Page:Xenophon by Alexander Grant.djvu/112

102 to Socrates was poor and limited; it tells us about Socrates as a man, but obliges us to seek Socrates the philosopher in the imaginative pages of Plato. And the worst is that we are left in doubt—a doubt which can never be removed—how far, in representing the philosophical tenets of Socrates, Plato has attributed to him too much, and Xenophon too little. In bringing Xenophon's 'Memorabilia' to the knowledge of English readers, we must leave philosophical formulæ out of the question, and give shortly such of the recorded sayings as may seem most interesting.

Socrates, it appears, made a point of not departing from conformity with the usual religious ceremonies of his country. He also encouraged others in the use of divination, while he himself relied on the intimations of his dæmon or familiar spirit. He appears to have divided the affairs of life into two classes, one falling under the domain of art and science, about which men might be perfectly certain by the use of their own reason, and on which therefore it would be absurd to consult the gods. The other class consisted of things uncertain in their issue—as, for instance, whether it would be of advantage to make a particular marriage; and on such subjects he advised that the gods should be consulted by means of augury.

He disapproved, according to Xenophon, of the speculations, so common among philosophers, into the nature and origin of the universe. He thought that such inquiries could lead to no certainty, and produced no result. He considered "the proper study of mankind" to be "man." And he professed to limit him-