Another of Socrates ' students , Xenophon also wrote about Socrates . Plato , Xenophon , and Aristotle are the main sources for the historical Socrates ; however , Xenophon and Plato were direct disciples of Socrates , and presumably , they idealize him ; however , they wrote the only continuous descriptions of Socrates that have come down to us . Aristotle refers frequently , but in passing , to Socrates in his writings .