The Cyropaedia, a political and philosophical romance, which describes the boyhood and training of Cyrus, hardly answers to its name, being for the most part an account of the beginnings of the Persian empire and of the victorious career of Cyrus, its founder. The Cyropaedia contains, in fact, the author's own ideas of training and education, as derived conjointly from the teachings of Socrates and his favourite Spartan institutions. It was said to have been written in opposition to the Republic of Plato. A distinct moral purpose, to which literal truth is sacri ficed, runs through the work. For instance, Cyrus is represented as dying peacefully in his bed, whereas, according to Herodotus, he fell in a campaign against the Massagetae.
The Hellenica written at Corinth, after 362 B.C., is the only contemporary account of the period covered by it (411-362 B.C.) that has come down to us. It consists of two distinct parts ; books i. and ii., which are intended to form a continuation of the work of Thucydides, and bring the history down to the fall of the Thirty, and books iii.—vii., the Hellenica proper, which deal with the period from 401 to 362 B.C., and give the history of the Spartan and Theban hegemonies, down to the death of Epaminon das. There is, however, no ground for the view that these two parts were written and published as separate works. There is probably no justification for the charge of deliberate falsification. It must be admitted, however, that he had strong political pre judices, and that these prejudices have influenced his narrative. He was a partisan of the reactionary movement which triumphed after the fall of Athens ; Sparta is his ideal, and Agesilaus his hero. Hardly less serious defects than his political bias are his omissions, his want of the sense of proportion and his failure to grasp the meaning of historical criticism. The most that can be said in his favour is that as a witness he is at once honest and well-informed. For this period of Greek history he is, at any rate, an indispensable witness.
The Memorabilia, or "Recollections of Socrates," in four books, was written to defend Socrates against the charges of impiety and corrupting the youth, repeated after his death by the sophist Polycrates. The work is not a literary masterpiece; it lacks co herence and unity, and the picture it gives of Socrates fails to do him justice. Still, as far as it goes, it no doubt faithfully describes the philo;opher's manner of life and style of conversation. It was the moral and practical side of Socrates's teaching which most interested Xenophon; into his metaphysical speculations he seems to have made no attempt to enter : for these, indeed, he had neither taste nor genius. Moving within a limited range of ideas, he
doubtless gives us "considerably less than the real Socrates, while Plato gives us something more." It is probable that the work in its present form is an abridgement.
Xenophon has left several minor works, some of which are very interesting and give an insight into the home life of the Greeks.
The Oeconomics (to some extent a continuation of the Memor abilia, and sometimes regarded as the fifth book of the same) deals with the management of the house and of the farm, and presents a pleasant and amusing picture of the Greek wife and of her home duties. There are some good practical remarks on matrimony and on the respective duties of husband and wife.
In the essays on horsemanship (Hippike) and hunting (Cyneget icus), Xenophon deals with matters of which he had a thorough knowledge. In the first he gives rules how to choose a horse, and then tells how it is to be groomed and ridden and generally man aged. The Cynegeticus deals chiefly with the hare, though the author speaks also of boar-hunting and describes the hounds, tells how they are to be bred and trained, and gives specimens of suit able names for them.
The Hipparchicus explains the duties of a cavalry officer. He dwells at some length on the moral qualities which go to the mak ing of a good officer, and hints very plainly that there must be strict attention to religious duties.
The Agesilaus is a eulogy of the Spartan king, who had two special merits in Xenophon's eyes : he was a rigid disciplinarian, and he was particularly attentive to all religious observances. We have a summary of his virtues rather than a picture of the man himself.
The Hiero works out the line of thought indicated in the story of the Sword of Damocles. It is a protest against the notion that the "tyrant" is a man to be envied, as having more abundant means of happiness than a private person.
The Symposium, or "Banquet," to some extent the complement of the Memorabilia, is a brilliant little dialogue in which Socrates is the prominent figure. He is represented as "improving the occasion," which is that of a lively Athenian supper-party, at which there is much drinking, with flute-playing, and a dancing-girl from Syracuse, who amuses the guests with the feats of a professional conjurer. Socrates's table-talk runs through a variety of topics, and winds up with a philosophical disquisition on the superiority of true heavenly love to its earthly or sensual counterfeit.