Complete Works of Xenophon (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics)

by Xenophon

  This speech persuaded the man to go and learn. [4] When he had learnt his lesson and returned, Socrates chaffed him. “Don’t you think, sirs,” he said, “that our friend looks more ‘majestic,’ as Homer called Agamemnon, now that he has learnt generalship? For just as he who has learnt to play the harp is a harper even when he doesn’t play, and he who has studied medicine is a doctor even though he doesn’t practise, so our friend will be a general for ever, even if no one votes for him. But your ignoramus is neither general nor doctor, even if he gets every vote. [5] But,” he continued, “in order that any one of us who may happen to command a regiment or platoon under you may have a better knowledge of warfare, tell us the first lesson he gave you in generalship.”

  “The first was like the last,” he replied; “he taught me tactics — nothing else.” [6]

  “But then that is only a small part of generalship. For a general must also be capable of furnishing military equipment and providing supplies for the men; he must be resourceful, active, careful, hardy and quick-witted; he must be both gentle and brutal, at once straightforward and designing, capable of both caution and surprise, lavish and rapacious, generous and mean, skilful in defence and attack; and there are many other qualifications, some natural, some acquired, that are necessary to one who would succeed as a general. [7] It is well to understand tactics too; for there is a wide difference between right and wrong disposition of the troops, just as stones, bricks, timber and tiles flung together anyhow are useless, whereas when the materials that neither rot nor decay, that is, the stones and tiles, are placed at the bottom and the top, and the bricks and timber are put together in the middle, as in building, the result is something of great value, a house, in fact.” [8]

  “Your analogy is perfect, Socrates,” said the youth; “for in war one must put the best men in the van and the rear, and the worst in the centre, that they may be led by the van and driven forward by the rearguard.” [9]

  “Well and good, provided that he taught you also to distinguish the good and the bad men. If not, what have you gained by your lessons? No more than you would have gained if he had ordered you to put the best money at the head and tail, and the worst in the middle, without telling you how to distinguish good from base coin.”

  “I assure you he didn’t; so we should have to judge for ourselves which are the good men and which are the bad.” [10]

  “Then we had better consider how we may avoid mistaking them.”

  “I want to do so,” said the youth.

  “Well now,” said Socrates, “if we had to lay hands on a sum of money, would not the right arrangement be to put the most covetous men in the front?”

  “I think so.”

  “And what should we do with those who are going to face danger? Should our first line consist of the most ambitious?’

  “Oh yes: they are the men who will face danger for the sake of glory. About these, now, there is no mystery: they are conspicuous everywhere, and so it is easy to find them.” [11]

  “But,” said Socrates, “did he teach you only the disposition of an army, or did he include where and how to use each formation?”

  “Not at all.”

  “And yet there are many situations that call for a modification of tactics and strategy.”

  “I assure you he didn’t explain that.”

  “Then pray go back and ask him. If he knows and has a conscience, he will be ashamed to send you home ill-taught, after taking your money.”

  2. One day when he met a man who had been chosen general, he asked him, “For what reason, think you, is Agamemnon dubbed ‘Shepherd of the people’ by Homer? Is it because a shepherd must see that his sheep are safe and are fed, and that the object for which they are kept is attained, and a general must see that his men are safe and are fed, and that the object for which they fight is attained, or, in other words, that victory over the enemy may add to their happiness? [2] Or what reason can Homer have for praising Agamemnon as

  “‘both a good king and a doughty warrior too’?

  “

  Is it that he would be ‘a doughty warrior too’ not if he alone were a good fighter, but if he made all his men like himself; and ‘a good king’ not if he merely ordered his own life aright, but if he made his subjects happy as well? [3] Because a king is chosen, not to take good care of himself, but for the good of those who have chosen him; and all men fight in order that they may get the best life possible, and choose generals to guide them to it. [4] Therefore it is the duty of a commander to contrive this for those who have chosen him for general. For anything more honourable than that is not easy to find, or anything more disgraceful than its opposite.”

  By these reflections on what constitutes a good leader he stripped away all other virtues, and left just the power to make his followers happy.

  3. Again, when someone had been chosen a leader of cavalry, I remember that Socrates conversed with him in the following manner:

  “Young man,” he said, “can you tell us why you hankered after a cavalry command? I presume it was not to be first of the cavalry in the charge; for that privilege belongs to the mounted archers; at any rate they ride ahead of their commanders even.”

  “True.”

  “Nor was it to get yourself known either. Even madmen are known to everyone.”

  “True again.” [2]

  “But perhaps you think you can hand over the cavalry in better condition to the state when you retire, and can do something for the good of the state as a cavalry leader, in case there is any occasion to employ that arm?”

  “Yes, certainly,” said he.

  “Yes,” said Socrates, “and no doubt it is a fine thing if you can do that. The command, I presume, for which you have been chosen, is the command of horses and riders.”

