Xenophon's Socratic Discourse: An Interpretation of the Oeconomicus

Xenophon's only true Socratic discourse, the Oeconomicus is a dialogue between Socrates and a gentleman-farmer on the art of household management and the art of farming as practiced on the gentleman's estate. It is generally acknowledged to be the oldest surviving work devoted to "economics," and it constitutes the classic statement of "economic" thought in ancient Greece. The dialogue examines the roles of husband and wife in the household and the division of labor between them, and considers the duties of the farm steward and the housekeeper. It discusses the goals of efficient management and the means for attaining these goals. Professor Strauss interprets every chapter of the discourse, pointing out the relationship of each part to the others. It also compares Xenophon's statements in this work to those in his other works and to the statements of other Greek writers. Strauss shows that Xenophon, who knew and admired Socrates, chose a subject particularly suitable for a Socratic discourse. The Oeconomicus, he maintains, is best understood as a profoundly ironic reply by Xenophon to Aristotphanes' treatment of Socrates in The Clouds. This work, the second of Strauss's trilogy on the writings of Xenophon, has a preface from Allan Bloom and a new foreword by Christopher Bruell, which places the work in perspective and admirably introduces it.