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Cyropaedia (Education of Cyrus)
Cyropaedia
also: Paideia Kyrou, Cyropaedia
Xenophon's quasi-historical prose work on the upbringing and reign of Cyrus the Great, idealizing him as the model just ruler and commander. Cicero says in Fam. 9.25 that he had worn the book to shreds with reading and now puts its lessons into practice as a provincial commander.
Reading notes
- Ad Atticum 2.3 §2 know that you find fault with the
Xenophon's Cyropaedia, the idealized education of Cyrus the Great; Cicero jokes that his narrow villa windows follow its prescriptions. The pun runs into the next sentence, where "Cyrus" is his architect, not the Persian king.
- Ad Familiares 9.25 §1 The Cyropaedia
Xenophon's Cyropaedia ('Education of Cyrus') idealizes Cyrus the Great as the model just ruler and commander. Cicero says he had worn his copy to shreds in reading and now 'unfolds it entire' in actual command -- a learned joke that his governorship is the practical test of the bookish ideal.