  “Indeed it is.” [3]

  “Come then, tell us first how you propose to improve the horses.”

  “Oh, but I don’t think that is my business. Every man must look after his own horse.” [4]

  “Then if some of your men appear on parade with their horses ailing or suffering from bad feet or sore legs, others with underfed animals that can’t go the pace, others with restive brutes that won’t keep in line, others with such bad kickers that it is impossible to line them up at all, what will you be able to make of your cavalry? how will you be able to do the state any good with a command like that?”

  “I am much obliged to you,” he replied, “and I will try to look after the horses carefully.” [5]

  “Won’t you also try to improve the men?” said Socrates.

  “I will.”

  “Then will you first train them to mount better?”

  “Oh yes, I must, so that if anyone is thrown he may have a better chance of saving himself.” [6]

  “Further, when there is some danger before you, will you order them to draw the enemy into the sandy ground where your manoeuvres are held, or will you try to carry out your training in the kind of country that the enemy occupy?”

  “Oh yes, that is the better way.” [7]

  “And again, will you pay much attention to bringing down as many of the enemy as possible without dismounting?”

  “Oh yes, that too is the better way.”

  “Have you thought of fostering a keen spirit among the men and hatred of the enemy, so as to make them more gallant in action?”

  “Well, at any rate, I will try to do so now.” [8]

  “And have you considered how to make the men obey you? Because without that horses and men, however good and gallant, are of no use.”

  “True, but what is the best way of encouraging them to obey, Socrates?” [9]

  “Well, I suppose you know that under all conditions human beings are most willing to obey those whom they believe to be the best. Thus in sickness they most readily obey the doctor, on board ship the pilot, on a farm the farmer, whom they think to be most skilled in his business.”

  “Yes, certainly.”

  “Then it is
likely that in horsemanship too, one who clearly knows best what ought to be done will most easily gain the obedience of the others.” [10]

  “If then, Socrates, I am plainly the best horseman among them, will that suffice to gain their obedience?”

  “Yes, if you also show them that it will be safer and more honourable for them to obey you.”

  “How, then, shall I show that?”

  “Well, it’s far easier than if you had to show them that bad is better than good and more profitable.” [11]

  “Do you mean that in addition to his other duties a cavalry leader must take care to be a good speaker?”

  “Did you suppose that a commander of cavalry should be mum? Did you never reflect that all the best we learned according to custom — the learning, I mean, that teaches us how to live — we learned by means of words, and that every other good lesson to be learned is learned by means of words; that the best teachers rely most on the spoken word and those with the deepest knowledge of the greatest subjects are the best talkers? [12] Did you never reflect that, whenever one chorus is selected from the citizens of this state — for instance, the chorus that is sent to Delos — no choir from any other place can compare with it, and no state can collect so goodly a company?”

  “True.” [13]

  “And yet the reason is that Athenians excel all others not so much in singing or in stature or in strength, as in love of honour, which is the strongest incentive to deeds of honour and renown.”

  “True again.” [14]

  “Then don’t you think that if one took the same pains with our cavalry, they too would greatly excel others in arms and horses and discipline and readiness to face the enemy, if they thought that they would win glory and honour by it?”

  “I expect so.” [15]

  “Don’t hesitate then, but try to encourage this keenness among the men: both you and your fellow-citizens will benefit by the results of your efforts.”

  “Most certainly I will try.”

  4. Once on seeing Nicomachides returning from the elections, he asked, “Who have been chosen generals, Nicomachides?”

  “Isn’t it like the Athenians?” replied he; “they haven’t chosen me after all the hard work I have done, since I was called up, in the command of company or regiment, though I have been so often wounded in action” (and here he uncovered and showed his scars); “yet they have chosen Antisthenes, who has never served in a marching regiment nor distinguished himself in the cavalry and understands nothing but money-making.” [2]

  “Isn’t that a recommendation,” said Socrates, “supposing he proves capable of supplying the men’s needs?”

  “Why,” retorted Nicomachides, “merchants too are capable of making money, but that doesn’t make them fit to command an army.” [3]

  “But,” cried Socrates, “Antisthenes also is eager for victory, and that is a good point in a general. Whenever he has been choragus, you know, his choir has always won.”

  “No doubt,” said Nicomachides, “but there is no analogy between the handling of a choir and of an army.” [4]

  “But, you see,” said Socrates, “though Antisthenes knows nothing about music or choir training, he showed himself capable of finding the best experts in these.”

  “In the army too, then,” said Nicomachides, “he will find other to command for him, and others to do the fighting.” [5]

  “And therefore,” said Socrates, “if he finds out and prefers the best men in warfare as in choir training it is likely that he will be victorious in that too; and probably he will be more ready to spend on winning a battle with the whole state than on winning a choral competition with his tribe.” [6]

  “Do you mean to say, Socrates, that the man who succeeds with a chorus will also succeed with an army?”

