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

by Xenophon

  He has been quoted as an instance of tenderness, and of resignation to Providence. As he was offering a sacrifice he was informed that Gryllus, his eldest son, had been killed at the battle of Mantinea. On this he tore the garland from his head; but when he was told that his son had died like a Greek, and given a mortal wound to the enemy’s general, he replaced the flowers on his head, and continued the sacrifice, exclaiming, that the pleasure he derived from the valor of his son was greater than the grief which his unfortunate death occasioned.

  His character is best painted in his life and writings. He was brave, generous, and affectionate; punctual and vigilant on duty; sagacious and enterprising in command; prudent and eloquent in council; a sincere friend; a magnanimous adversary; a liberal and enlightened statesman. As an author he is above criticism; and the beauty of his style adorns every subject of which he has treated. As an historian he has been thought deficient in dates; but his candor and fairness are generally acknowledged; and his political wisdom and military science have assisted to form some of the ablest politicians and generals of succeeding times.

  Corinth — believed by some historians to be where Xenophon died