Source edition
Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol IΙI. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1891.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a philosophical treatise that explores the essence of parents' natural affection for their offspring (philostorgia) and demonstrates how it is a powerful instinct bestowed by nature. The author begins by pointing out that while humans have deviated from their true nature due to reason and social customs, animals and plants still preserve nature in its pure form. By presenting vivid examples of self-sacrificing parental care among various animals, such as kingfishers, lions, and birds, the text strongly criticizes the Epicurean view that parent-child love is based on utility or self-interest. Furthermore, the author argues that while animal affection is limited, human parental love serves as the seed of justice and civilization, and is deeply embedded in the physiological mechanisms of pregnancy and lactation. Ultimately, the work concludes that although raising children offers no practical returns, parents do so out of an overwhelming force of nature, an inherent love that, like gold, remains untarnished and brilliant under any circumstance.