Rethink.

With many thanks to Matthew Blan. Quoted passages are from Xenophon’s Memorabilila, trans. Amy Bonnette. Ithaca: Cornell, 1994.

Part I | Part II | Part III

Socrates seems to tell a man named Aristarchus (“best ruler?”) that the way out of his financial woes is to run a sweatshop. Why does he give such crazy advice? In this part, we’ll go through the first two verses of the relevant chapter and outline some possibilities for who Aristarchus could be.

(II.7.1) Moreover, he tried to cure the perplexities of his friends – those that were due to ignorance, by his judgment, and those due to want, by teaching them to assist one another according to their capacity. I shall tell what I know of him in these matters as well. For when he saw once that Aristarchus was downcast, he said, “You seem to be burdened by something, Aristarchus. You should share your burden with your friends. For perhaps we might even lighten it somewhat for you.”

Comment: The general problem is “perplexities.” That subdivides into problems of “ignorance” and “want.” Ignorance can be cured with judgment; want with each working for the appropriate art and/or fraternity. The scheme betrays something curious. Aren’t “perplexities” more a problem of “ignorance” than “want?” Aren’t people who exercise reason properly or powerfully almost never in want? Socrates himself is remarkably continent.

Two other things to note. “Aristarchus” implies something like “best ruler.” There is no other record of this individual existing. “Friends” can be distinguished from “companions” in the Memorabilia (cf. Strauss, Xenophon’s Socrates). Everyone is a “friend” of Socrates; that’s part of the surface defense. Only a few are companions, who were in the Socratic circle.

(II.7.2) And Aristarchus said, “Indeed, Socrates, I am in great perplexity. For, since the city is in civil strife and many have fled to the Piraeus, so many of my abandoned sisters, nieces, and female cousins have come to me that there are fourteen free persons in my house. But we don’t get anything from our land, for the adversary prevails over it, nor from our houses, for there is a scarcity of human beings in the town, and no one is buying furniture. Nor can one borrow money anywhere; but, in my opinion, one is more likely to find it by seeking for it on the street than to get it by borrowing. Now it’s a hard thing, Socrates, to look on as one’s relatives are perishing, but it’s impossible to sustain so many in such circumstances.”

Comment: What sort of person is this “best ruler?” The city, assaulted by Sparta, has also fallen into civil strife. These are exceptionally difficult times, especially for one who may be a combination of an aristocrat and oligarch (note the “arist” + “arch” play on words, if I’m correct). I’m guessing land outside the city would probably belong to the aristocrats, businesses inside the city to oligarchs. In the democracy, the aristocrats become oligarchs may be doubly advantaged in peacetime and have access to quite a lot of credit. Is an aristocrat and oligarch a “noble and good” (perfect) gentleman? Not even close: he’s defending his watching his female relatives perish. We will learn that he still does retain access to quite a lot of credit (II.7.11).

Lots of themes are at play here. I cannot overstate how important “civil strife” is. Faction, according to Federalist 10, has been the death of popular government everywhere prior. A “noble and good” gentleman (kaloskaiagathos, an Athenian ideal) might be a guard against faction, a defender of – as well as one who respects – freedom. Inasmuch the aristocrat-oligarch combination has some sense of honor, he pays lip service to freedom, and maybe a bit more than lip service (II.7.3, II.7.6). At the same time, this is an emergency situation. One does need to recognize necessities and act prudently. The aristocrat-oligarch might be said to be the noble that can produce what is good. If that is the case, there is no need for prudence. What happens when the city is in dire need? Not just a collapse in things possessed, but a collapse of civic order. The very assumptions that establish the city are confronted with their self-contradiction. An aristocrat should be devoted to virtue, an oligarch by definition is devoted to wealth. The noble can be said to be the moral in many circumstances. What is noble is frequently not good for one’s ambition or survival.

• Perplexities of the City: Analysis and Discussion of Xenophon, Memorabilia II.7.6-7 (Part III)
• Perplexities of the City: Analysis and Discussion of Xenophon’s Memorabilia, II.7.3-5 (Part II)
• Rambling: Xenophon, Memorabilia, 1.1.15
• A Question of Wealth: On Xenophon, Memorabilia I 2.62
• Being, Appearance, Becoming: A Thought on Xenophon, Memorabilia III.10.6-8

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