Same question, different answers

He ate only so much as to make eating pleasant, and came to his meals in such a condition that appetite was his best sauce. Every kind of drink was pleasant to him, because he drank only when he was thirsty. And whenever he accepted an invitation to dinner, he easily resisted what most people find very difficult — eating beyond the point of satisfaction."

In The Memorabilia, an extended defense and portrayal of Socrates — whom many regard as the first Western moral philosopher — Xenophon (c. 430-355/354 BC), the Greek philosopher and historian who knew him personally, portrays his mentor as a man who trained his body to enjoy ordinary pleasures without becoming their slave and turned daily life into an exercise of virtue.

This differs markedly from the Socrates of Plato, his other, far more famous student. In Plato's dialogues, Socrates questions, tests, and turns arguments upon themselves, often exposing how little his interlocutors truly know. Conversations frequently end not with a solution, but with aporia — a bewildering recognition of ignorance.

"In Plato's dialogues, Socrates emerges as a highly analytical and argumentative philosopher, and the discussions become extremely intellectually demanding. By contrast, Xenophon's Socrates is constantly in conversation with ordinary people, discussing questions closely connected to everyday life. What happens when you lack self-discipline or moderation? What if you neglect your physical health, fail to honor your parents, or don't get along with your siblings? These are the kinds of problems ordinary people encounter, and Xenophon's Socrates responds with guidance and moral counsel," said Peng Lei, a professor of Western classics at Renmin University of China. Earlier this year, Peng published a Chinese translation of Xenophon's four surviving works on Socrates, titled The Four Books of Xenophon, with Shanghai Translation Publishing House.

"Taken together, Xenophon's four Socratic works form an extended defense of Socrates, reconstructing him not as the corrupter of youth or the impious eccentric condemned by Athens — a condemnation that led to his execution by hemlock in 399 BC — but, on the contrary, as someone who, in Xenophon's own words, sought to 'benefit to the greatest extent those who dealt with him'," said Peng.

The Memorabilia, the longest of the four, presents Socrates as a moral educator concerned with self-control, justice, piety, friendship, and education. Oeconomicus, or "On Household Management", turns to farming, wealth, leadership, and the cultivation of excellence, revealing his concern with the practical art of living well.

"This argument — that it is desirable to die while one's physical and mental faculties are still intact — is a familiar one, and one that is easy for people, both then and now, to understand and accept," said Peng. He contrasted Xenophon's pragmatic reasoning with Socrates' contemplation of death in Plato's Phaedo, where philosophy becomes a preparation for death, and Socrates develops dialectical and metaphysical arguments for the soul's immortality.

When Socrates died in 399 BC, he was about 70, while Plato and Xenophon were still roughly 30. Neither was present at his final moments: Plato was reportedly ill, while Xenophon was away with Cyrus the Younger's expedition in Persia. Yet they responded differently to his death. Socrates left no writings, but Plato largely effaced himself, allowing his mentor's voice to carry the philosophical argument through dialogue. Xenophon, by contrast, defended Socrates, often writing in the first person and drawing on personal memory and testimony.

"I will first tell what I once heard him say," Xenophon introduces a conversation in The Memorabilia with these words. Peng observes that this habit of placing himself within his account characterizes his writing. Unlike Plato, who established the Academy and devoted himself to the life of the mind, Xenophon was drawn into war, leadership and political upheaval.