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 a 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. This book offers a new, literal translation of the discourse by Carnes Lord, followed by a detailed commaentary by the well-known political theorist Leo Strauss.