what topics would be suitable for the homeschooling of his precocious eight-year-old daughter.  I thought I would take the opportunity to expound at some length on what would be a suitable course of study for any student of any age, male or female, seeking to furnish himself or herself with the seeds of a solid and enduring education. 

The purpose of a humanistic education is to refine the senses, elevate the soul, and prepare it, through the diligent study of virtue, for the challenges of life.  Providing a list of books is not enough, in my view:  there are already enough book lists, and we hardly need any more.  What is more important, I think, is to provide a list of topics and subject matter; in this way, the instructor or self-motivated student may adopt a course of study tailored to a student as age and skill level may dictate.  I therefore present the following list of topics, in no particular order of importance.

History and Geography.  The study of history remains the very best teacher of human behavior.  The rise and fall of empires, the unfolding of the fates of leaders and kings, the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge, the influence of character and virtue, the growth and spread of ideas:  all these subjects, and many more like them, help to explain our modern world and how it came to be.  The student must learn both the history of his own nation, as well as world history.  My view is that Americans must become intimately familiar with their own history, as well as the history of their mother country, England.  The history of the English-speaking peoples shares common roots, and certainly a common destiny; and we must be make ourselves aware of this intimate association through a study of English common law, constitutional history, and the growth and spread of the concept of civil liberties.  Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking Peoples is an invaluable guide in this regard.  For American history, I recommend Henry Adams’s works, as well as Prescott’s excellent histories of the conquest of Mexico and Peru.  For world history, I recommend as basic texts Will Durant’s Story of Civilization and H.G. Wells’s Outline of History.  Edward Gibbon’s history of Rome’s decline and fall is also recommended, and will expose the student to the very best that English prose has to offer.  Biographies of important historical figures are also invaluable in this regard, and must be read and digested.

With regard to history, I should add that the goal is not simply to stuff the student’s head with dates and facts.  We must encourage students to reflect on what they read, and to ask them:  what qualities of virtue and character enabled this historical figure to achieve what he did?  What traits brought about his downfall?  How can his example be applied to my own life?  This was one of the motivations behind Cornelius Nepos’s short collection of biographical sketches, his Lives of the Great Commanders.

Mathematics.  The study of numbers and quantitative relationships is one of the essentials of the modern world.  Nothing can be done without mathematics.  The student must be guided, step by step, from the very basics, through proportions, geometry, algebra, calculus, and the higher fields of mathematics.  There are, of course, a great many textbooks that can do this, so it is not necessary for me to list them here.  There is one exception, however.  Euclid’s Elements of Geometry has had so much influence in history, and its organization is so impressive, that it remains a valuable tool.  Euclid disciplines the mind, and forces it to think logically, in terms of theorems, proofs, postulates, and axioms.  Remember that it was Euclid’s Elements which deeply influenced Thomas Hobbes, among other figures. In fact, Euclid transcends mathematics; not without reason has it been used as a tool for philosophical training.  There are abridged and complete versions of Euclid, and the instructor will have to choose one suitable to the situation.

Natural Sciences.  Physics and chemistry are the foundations of our rational study of the natural world.  I am neither a physicist nor a chemist, so I cannot point to any textbooks; all I can say is that the study of these two subjects must be mandatory.  They provide the foundation of a good scientific education, in that many other branches of science, such as biology and astronomy, are derived from them.  The various fields of engineering are also rooted in the study of the physical world.  Instructors must find age-appropriate texts that both challenge the student, and explain the workings of the physical laws that govern the universe.      

Rhetoric and Debate.  This is a field of study that has been much neglected in modern times.  But at one time, the study of disputation and debate was considered extremely important.  I am inclined to agree.  How to construct an argument, how to present it, and how to defend it—are these not absolutely critical skills?  How many times have we seen good ideas ignored or bypassed, for want of suitable advocates?  Here I think Quintilian’s Institutes is unmatched.  It offers, in plain language, a complete course in rhetoric.  I have also long felt that we need a  modern text similar to Seneca the Elder’s Declamations:  that is, a book which offers propositions on various topics which students must then either defend or refute. 

Foreign Languages.  The student must be initiated to the study of foreign languages at an early age, when the mind is fresh and presents a tabula rasa.  One ancient language (Greek or Latin) and one modern language should be the rule, with preference being given to the major languages of Western Europe, namely French, Spanish, or Italian.  The American student probably should learn both Spanish and French, since America is bounded by a French-speaking region to the north, and a Spanish-speaking world to the south.  With regard to the classical languages, I think it is more important to study Latin than Greek, since the Latin tongue, and the Romance languages, have directly influenced the literature and thought of Western civilization to a greater extent than the Greek language.  One cannot do everything, and priorities have to be made.  The languages of the east, such as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, etc., should be left to those with special interests or needs, only after they have attained a solid grounding in the languages of Western civilization.    

