Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-09-28
4 Plea for xantippe.
.u. oar CONTRIBUTOR"

A Plea for Xantippe.
,vrH. "FAr CONTRIBUTION"
-. vss An unfortunate female whose
q synonym for "scold," whom the
"a NAV have judged too harshly, and,
ling her, I am constrained to write a
rs ~ cav can tell. It this late dav, what an.
los ~ irritations and insufferable vex.
:. resulted in rendering Xantippe the
.he was: She might have been, and
uu,htedlv was, an amiable young wo-
when socrates married her. As good
~ implies sort of easy indifference
Se cares of life, she must indeed have
o.sed eood.natured attributes, or she
n have inquired and found out how
Nv calculated Philosophy is to support
n;,v on. She probably knew very
* Socrates, except through reputa.
when he asked for and obtained her
She saw his name mentioned very
ucntly in the papers as the Great Phi
nher. She had heard him quoted as
or;tv in philosophical matters; had
wn half of Athens to flock together
the nurpose of listening to his talk.
had perhaps drowsed through one of
lectures herself.
er vanity was naturally gratified at be-
inc the wife of The Greatest Philos-
er In the World" as the lyceums invs
" billed him. Perhaps, In her girlish
ance and ignorance, she thought he
essed the philosophers stone she had
about, which transmutes every hing,
Excepting greenbacks, into gold Or
might have pictured him as some time
. the Presi Dental chair, and she mis-
Of the White House, as Horace Gree
EN-" and other well-known phi
nhers who had aspired to that exalted
on.
That a waking up it must have been
n she discovered what SORT of msn
crestest philosopher in the world real
Sas, and what an Improbable lire of
ness he pursued! As q classic though
tical Greek remarked, it was "all talk
no cider" 1t might have been most
Ilent philosophy that he gave the peo-
winning much applause, but it rarely
ght bread.
overcoming his repugnance to any
that would appear mercenary, he
red his hat to be passed around after
n his philosopbic bursts in the market.
some one invariably ran off with
ollection, besides stealing his hat. He
red Young Mems Christian Associa-
for nothing and found himself, and
led around the country on foot at his
apense, organizing schools in phi
biz, thereby seriously impairing his
philos optical apparatus.
fund that philosophers were gener-
but of money when rent became due,
only D epared to respond to calls from
butcher and baker with sage and philo-
|ical maxims and dispositions. Clean
] s they were sublimely Indifferent to,
they never were regular to their
) use to get up a good dinner for
ktes, as no one could tell when he
ID be at home to eat it. He washed
rarely, and let his hair grow long,
tly to the disgust of Xantiope, who
neat woman herself. So much
bped up was he in phil sophy that he
|ld only halt dress himself in the
hing, aud he appeared on he street so
b In his stocking feet that the boyf
bed him "Old Soc"
L would come to his house at q late
! of the night, bringing lot of brother
)osophers with him, and want Xantippe
et up and cook them supper. On
! occasions she would tell Socrates to
them some of his philosophy and let
hdigest that.
Aa wonder that the lie she was COM
VITO lead resulted in rendering Kan
peevish and cross. 1t would sour
Weetest disposition in the world, most
edly. Had she lived in our day she
Il have found an outlet for her i'll
or, as numerous testy and petulent fe-
now do, on the ros'rum; but Wo-
Rights were unkno wn in Xantippe's
80 she vented all her spleen upon her
and. She would have applied for
fce; but, alas for the disappointed and
atched ones of that period, Chicago
not then discovered.
u UcR6u w m6AC ~ vCAy VOL AoA AAhA
never he came home, and scolded,
ed and fumed day and night. She de.
ID if she were to marry again, and had
hoose between a natural philosopher
b natural born fool, she would take the
sure!
is not recorded, I believe, who made
hemlock tea which Socrates was COM
ID by his judges to drink as Q punish.
for setting q shiftless example before
Athenian youth, but l suspect it was
fppe herself, and l can imagine the
(rful alacrity with which she did it.
sublime philosophy which sustained
Is he drank the poison was doubtless
Pled by the heroic resignation with
ch Xantippe saw him depart.-Gnetn-
Early Days OF William L. Marcy.
CORRESPONDENT of the Liberal Chris-