Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus
Explain the story of the boys and the tunics from Book 1 Chapter 3 of Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus. How does it reveal the limits of the rule of law and private property?
Compare its critique of the rule of law to the critique of the rule of law that is entailed in Pheidippides’ argument for the justice of father-beating in Aristophanes’ Clouds.
How is Cyrus’ subsequent rule consistent with his judgment in the story of the boys and the tunics? In what ways does Xenophon suggest that the subversion of the rule of law and private property might be practically unwise despite their deficiencies?