The Listening Grove · Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Chapter 26: Cornelia's Jewels
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 26, Cornelia's Jewels, about?Parent review
Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 26, Cornelia's Jewels, is a gentle story about what is truly precious. In old Rome two boys watched their mother's richly dressed friend, who wore glittering rings and chains. The friend opened a casket of pearls, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds that dazzled the boys, then asked whether Cornelia, plainly dressed, was poor to own no such gems. Cornelia drew her two sons close and answered that these were her jewels, worth more than any stones. In later years the boys grew up to be great and useful men in Rome. It is a lesson in a mother's love and the worth of good children over riches.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 25, The Story of Regulus?Have a look
In the last chapter, The Story of Regulus, a Roman general was captured during Rome's long war with Carthage. His enemies sent him home to ask Rome for peace, on his promise to return if Rome refused. In Rome, Regulus urged his countrymen to keep on fighting rather than make peace. Then, though he knew a hard fate awaited him, he kept his word. He said farewell to his wife and children and went back across the sea to Carthage and to prison. He was long honored as a man who put his duty to his country and his given word above his own safety.
Read the previous lesson: The Story of Regulus →Show what you know!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Fill in the vocabulary you know, then click to check your work and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 26, Cornelia's Jewels?casket, dazzle, sapphire, braidHave a look
- casket: a small chest or box for jewels
- dazzle: to overpower the eyes with brightness
- sapphire: a clear, deep blue gemstone
- braid: a length of hair woven together
Locate it on the map!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Use an atlas and fill in the blank map if you can find the geographic location, then click to check your work.
What important geographic location connects with Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 26, Cornelia's Jewels?
- Find Misenum (Campania, Italy).
See it on the mapHave a look
This matches the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 26 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold, the Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition, read by Laura Caldwell.
Read by Laura Caldwell for LibriVox (public domain), professionally adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
What do the Teacher’s Notes tell us about Chapter 26 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Parent review
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s 1896 words are read exactly as he wrote them, and we add Teacher’s Notes with historical and literary context.
- About the whole bookFifty Famous Stories Retold gathers real history together with well-loved legends and traditions. These notes tell you, story by story, which is which.
- This chapterCornelia was a real and admired Roman mother whose sons became important leaders. Her lovely reply that her children were her jewels is a long-cherished tradition, first written down by the author Valerius Maximus.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the Response Resource* to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
*Materials in the Lesson Guide.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 26 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Cornelia, The two boys, Cornelia's friend, RomeHave a look
- Cornelia: A real Roman noblewoman, daughter of the general Scipio Africanus, famous for her devotion to her sons.
- The two boys: Cornelia's sons, who grew up to be the Roman reformers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus.
- Cornelia's friend: The richly dressed lady who visits the garden and is thought to look like a queen.
- Rome: The old city where the garden and the story belong.
Chapter 26 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s stories mingle real history with beloved legend, and here is what to know about this one.
Is Cornelia's Jewels a true story or a legend?
Cornelia was a real and admired Roman mother whose sons became important leaders. Her lovely reply that her children were her jewels is a long-cherished tradition, first written down by the author Valerius Maximus. So Cornelia herself is history, while the charming scene with the jewel casket is best enjoyed as a treasured tradition.
Who were Cornelia's sons?
The story leaves the two boys unnamed, but tradition remembers them as Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, brothers who grew up to become well-known reformers in Rome. Cornelia herself was the daughter of the famous general Scipio Africanus. Baldwin simply tells us the boys became great men, which fits what history records of the Gracchi brothers.
Who first told the jewels story?
The charming reply about her jewels comes down to us through the Roman writer Valerius Maximus, who collected memorable sayings and deeds. Because it was written long after Cornelia lived, it is treasured as a tradition rather than an eyewitness record. The gentle lesson, that good children are worth more than gems, is what has kept it beloved.
What does the story teach?
It teaches that character and children are more precious than riches. While the wealthy friend prizes her pearls and rubies, Cornelia points to her sons as her real treasures. The story invites children to think about what is truly valuable, and it holds up a mother's love and the raising of good children as worth more than any jewels.