Biographical fiction; Cyrus, King of Persia, -529 B.C. -- Fiction; Education of princes -- Fiction
C1.4, med. An Eastern picture. She is one of the Bible women, as Gadatas
and Gobryas are brothers of Barzillai; she is sister of Ruth or Susanna
or Judith or Bathsheba. Perhaps she is nobler than any of them. She
is also the sister of the Greek tragedy women, Antigone, Alcestis;
especially Euripidean is she: no doubt she is sister to the great women
of all lands.
C1.10 ff. Xenophon, Moralist. Cf. _Memorabilia_ for a similar
philosophical difficulty about the will and knowledge. And for this
raising of ethical problems in an artistic setting of narrative, cf.
Lyly. I see a certain resemblance between the times and the writers'
minds. _Vide_ J. A. Symonds on the predecessors of Shakespeare.
Araspas' point is that these scamps have only themselves to blame, being
{akrateis}, and then they turn round and accuse love. (We are thrown
back on the origin of {akrasia}: _vide Memorabilia_ [e.g. I. ii. v.; IV.
v.] for such answer as we can get to that question.) Whereas the {kaloi
kagathoi} desire strongly but can curb their desires.
C1.13. Shows a confidence in the healthy action of the will. When
Araspas himself is caught later on he develops the theory of a double
self, a higher and a lower (so hgd., and so, I think, Xenophon and
Socrates. _Vide Memorabilia_).
C1.16, fin. Cyrus || Socrates, his prototype here.
C1.18. Very natural and beautiful. Xenophon sympathetic with such a
beautiful humanity. The woman's nature brought out by these touches.
Xenophon, Dramatist: the moral problem is subordinate, that is to say,
is made to grow out of the dramatic action and characterisation.
C1.20. Notice the absolutely fair and warrantable diplomatic advantage
given to the archic man: each step he takes opens up new avenues of
progress. Herein is fulfilled "to him who hath shall be given," but
Cyrus plays his part also, he has the wisdom of serpents with the
gentleness of doves.
C1.21. This is the true rhetoric, the right road to persuasiveness, to
be absolutely frank.
C1.24. The desire to be ruled by the archic man, which the
archomenoi--i.e. all men--feel, is thus manifest. Notice again how the
Mede's own character is maintained: he speaks as he felt then.
C2.8. The bridegroom will be found to be Hystaspas; but we have no
suspicion as yet, without looking on.
C2.9. In this interview Cyrus' character still further developed. _Ex
ore Cyri._, Xenophon propounds his theory of the latent virtue in man,
which only needs an opportunity to burst forth, but, this lacking,
remains unrevealed. Now it is a great godsend to get such a chance. It
is thoroughly Hellenic, or Xenophon-Socratic, this feeling, "Give me
a chance to show my virtue." (But has Cyrus a touch of superhuman
conscious rectitude?)
C2.12. The same thought again: it is full of delicacy and spiritual
discernment: the more one ponders it the more one feels that.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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