“Socrates’ own conversation was ever of human matters. Investigating what is pious, what is impious; what is beautiful, what is ugly; what is just, what is unjust; what is prudence, what is madness; what is courage, what is cowardice; what is a state, what is a statesman; what is government and what is a governor—these and others like them, knowledge of which made a gentleman, in his opinion, while ignorance could fairly be called slavishness.”
Xenophon, Memorabilia
It would be interesting to do a little self-study. What are the main topics of our conversation in any given day?
A common feature of the lives of great men is the quality of their conversation. Surely a certain percent of their conversation will be, as with the rest of us, about daily matters, or formalities of personal interactions. The overall difference between their conversation and ours is probably at the two ends: certain negative things don’t show up in their conversation at all, while certain positive things consistently do.
Xenophon’s account of Socrates is remarkable; and it fits with Plato’s account of him.
Human matters. The modifier ‘human’ here is not a restriction that excludes super-human matters. The emphasis is rather that the subject of his conversation was consistently the matters that most of all pertain to a truly human life. These matters—such as those listed by Xenophon—are what give context and meaning for everything else we might discuss, or do. In a sense, what else is there?
For Socrates, human life is such that the most important truths call for investigation, rumination, and digestion. With friends, and even strangers. Again and again. The object is not only to understand what justice or prudence are, but also the especially challenging matter of how we are to live them in the here and now of our life. This will demand certain kinds of intentional conversation, with my friends, my spouse, my parents, my mentors, my teachers, and others I simply meet along the way of life.
The content and direction of my conversation might be more in my power than I have realized.
Xenophon (430-354 B.C.) was a soldier, historian, and philosopher of Athens. Like Plato he wrote dialogues featuring Socrates as a great teacher. Among these dialogues are Oeconomicus, translated as The Estate Manager, in which he shares insight into the structure and principles of the ancient household, and also Memorabilia, in which he shares recollections of the life of Socrates.
Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
Thank you for your video and written thoughts. It occurs to me that initiating and directing an edifying conversation – the participation in which nourishes our intellects and hearts – requires a certain degree of courage. The ingrained habit to drift along with whatever matters are usually discussed – often trivial, often vain – is a force that must be overcome, yet with right judgement. For it is easy to conceive going too far in this direction, for instance: “How much is that house selling for, across the street?” -“Nay, friend – fie on such vanities; tell me, rather – what is the nature of justice?” In sum, we must strike a balance between being passive leaves in the conversational current, and being overbearing tyrants who, though virtuous, are too overbearing.
You hit it Brian. Initiating and directing an edifying conversation certainly requires courage and it also requires energy. I often feel lacking in both.
This reminds me of a conversation I made a stab at during last month’s Men of Honor prayer meeting at the Church Barn. There was a young man there that I had not met before so I spoke with him on something he might have noticed as he drove through the farm to the Church Barn. He promptly went off on a couple of topics only slightly related. He wanted to appear knowledgable, but it was my impression that his information came from the experience of sitting on the couch and watching the Discovery Channel.
I was heading toward using the Caspian horse as another example of the wonder of what God has created for us. The discussion would have been much more deep than what the Discovery Channel has to offer. Why would this young man seek the special meeting of Men of Honor ( it involved a lot of mosquito bites) if he were not looking for something deeper?
Perhaps I value my own knowledge gained through years of personal observation and experience too highly. The conversation was short lived and unsatisfying.
He could also quote chapter and verse from the Bible as well as the Preacher yet he seemed to lack understanding. A parrot can quote things too.
This cannot really be a project. With some people this type of conversation naturally arises, from the most mundane initial topic. In the example given above of how much the house across the street is selling for, some people would, without effort, go on very quickly to the aesthetics of houses, whether current fads for large yards or small yards are in line with the good life, etc. With most people, on the other hand, one senses rightly that anything on the level recommended by Xenophon would be seen as snooty, foolish, odd. The first type of person is a friend. The second type of person is a casual acquaintance. Both are to be respected, and respect means talking to each in a way proper to that person.