Xenophon’s phrases ooze wisdom and knowledge. This philosopher may not be as well known as Plato, Socrates, or Aristotle, but we can also learn some excellent lessons from his bibliography and experience.
Xenophon was a Greek philosopher, military and historian born in Athens in 431. C. He had close ties to Sparta and was nicknamed the Attica muse by the Greek dialect in which he wrote with a gentle and attractive diction.
- From the many bibliographies that have come to this day.
- We can extract phrases from Xenophon of extraordinary beauty and wisdom.
Let us not forget that this historian and military wrote books such as “Hellenic”, in which he details the last years of the Peloponnese War, the magnificent Anabase or Expedition of the Ten Thousand, and the famous Ciropédia.
Interestingly, Xenophon was a man very attached to the Persian regime, although he was Greek and was in his native country during the Peloponnese War, deeply admired Cyrus the Younger and even participated in the military campaign to help him claim the Persian throne. by his brother Artajerjes II.
Xenophon was a pupil of one of the most important philosophers of antiquity: Socrates. From his authority as a philosopher, the Memoirs of Socrates and the apology of Socrates were born, in which he seeks to clarify the judgment in which his teacher was involved.
“Voluntary obedience is always better than forced obedience. “
Interestingly, although athenian, Xenophon was an advocate of oligarchic political systems. His support and friendship with spartan kings or Cyrus the Younger are not surprising.
If we read Xenophon’s work, we will find his predilection for oligarchy, but not at all. He believed in a just and reciprocal system, in which the monarch wields power as wise, but also just.
In other words, for this author power is exercised not from a position of superiority, but from understanding and talent, so those who govern must do so wisely, knowing how to obtain the obedience of his people, who bend and obey voluntarily, never. by force.
“It is difficult to act in a way that does not fail; and even if none have been committed, is it hard not to find inept judges?
A faithful student of Socrates, Xenophon has always admired his teacher, so it is no surprise that this phrase refers to the difficulty of constantly acting harmoniously and correctly.
It is difficult to always work in the right direction, however, sometimes, unfairly, we are judged by people who lack talent and whose opinions are limited, in this case the injustice committed is much greater.
“The rich who do not know how to use their wealth are of incurable poverty, because it is a poverty of spirit. “
People who accumulate material riches, but do not accompany them with moral and ethical riches, are truly poor beings who will hardly learn to enjoy all that they have kept.
“Praise is the sweetest of sounds. “
Out-of-context praise is certainly a mistake, but not renting when someone deserves it is probably an even more serious mistake.
This phrase fits perfectly into Xenophon’s philosophy, for his belief was how to conquer the people as oligarchs by virtue and talent, not by force. There is no doubt that praising those who do the right thing goes in that direction.
“We will strive so that each of us can see ourselves as the architect of victory. “
Another of xenophon’s wise phrases that we want to use to say goodbye. It has certainly been written and pronounced for almost 2500 years, but it remains as much in force as before.
In general, people who strive to achieve a goal end up being proud of their achievements, the latter together end up being one of the main goals achieved as a team.
We hope that these phrases of Xenophon have been interesting to you, there is no doubt that the philosophers of ancient Greece have fed into their thoughts an immense wisdom from which we still have much to learn today.