The Memorable Thoughts of Socrates

by Xenophon

Overview

Xenophon was a Greek who admired and studied with Socrates. He marched with the Spartans and later was exiled from Athens. He wrote about the history of his times, the sayings of Socrates and about life in Greece. Edward Bysshe translated Xenophone's work in 1702. This translation has continued to have an excellent reputation. In this work Xenophon discusses the views of life taught by Socrates. His writing is clean and direct. Xenophon does not idealize Socrates, but he feels strongly, and he shows clearly the worth of the wisdom that touches at every point the actual conduct of the lives of men.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781835915431
Publisher:	Magic Publisher
Publication date:	04/08/2024
Pages:	122
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.26(d)

About the Author

Xenophon (c. 431 BC[1] - 354 BC) was an ancient Greek historian, philosopher and soldier.[2] Xenophon became commander of the Ten Thousand at about 30, with noted military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge saying of him, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior." [3] He established the precedent for many logistical operations and was among the first to use flanking maneuvers and feints. A student of Socrates, Xenophon is known for his writings and recording the history of his time (late-5th and early-4th centuries BC), in such works as Anabasis and Hellenica, which covered the final seven years and the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), thus representing a thematic continuation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War.
As one of the Ten Thousand (Greek mercenaries), Xenophon participated in Cyrus the Younger's failed campaign to claim the Persian throne from his brother Artaxerxes II of Persia. He recounted the events in Anabasis, his most notable history. Like Plato, Xenophon is an authority on Socrates, about whom he wrote several books of dialogues (the Memorabilia) and an Apology of Socrates to the Jury, which recounts the philosopher's trial in 399 BC.
Despite being born an Athenian citizen, Xenophon was also associated with Sparta, the traditional enemy of Athens. His pro-oligarchic politics, military service under Spartan generals in the Persian campaign and elsewhere, and his friendship with King Agesilaus II endeared Xenophon to the Spartans. Some of his works have a pro-Spartan bias, especially the royal biography Agesilaus and the Constitution of the Spartans.
Xenophon's works span several genres and are written in plain-language Attic Greek, for which reason they serve as translation exercises for contemporary students of the Ancient Greek language. In the Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Diogenes Laërtius observed that, as a writer, Xenophon of Athens was known as the "Attic Muse", for the sweetness of his diction