The second source of our knowledge of Socrates is the four Socratic writings of Xenophon, one of the most attractive authors of antiquity. To begin to appreciate the special charms of Xenophon, however, we must first take up the question of his changing reputation through the centuries and his peculiar or idiosyncratic manner of writing. After a period of neglect in the 19th century, Xenophon is once again attracting serious scholarly study and is once again highly regarded, as a writer and thinker, as he was in antiquity. His writing is characterized by a gentle wit and irony, one that prefers to emphasize the good things while downplaying—but not quite ignoring—the bad or nasty side of life. Such refinement, once it is seen as the product of a comprehensive understanding and not naiveté, can make Xenophon’s writing all the more attractive. Of the four writings he devoted to the subject of Socrates, the longest is the Memorabilia (or Recollections), which attempts to establish Socrate