Gospel of Xenophon 2 · First Witness: Justice, the Citizen, and Duty
This book is written as a record. Where there are numbers, dates, and names, they are set down as they were.
2.1One day he climbed the wind-beaten slope of Lycabettus.
2.2A great number of anxious merchants and worn-out citizens followed behind him, wailing:
2.3"Teacher! Our wealth is destroyed by the war, and our hearts are heavy with dread of tomorrow!"
2.4Socrates sat down upon the ground and looked out over them. He stretched out both hands, and healed their minds with the power of the Logos, saying:
2.5"When you lose the goods of this world, you are blessed — for weight has been taken off you, and you may fly."
2.6"Hold this material world lightly. It is not the anchor that binds you; it is the scaffolding by which you climb to freedom."
2.7A merchant, ruined by a shipwreck, wept openly before them all.
2.8Socrates looked into his eyes and said:
2.9"Your ship was only scaffolding. It has fallen, but your reason stands whole."
2.10"Get up. A load has been lifted from you."
2.11The man's grief was healed on the instant.
2.12Three years later he had two ships again. He still came once a month to hear the teaching.