Geography.  Geographical knowledge has suffered greatly in recent years, even among the educated.  One of the advantages of the study of history is that the student will be automatically exposed to the contours of the earth, and its rivers, seas, lakes, and islands; but geography still merits serious separate study.  This will also provide the student with a rudimentary knowledge of earth’s ethnographic terrain. 

Physical Fitness.  The health of the body is of primary importance, and it must be cultivated.  At a young age, children must be exposed to outdoor games and exercises.  Team sports have the advantage of teaching the student the basics of leadership, and how to work within a group.  Physical fitness should be seen as co-equal in importance to any of the intellectual disciplines mentioned here.  I believe outdoor exercise should be preferred; it will expose the student to the rigors of climate, and provide him the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the natural world.  Students must learn to swim at an early age.  It does not matter so much what varieties of athletics are done, as long as something is done consistently.  Long hikes with packs are also essential.  Sports that involve physical contact, such as wrestling, are essential, since they teach a youth to give and receive blows, and thereby condition him for the palaestra of life.  We must recognize that one of the primary purposes of physical fitness has historically been a readiness to wage war and defend one’s homeland.  As Cornelius Nepos describes, the training of the Greek commander Epaminondas was not done for the sake of bodily vanity, but for the purpose of fighting.  From an early age, a student must be taught the joys of physical fitness, as well as a contempt for laziness, indolence, and moral corruption. 

Music and Art.  The artistic senses must be cultivated through training in music and art appreciation.  Music is nothing but mathematical proportions reduced to sound waves.  Learning how to play some musical instrument will activate parts of the student’s brain that would otherwise remain dormant.  It also teaches the student the importance of practice, discipline, and devotion.  The fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, awaken the youth’s sense of beauty, line, and proportion.  He or she should be encouraged both to create art, and to examine what beauty looks like, through frequent trips to museums.    

Philosophy.  The study of wisdom must be undertaken at an early age.  In this regard I believe that the philosophical dialogue is the perfect vehicle:  students hear one speaker say something, which is then rebutted or disputed by another interlocutor.  Cicero’s philosophic treatises are invaluable educational tools, as well as the dialogues of Plato.  I also think that moral fables and stories are underappreciated as learning tools.  The fables of Aesop and Phaedrus are essential; to these I would also add the tales of Indian wisdom found in the Panchatantra, and its direct descendant, Ibn Muqaffa’s Kalila and Dimna.  Philosophical studies also naturally link with rhetoric; each complements and reinforces the other. 

Literature.  A student must have a firm grounding in the literary classics of both his own nation, and those of Western civilization.  We need not rattle off a list of titles.  Everyone knows what the classics of American and European literature are; what matters is not to list them, but to read them.  I also believe that a student should have an understanding of classical mythology and Biblical studies.  Why?  Because classical mythology and Biblical lore have exerted tremendous influence in Western art, literature, and culture.  One cannot visit a museum without seeing painting after painting, or sculpture after sculpture, with some classical or Biblical theme.  If one is ignorant of mythology or the Bible, one will simply be unable to understand what he is seeing.  With regard to mythology, I recommend the works of Bullfinch or Edith Hamilton.  As for Biblical studies, there are a tremendous number of resources available, suitable for varying ages and educational levels. 

The program outlined above will provide the student with a solid humanistic foundation.  It is not a complete program, of course, for that would require many additional pages.  But it is a skeletal outline.  It will condition and polish his soul, and provide the student with a foundation in character that will enable him or her to weather any storm, no matter its severity.  Education is about the development of virtue and character:  the imparting of the tools needed for a lifetime pursuit of the Ultimate Good.  Anyone can learn a trade; but the training of one’s soul requires special study, which we have outlined above.  A course of education based on these principles will produce young men and women of sound character, robust of body and spirit, fully equipped to assume the challenges of leadership and life.  I wish to close this essay with a relevant quote from the Roman historian Sallust’s first letter to Caesar (VII.4—5), upon which we should reflect deeply:

For often when reflecting on the ways illustrious men achieved greatness, and what characteristics propelled peoples and nations forward with superlative advances, and finally by what causes opulent kingdoms and empires came to ruin, I have always discovered the same goods and evils—and that all victors despised riches while all the defeated craved them.  And in no other way can any mortal man elevate himself and touch the divine, unless he repudiates the joys of wealth and the body and concentrates on the betterment of his soul:  not by submitting to and celebrating what it lusts after, thus supplying it with a depraved indulgence, but rather by exercising it in fruitful work, in patience, and in sound moral principles and valiant actions.

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Read more on the study of virtue and character in the new translation of Cornelius Nepos’s Lives of the Great Commanders.