873 



XENOPIION. 



XERXES I. 



874 



dangers and vexations incident to the possession of power, and con- 

 trasts the tyrant's condition with the tranquillity of a private man. 

 The poet shows that the tyrant has it in his power to oblige persons 

 more than private individuals can, and he offers some suggestions as 

 to tbe best mode of using power and making the people happy. It 

 has been already stated that there is one brief notice of Xenophon 

 making a voyage to Sicily, and Letronne conjectures that the composi- 

 tion of this little treatise may have been suggested by what Xenophon 

 saw of a tyrant's life at the court of Dionysius. This little piece has 

 considerable artistic merit, and it is justly observed that it savours of 

 the school of Isocrates more than any other of Xenophon's works. 

 There is a translation of this work attributed to Queen Elizabeth, but 

 we do not know on what authority. It first appeared in 1743, 8vo, in 

 'Miscellaneous Correspondence,' No. 11, with the title 'A Translation 

 of a Dialogue out of Xenophon in Greek, between Hiero, a king, yet 

 some tyme a private person, and Simonides, a poet, as touching the 

 life of the prince man. By Elizabeth, Queen of England.' A trans- 

 lation also appeared in 1793, 8vo, which is attributed to the Rev. E. 

 Graves, who translated Marcus Antoninus. 



The '(Economic' (OlKovo[uic6s) is a discourse oil the management 

 of a household and on agriculture, between Socrates and Critobulus. 

 In the fourth chapter Socrates speaks of C.vrus the Younger, and his 

 love of horticulture. This passage was written after the death of 

 Cyrus, and the whole work probably belongs to a late period of Xeno- 

 phon's life, though Socrates is introduced as pronouncing the panegyric 

 of Cyrus. It is a confirmation of the authorship of the 'Anabasis' being 

 rightly assigned to Xenophon, that he speaks of Cyrus, his character, 

 aud death in the same manner, and almost in the same words which are 

 used in the ' Anabasis ' (' Oecouom.,' c. 4 ; ' Anab.,' i. 8, 9). The seventh 

 chapter contains a charming conversation between Ischomachus and 

 his wife, on the duty of a good wife, which consists in the proper 

 management of the interior of the house ; it is the husband's business 

 to labour out of doors and to provide that which the house requires; 

 it is the wife's business to take care of what the husband produces, 

 and to apply it to the uses of the house. The husband's employment, 

 as here represented, is agriculture in a country where slaves are the 

 labourers ; but the picture of married life will suit every condition, 

 and modern wives might learn from this excellent treatise that their 

 employment is at home; that the object of marriage is the happiness 

 of the husband and wife, the procreation of children, and their proper 

 nurture and education. Fidelity to her husband, frugal management 

 of his substance, and the care of his children are the wife's duties, 

 which are incompatible with gadding abroad. This is one of the best 

 treatises of Xenophon. It was translated into Latin by Cicero. There 

 are several English translations. The first is by Gentian Hervet, 

 London, 8vo, 1534, which has been reprinted several times. 'There is 

 also a translation by llobert Bradley, F.R.S., London, 8vo, 1727. 



The general character of Xenophon may be estimated from this 

 brief sketch of his life and writings. Before we heap upon him all 

 the abuse which some modern writers have done, we ought to have 

 the facts of his h'fe with sufficient minuteness to enable us to judge of 

 every part of it. He did not like the democracy of his native city, 

 and he may have been glad of the opportunity of leaving Athens 

 which the invitation of Proxenus offered. If his own statement is 

 true, he was not to blame for joining the expedition of Cyrus, though 

 it is very probable that he was blamed for it at Athens, and supposed 

 to have been well acquainted with the design of Cyrus from the first. 

 The fact of his delivering up the troops to Thimbron, the LacedsemO' 

 nian, after the campaign in Thrace, was well calculated to add to the 

 jealousy of the Athenians, and his native city cannot be. charged with 

 more than her usual severity in banishing him for his part in the 

 expedition of Cyrus and the subsequent events. So far there is 

 nothing which will justify us in attaching any serious imputation on 

 Xenophou. Though a man is boru in a democracy, he may not like 

 it ; and nobody would blame him for leaving it for some other country 

 that he liked better. Xenophon's presence at the battle of Coroneia 

 cannot be so satisfactorily explained ; but it may be that he did not 

 take part in it ; and after having joined Agesilaus in Asia, it is very 

 probable that he could not safely avoid accompanying him back to 

 Europe. Being banished from Athens, his only safety was in keeping 

 with his friends the Lacedaemonians. One step in a man's life often 

 decides all the ret, and involves him in a train of circumstances which 

 he could not foresee, and which leave his character not free from impu- 

 tation. This was, iu Xenophon's case, his joining the expedition oi 

 Cyrus. There is no proof of his active hostility against Athens after 

 his banishment : there is proof enough that he preferred Sparta and 

 Spartan constitutions ; and if that is blame, he deserves enough of it. 



Xenophon appears to have been humane and gentle in his character. 

 He evidently liked quiet. He was fond of farming, hunting, and rural 

 occupations generally. His talents would have suited him for admin- 

 istration in a well-ordered community, but he was not fitted for the 

 turbulence of Athenian democracy. He was a religious man, or, as 

 we are now pleased to term it, a superstitious man. He believed in 

 the religion of his country, and was scrupulous in performing and 

 enforcing the observance of the usual ceremonies. He had faith in 

 dreams, aud looked upon them as manifestations of the deity. His 

 philosophy was the practical : it had reference to actual life, and in all 

 practical matters and everything that concerns the ordinary conducl 



of human life he shows good sense and honourable feeling. He was 

 in understanding a plain sensible man, who could express with pro- 

 priety and in an agreeable manner whatever he had to say. As a 

 writer he deserves the praise of perspicuity and ease, and for these 

 qualities he has in all ages been justly admired. As an historical 

 writer he is infinitely below Thucydides : he had no depth of re- 

 lection, no great insight into the fundamental principles of society. 

