Reflections: Socrates and Xenophon, the philosophic and the political life
At the very least, this is clear. The most fundamental difference between Socrates and Xenophon might be dangerously summarized by saying that Socrates, who rarely felt the need to physically leave Athens, never wished to rule over anyone under any circumstances, while Xenophon —–his questioning and nowadays seldom read student—– did in fact wish to rule over many under varying circumstances (see Buzzetti).
Or, to put it much more nobly and perhaps more truthfully: it would be best to say that the once unknown and adventure-loving Xenophon —–who had come into direct contact with Socrates—– suddenly came to recognize far outside the boundaries of his native Athens not only the unavoidability of ruling among humans, but also and perhaps much more importantly, his absolutely unique capacity for such ruling when true crisis touched upon his life and those surrounding him. However, later in life he seems to have given up this politically engaged desire for the desire to recollect in writing both tension-ridden forms of life: on the one hand recovering the life of Socrates in his Memorabilia and the other truly amazing shorter Socratic texts, and on the other hand recovering the circumstances of his rise to fame and glory as a commander in his autobiographical The Anabasis of Cyrus. In contrast, Socrates also never felt the desire to write, not of himself or others.
Agoristic philosophy ——as the foundation of political philosophy—– begins in wonder (thaumazein) at such striking complex connections and deep tensions between the life of politics and the life of philosophy. Its path is that of an understanding of the dynamics of virtue(s); its guide remains Aristotle.
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Appendixes
Xenophon only appears in direct conversation with Socrates in two short sections, one in his Memorabilia where he listens to Socrates’ views on kissing(!), the other in his The Anabasis of Cyrus where he recalls the conversation with Socrates with which he began his voyage. These astonishing sections read as follows:
Appendix 1: (Memorabilia I, 4; Bonnette translation)
“These were the sort of things he used to say with playfulness accompanied by seriousness. On the other hand, he advised that one steadfastly refrain from sex with those who are beautiful. For he said that it is not easy when one touches these sorts to be moderate. In fact, after he perceived once that Critobulus the son of Crito had kissed the beautiful son of Alcibiades, he asked Xenophon in Critobulus’ presence”
“Tell me, Xenophon,” he said, “ didn’t you hold Critobulus to be one of the moderate rather than the rash human beings, and one of these with forethought rather than senseless and reckless?”
“Certainly,” said Xenophon.
“Well, hold now that he is hotheaded and heedless in the extreme. He would even make somersaults into daggers and leap into fire.”
“And what did you see him doing,” said Xenophon, “that you have formed such judgments about him?”
“Did he not dare to kiss the son of Alcibiades, who is most fair and in his bloom?” he said.
“But if that is the reckless deed,” said Xenophon,”in my opinion, I, too, would endure this risk.”
“You wretch!” said Socrates. “And what do you think you would suffer after kissing someone so beautiful? Would you not immediately be a slave rather than free, spend a lot of harmful pleasures, be in great want of leisure for attending to anything noble and good, and be compelled to take seriously what even madman would not take seriously?”
“Heracles!” said Xenophon. “What terrible power you ascribe to a kiss.”
“And do you wonder at this?” said Socrates. “Don’t you know that poisonous spiders not even half an obol in size crush human beings with pain and drive them from their senses merely by touching them in their mouths?”
“Yes, by Zeus!” said Xenophon, “For spiders inject something through their sting.”
“You fool!” said Socrates. “Do you think that when those who are beautiful kiss they don’t inject anything, just because you don’t see it? Don’t you know that this beast that they call beautiful in bloom is so much more terrible than spiders that, while spiders inject something when they touch, it (even when it does not touch, but if one just looks at it) injects even from quite far away something of the sort to drive one mad? And perhaps ‘lovers’ are called ‘archers’ because those who are beautiful inflict wounds even from afar. But I counsel you, Xenophon, whenever you see someone beautiful, to flee without looking back .”
Appendix 2: (The Anabasis of Cyrus III, 1, 4; Ambler translation )
“In the army there was a certain Xenophon, an Athenian, who followed along even though he was neither a general nor a captain nor a soldier; but Proxenus, a guest-friend of his from long ago, had sent for him to come home. He promised that if he came, he would make him a friend of Cyrus, whom Proxenus himself had said he believed to be the better for himself than his fatherland was. So Xenophon, on reading his letter, took common counsel with Socrates the Athenian about the journey. And Socrates, suspecting that becoming a friend of Cyrus might bring an accusation from the city, because Cyrus had seemed eager in joining the Lacedaemonians in making war against the Athenians, advised Xenophon to go to Delphi and take common counsel with the god about the journey. Xenophon went and asked Apollo to which one of the gods he should sacrifice and pray in order to make the journey he had in mind in the noblest and best way and, after faring well, to return safely. And Apollo indicated to him the gods to whom he needed to sacrifice.
When he came back again, he told the oracular response to Socrates. On hearing it, Socrates blamed him because he did not first ask whether it was more advisable for him to make the journey or to remain, but he himself had judged that he was to go and then inquired how he might go in the noblest way. “However, since you did ask it in this way,” he said, “you must do all that the god bade.”
So after sacrificing to the ones the god had indicated, Xenophon sailed off.”
Rarefactions: by Andrés Melo Cousineau 
“In contrast, Socrates also never felt the desire to write, not of himself or others.”
This has always made me somewhat suspicious of the man who is supposed to be his heir—Plato. It’s been said that (Western) philosophy consists of a series of footnotes to Plato—but what if Plato got it wrong? Should he have left us anything to annotate at all?
Hi xxx,
I wonder why the “x” has become so popular for us! But three x’s in a row; mischief! And, one thing should be made clear, it is not Plato who says that philosophy consists of a footnote to him!
More seriously, one could say that although the Platonic Socrates and the Xenophontic Socrates emphasize diverse aspects of the one real-life Socrates, it is truly in the balancing out of these two pictures —to which one must add that of Aristophanes in the Clouds—- that we can gain the better picture. This is true, not only as to who Socrates was and what/why he meant different things to different people, but more importantly as a serious corrective not only to our shameful disregard for Xenophon but also as a serious corrective regarding our modern understanding of what political philosophy —-of whom Socrates is the originator in its classical variant— truly stands for.