In 401 B.C., after having wasted his youth on Philosophy with Socrates, Xenophon joined a glorious band of 10,000 Greek mercenaries to accompany the vast horde of Cyrus the Younger to lay claim to the immortal throne of the Achaemenid Persian Empire
Damn fool Cyrus died in the first charge upon mighty Babylon
Abandoned in their camp overnight by their barbarian “allies,” the noble leaders of the Greeks met in parlay with the enemy host
Damn fools got their heads cut off
Leaderless, bereft of allies, surrounded by countless enemies, and thousands of miles from home, what do you suppose the 10,000 did?
Piss themselves? Hoard toilet paper? Freak out and blame one another?
Perhaps…even likely
But then they remembered their deepest traditions and began reasoning amongst themselves in an orderly manner, deliberating in good faith about the best ideas no matter who raised them, then acting as one in a forceful and deliberate manner.
That is why, in times of crisis, our Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, used to ask himself
(in Attic Greek of course, because he was a poly-math genius,) WWXD?
WWXD? = What would Xenophon do?