 His ' Hellenica,' his only historical effort, would not have preserved 

 liis name, except for the importance of the facts which this work 

 contains and the deficiency of other historical records. Hia 'Ana- 

 basis ' derives its interest from the circumstances of that memorable 

 retreat, and the name of Xenophon is thus connected with an event 

 which exposed to the Greeks the weakness of the Persian empire, and 

 prepared the way for the future campaigns of Agesilaus and the 

 triumphs of Alexander. The narrative of the retreat may be com- 

 pared with Herodotus for the minute detail of well-selected facts, the 

 simplicity of the narration, and the general clearness of the whole. 

 Some difficulties may be owing to corruption of the text, and in somo 

 cases the author's memory or his notes may have deceived him. The 

 ' Anabasis ' is a work of the kind which few men have had the oppor- 

 tunity of writing, and there is no work in any language in which 

 personal adventure and the conduct of a great undertaking are more 

 harmoniously and agreeably combined. 



The works of Xenophon which are called philosophical should be 

 entitled treatises on practical ethic and economic. Philosophy to 

 him never was known as a science : the character of his mind and his 

 writings do not allow him to bo compared in any way either with 

 Plato or with Aristotle, the two great exemplars of philosophy among 

 the Greeks. Yet the Memoirs of Socrates and the treatise entitled 

 (Economic have a great charm, both from the representation which 

 they give of the personal character of Socrates, and the easy agreeable 

 form in which his lessons are inculcated. These two works and the 

 ' Anabasis ' are the best works for giving a young student a knowledge 

 of the Greek language ; and if the ' Memorabilia ' and ' (Economic ' 

 cannot be considered an introduction to Greek philosophy, they will 

 at least teach nothing erroneous, and they will lead the student to the 

 contemplation of the Greeks in their domestic relations and their 

 moral habitudes. 



The following books will enable the reader to find nearly all that 

 has been said of Xenophon and his writings : Fabricius, ' Bibliotheca 

 Grseca ;' Schoell, ' Geschichte der Griechischen Literatur,' German 

 edition; 'Biog. Univ.,' art. 'Xenophon,' by Letronne; Hoffmann, 

 'Lexicon Bibliographicum, Xenophon,' which contains a list of all 

 the editions up to the date of its publication, of the separate works, of 

 the translations into English and other languages not here mentioned, 

 and of the works which have been written in illustration of Xeno- 

 phon's writings. More recent editions of Xenophou's separate writings 

 in the original are too numerous to mention here. An English version 

 of the whole works of Xenophon (chiefly by the Rev. J. S. Watson) is 

 contained in 3 volumes of Bohn's ' Classical Library.' 



XENOPHON OF EPHESUS. There is extant a Greek romance 

 entitled ' Ephesiaca, or a History of Anthia and Abrocomas ' ('EcpeffiaKa. 

 TO. /caret 'A.vOiav Kal 'A./3poK6(j.r)v). The author calls himself Xenophon 

 of Ephesus. We know nothing of his life, and there is no evidence as 

 to the period when he lived. From, indications in the work itself, 

 Locella places him in the age of the Antonines, and others in the 4th 

 or 5th century of our era. Peerlkamp, the last editor, considers him 

 the oldest of all the Greek writers of romances. The style of the work 

 is simple, and the narrative is concise, cJear, and free from confusion, 

 though many persons are introduced. The incidents are not multi- 

 plied beyond the limits of propriety and probability. Suidas is the 

 only person who mentions the author of the ' Ephesiaca,' and he saya 

 that there are ten books ; but there are only five now, and apparently 

 the work is complete, or nearly so. Only one manuscript of the work 

 exists. The first edition of this work, accompanied with a Latin trans- 

 lation, was by Ant. Cocchi, London, 8vo and 4to, 1726. This edition 

 is printed from a very incorrect transcript of the original manuscript. 

 The Baron A. E. de Locella brought out at Vienna, 4to, 1796, a good 

 critical edition, founded on a careful examination of the manuscript. 

 This edition contains a new translation and a commentary. The latest 

 edition is by P. Hoffmann Peerlkamp, Haarlem, 4to, 1818. There 

 are German, French, and Italian translations of this romance. An 

 English version, by Rooke, appeared at London, 8vo, 1727. 



XERXES I. (Hep|7js), king of Persia, succeeded his father Darius, 

 the sou of Hystaspes, B.C. 485. Before he was raised to the throne, 

 Darius had three sons by his wife, a daughter of Gobryas, of whom 

 the eldest was Artabanes. After he became king, he had four sons 

 by Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, of whom Xerxes was the eldest. 

 Darius appointed Xerxes his successor. 



Darius died during his preparations for war against the Egyptians 

 and the Athenians. In the second year after his father's death, 

 Xerxes marched against Egypt, which had revolted in the time of 

 Darius. He reduced the country to obedience, and gave the adminis- 

 tration to his brother Achsemenes. He next employed himself for 

 four full years in making preparations for his Greek expedition. The 

 immense force which was assembled for this purpose was collected 

 from every part of the Persian dominions. The fleet was supplied 

 from Egypt, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Cilicia, aud other maritime parts 



