



Produced by John Bickers





THE ECONOMIST

By Xenophon

Translation by H. G. Dakyns




     Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a
     pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans,
     and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land
     and property in Scillus, where he lived for many
     years before having to move once more, to settle
     in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.



     The Economist records Socrates and Critobulus in
     a talk about profitable estate management, and a
     lengthy recollection by Socrates of Ischomachus'
     discussion of the same topic.



PREPARER'S NOTE

     This was typed from Dakyns' series, "The Works of Xenophon," a
     four-volume set. The complete list of Xenophon's works (though
     there is doubt about some of these) is:

     Work                                   Number of books

     The Anabasis                                         7
     The Hellenica                                        7
     The Cyropaedia                                       8
     The Memorabilia                                      4
     The Symposium                                        1
     The Economist                                        1
     On Horsemanship                                      1
     The Sportsman                                        1
     The Cavalry General                                  1
     The Apology                                          1
     On Revenues                                          1
     The Hiero                                            1
     The Agesilaus                                        1
     The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians   2

     Text in brackets "{}" is my transliteration of Greek text into
     English using an Oxford English Dictionary alphabet table. The
     diacritical marks have been lost.







The Economist

by Xenophon

Translation by H. G. Dakyns




THE ECONOMIST [1]

A Treatise on the Science of the Household in the form of a Dialogue



INTERLOCUTORS

Socrates and Critobulus

At Chapter VII. a prior discussion held between Socrates and Ischomachus
is introduced: On the life of a "beautiful and good" man.

In these chapters (vii.-xxi.) Socrates is represented by the author
as repeating for the benefit of Critobulus and the rest certain
conversations which he had once held with the beautiful and good
Ischomachus on the essentials of economy. It was a tete-a-tete
discussion, and in the original Greek the remarks of the two speakers
are denoted by such phrases as {ephe o 'Iskhomakhos--ephen egio}--"said
(he) Ischomachus," "said I." (Socrates) To save the repetition of
expressions tedious in English, I have, whenever it seemed help to do
so, ventured to throw parts of the reported conversations into dramatic
form, inserting "Isch." "Soc." in the customary way to designate the
speakers; but these, it must be borne in mind, are merely "asides"
to the reader, who will not forget that Socrates is the narrator
throughout--speaking of himself as "I," and of Ischomachus as "he," or
by his name.--Translator's note, addressed to the English reader.




I

I once heard him [2] discuss the topic of economy [3] after the
following manner. Addressing Critobulus, [4] he said: Tell me,
Critobulus, is "economy," like the words "medicine," "carpentry,"
"building," "smithying," "metal-working," and so forth, the name of a
particular kind of knowledge or science?

 [1] By "economist" we now generally understand "political economist,"
    but the use of the word as referring to domestic economy, the
    subject matter of the treatise, would seem to be legitimate.

 [2] "The master."

 [3] Lit. "the management of a household and estate." See Plat. "Rep."
    407 B; Aristot. "Eth. N." v. 6; "Pol." i. 3.

 [4] See "Mem." I. iii. 8; "Symp." p. 292.

Crit. Yes, I think so.

Soc. And as, in the case of the arts just named, we