Memorabilia (original title in ) is a collection of Socratic dialogues by Xenophon, a student of Socrates. The lengthiest and most famous of Xenophon's Socratic writings, the Memorabilia is essentially an apologia (defense) of Socrates, differing from both Xenophon's Apology of Socrates to the Jury and Plato's Apology mainly in that the Apologies present Socrates as defending himself before the jury, whereas the former presents Xenophon's own defense of Socrates, offering edifying examples of Socrates' conversations and activities along with occasional commentary from Xenophon. Title Memorabilia is also known by its Latin title Commentarii and a variety of English translations (Recollections, Memoirs, Conversations of Socrates, etc.). Date of composition The Memorabilia was probably completed after 371 BC, as one passage (III.5) appears to assume the military situation after the Spartan defeat at the Battle of Leuctra in that year. Structure and contents The Memorabilia contains 39 chapters broken into four books; contains 7 chapters, contains 10 chapters, contains 14 chapters, and contains 8 chapters. The overall organization of the Memorabilia is not always easy to make out: Book I. After the direct defense of Socrates (I.1-I.2), the rest of consists of an account of Socrates' piety and self-control. Books II and III are devoted largely to showing how Socrates benefited his family, friends, and various Athenians who came to him for advice. Book IV turns to a more detailed account of how Socrates educated one particular student, Euthydemus. It includes an early example (possibly the earliest) of the Argument from Design (i.e. the Teleological Argument) (IV.3, anticipated already in I.4). Chapter 4 gives a related account of Natural Law. In the lengthy first two chapters of the work, Xenophon argues that Socrates was innocent of the formal charges against him: failure to recognize the gods of Athens, introduction of new gods, and corruption of the youth. In addition to arguing that Socrates was most pious, and, as the most self-controlled of men, the least likely to corrupt the youth, Xenophon deals with informal political accusations not directly addressed in the Apology of Plato (or Xenophon's own Apology). Xenophon defends Socrates against the charge that he led the youth of Athens to despise democracy as a regime, and defends Socrates' association with Critias, the worst of the Thirty Tyrants who briefly ruled Athens in 404-403, and Alcibiades, the brilliant renegade democratic politician and general. It has often been argued that Xenophon