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The Trivium The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph, C.S.C., Ph.D.   Review by Martha Robinson

Have you read all the books on classical education and still find yourself longing for more? The republication of The Trivium, written in the 1930s, offers a wealth of technical details that are sure to provide plenty of fuel for the inquisitive mind.

Sister Miriam Joseph, the author, wrote the book from a strong academic perspective. Holding degrees from Saint Marys College in Indiana, University of Notre Dame, and Columbia University, Sister spent her life supporting her belief that women could be fine journalists and that more quality writers with a Christian and Catholic faith would help to address the ills of society. When she began teaching as an English professor at Saint Marys in 1931, she was assigned the courses on rhetoric, grammar, and composition. In 1935 after hearing Mortimer Adler speak, Sister Miriam Joseph was asked to "revive the united Trivium again in the freshman class." After studying closely with Mortimer Adler for several months, Sister returned to Saint Marys to begin putting together the text, The Trivium in College Composition and Reading, to be used in her class, a required course for all freshmen. The republished book has been reformatted with extensive notes, references, and biographical information.

In Sister Miriam Josephs world, grammar, in particular, takes a completely different direction than the classical homeschooling books of today. While the "General Grammar" chapter discusses verb tenses, agreement of subject and verb, and other familiar concepts, Sister goes into a depth not normally seen currently in the chapter entitled "The Nature and Function of Language." She defines imitation (use of an artificial likeness like a picture) in communication and then, using classical poetry, frequently by Shakespeare, does an in-depth analysis of communication by symbols.

Throughout the rest of the book, Sister Miriam Joseph relates each of the components of the Trivium to one another. She gives plenty of meaty information on logic with chapters on syllogism, propositions, fallacies, and induction. The one chapter on rhetoric, "Composition and Reading," touches briefly on the short story, the essay, and composition, but mostly focuses on poetic elements.

Recommendation: The Trivium is a book to read after you have finished all of the books currently in print on the topic of classical education. It will give you a much better understanding of what the Trivium really is. This is NOT a "how-to" book, but offers a tremendous amount of in-depth information that defines and relates terms that are not well known today. Sister Miriam Joseph explains these difficult concepts well and uses many examples; however, this book will require much time, thought, and study on the part of the homeschooling parent. The return on your investment will be the expansion of your own mind as well as a greater ability to teach your children. If you are serious about classical education, The Trivium deserves a place on your bookshelf.

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The above reviews are the opinions of the reviewers. Products, rather than companies or authors, have been reviewed. You may want to research companies further before choosing to buy any of the products reviewed. The reviews may or may not reflect the opinions of the management of HomeschoolChristian.com.