Chapter 2, Memoirs of Socrates, Book II Summary and Analysis

Book II is composed of ten subsections. Xenophon opens by maintaining the Socrates always encouraged his friends and associates to be self-disciplined with respect to food, drink, sex, sleep, heat and the like. Xenophon then recounts a dialogue Socrates had with Aristippus to illustrate. Socrates maintains that the path of liberty means being neither the slave of the passions nor one who avoids them entirely. Socrates further argues that suffering caused through free action is more bearable than involuntary suffering and then recounts a story from Heracles to illustrate.

In the second subsection, Xenophon recounts a discussion between Socrates and his oldest son Lamprocles. The boy was getting angry with his mother, Xanthippe. They then have a philosophical dialogue about the nature of gratitude. Socrates maintains that Lamprocles has ample reason...