  “I mean that, whatever a man controls, if he knows what he wants and can get it he will be a good controller, whether he control a chorus, an estate, a city or an army.” [7]

  “Really, Socrates,” cried Nicomachides, “I should never have thought to hear you say that a good business man would make a good general.”

  “Come then, let us review the duties of each that we may know whether they are the same or different.”

  “By all means.” [8]

  “Is it not the duty of both to make their subordinates willing and obedient?”

  “Decidedly.”

  “And to put the right man in the right place?”

  “That is so.”

  “I suppose, moreover, that both should punish the bad and reward the good.”

  “Yes, certainly.” [9]

  “Of course both will do well to win the goodwill of those under them?”

  “That is so.”

  “Do you think that it is to the interest of both to attract allies and helpers?”

  “Yes, certainly.”

  “And should not both be able to keep what they have got?”

  “They should indeed.”

  “And should not both be strenuous and industrious in their own work?” [10]

  “All these are common to both; but fighting is not.”

  “But surely both are bound to find enemies?”

  “Oh yes, they are.”

  “Then is it not important for both to get the better of them?” [11]

  “Undoubtedly; but you don’t say how business capacity will help when it comes to fighting.”

  “That is just where it will be most helpful. For the good business man, through his knowledge that nothing profits or pays like a victory in the field, and nothing is so utterly unprofitable and entails such heavy loss as a defeat, will be eager to seek and furnish all aids to victory, careful to consider and avoid what leads to defeat, prompt to engage the enemy if he sees he is strong enough to win, and, above all, will avoid an engagement when he is not ready. [12] Don’t look down on business men, Nicomachides. For the management of private concerns differs only in point of number from that of public affairs. In other respects they are much alike, and particularly in this, that neither can be carried on without men, and the men employed in private and public transactions are the same. For those who take charge of public affairs employ just the same men when they attend to their own; and those who understand how to employ them are successful directors of public and private concerns, and those who do not, fail in both.”

  5. Once when talking with the son of the great Pericles, he said: “For my part, Pericles, I feel hopeful that, now you have become general, our city will be more efficient and more famous in the art of war, and will defeat our enemies.”

  “I could wish,” answered Pericles, “that it might be as you say, Socrates; but how these changes are to come about I cannot see.”

  “Should you like to discuss them with me, then,” said Socrates, “and consider how they can be brought about?”

  “I should.” [2]

  “Do you know then, that in point of numbers the Athenians are not inferior to the Boeotians?”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Do you think that the larger number of fine, well-developed men could be selected from among the Boeotians or the Athenians?”

  “In that matter too they seem to be at no disadvantage.”

  “Which do you think are the more united?”

  “The Athenians, I should say, for many of the Boeotians resent the selfish behaviour of the Thebans. At Athens I see nothing of that sort.” [3]

  “And again, the Athenians are more ambitious and more high-minded than other peoples; and these qualities are among the strongest incentives to heroism and patriotic self-sacrifice.”

  “Yes, in these respects too the Athenians need not fear criticism.”

  “And besides, none have inherited a past more crowded with great deeds; and many are heartened by such a heritage and encouraged to care for virtue and prove their gallantry.”

  “All you have said is true, Socrates. [4] But, you see, since the disasters sustained by Tolmides and the Thousand at Lebadea and by Hipp
ocrates at Delium, the relations of the Athenians and Boeotians are changed: the glory of the Athenians is brought low, the pride of the Thebans is exalted; and now the Boeotians, who formerly would not venture, even in their own country, to face the Athenians without help from Sparta and the rest of the Peloponnese, threaten to invade Attica by themselves, and the Athenians, who formerly overran Boeotia, fear that the Boeotians may plunder Attica.” [5]

  “Ah, I am aware of that,” answered Socrates; “but the disposition of our city is now more to a good ruler’s liking. For confidence breeds carelessness, slackness, disobedience: fear makes men more attentive, more obedient, more amenable to discipline. The behaviour of sailors is a case in point. [6] So long as they have nothing to fear, they are, I believe, an unruly lot, but when they expect a storm or an attack, they not only carry out all orders, but watch in silence for the word of command like choristers.” [7]

  “Well,” exclaimed Pericles, “if they are now in the mood for obedience, it seems time to say how we can revive in them a longing for the old virtue and fame and happiness.” [8]

  “If then,” said Socrates, “we wanted them to claim money that others held, the best way of egging them on to seize it would be to show them that it was their fathers’ money and belongs to them. As we want them to strive for pre-eminence in virtue, we must show that this belonged to them in old days, and that by striving for it they will surpass all other men.” [9]

  “How then can we teach this?”

  “I think by reminding them that their earliest ancestors of whom we have any account were, as they themselves have been told, the most valiant.” [10]

  “Do you refer to the judgment of the gods, which Cecrops delivered in his court because of his virtue?”