Educating the Statesman - Hertog Foundation

In the second week of Political Studies, fellows will consider the proper education of the ambitious soul.

Our first seminar will explore Xenophon’s Education of Cyrus, among the greatest books on leadership ever written, but woefully understudied and deeply misunderstood. The book is fictional—a historical novel of sorts—yet philosophic in the depth and complexity of its treatment of politics and ambition. It is a profound portrait of the life of grand politics that features adventure, intrigue, betrayal, conquest, love, justice, beauty, freedom, tyranny, and death. No less an authority than Niccolò Machiavelli suggests that aspiring princes should exercise their minds by reading Xenophon and striving to imitate “the life of Cyrus.”

Our second seminar will focus on The Tempest, the story of how the Dukedom of Milan was lost and regained. Prospero’s study of the liberal arts contributes to his fall from power, but it also helps him preside over the small society of strange creatures on the remote island where the action of the play takes place. Through close study of one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, students will meditate on the kind of education we need to engage well in political life.

Image: Hermes-Sakkôn and Xenophon, Prado

Shilo Brooks on making great statesmen

This course is part of our residential Political Studies Program. Fellows participate in morning seminars and meet prominent men and women in public life over afternoon and evening sessions. Up to 32 fellows will be selected.

Faculty

Shilo Brooks

Shilo Brooks is Executive Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and Lecturer in the Department of Politics. He is author of Nietzsche’s Culture War, in addition to scholarly and journalistic articles on a variety of topics in politics and the humanities. His teaching and research interests lie in the history of political philosophy, politics and literature, and statesmanship.

Jenna Silber Storey

Jenna Silber Storey is a senior fellow in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies department at the American Enterprise Institute. She is the co-author of a book with Benjamin Storey: Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment.

Preview the Syllabus by Week/Session

Xenophon's Education of Cyrus

Session I

Readings:

Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus, Book I, Chs. 1–6

Discussion Questions:

What political problem does Xenophon say the Education of Cyrus provides a solution to? Why is Cyrus worthy of “wonder”?
What traits did Cyrus exhibit as a boy that made him extraordinary?
In what does the education of Cyrus consist? How does his education shape him?
What does Cyrus think justice is?
What message about virtue does Cyrus convey to his troops in Ch. 5? How does it differ from the traditional Persian teaching about virtue?

Session II

Readings:

Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus, Book II, Chs. 1–4, Book III, Chs. 1–3

Discussion Questions:

Why do the commoners and peers both vote that it is more just for the spoils of war to be distributed according to merit in battle instead of equally among all the participants?
Why does Cyrus send advanced notice to the Armenian, and why does he tell his troops to be cheerful and friendly toward Armenians?
How does Tigranes convince Cyrus not to kill his father? What role does moderation play in Tigranes’s appeal to Cyrus? What role does fear play?
Why did the Armenian execute the man that Tigranes used to “wonder at” when he was young? What should we make of Cyrus’s response?

Session III

Readings:

Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus, Book IV, Chs. 1–6, Book V, Chs. 1–5

Discussion Questions:

What is Cyrus’s argument for acquiring horses? What would he gain by acquiring them?
What is the disagreement between Cyrus and Cyaxares? How is this disagreement resolved? Why does Cyrus select the man he once kissed to be his spokesman?
Why do so many Medes show up to go on campaign with Cyrus?
Why is Cyaxares furious with Cyrus when he finds out about the campaign Cyrus has undertaken?
Is love voluntary or involuntary?
Why does Cyrus refuse to look at the beautiful Susan woman?
Why is Gadatas introduced in the book on love? Why does he leave Cyrus his entire estate?
How is Cyrus impoverishing Cyaxares by enriching him?

Session IV

Readings:

Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus, Book VI, Chs. 1–4, Book VII, Chs. 1–5

Discussion Questions:

How does Cyrus reward Araspus for acting as a spy?
What does Abradatus volunteer to do? Why is this a dire situation?
What is the significance of Panthea having her jewels crushed up to make Abradatus’s armor?
Why does Panthea say that she would rather be dead than live on earth in shame?
Did Cyrus treat Panthea as nobly as she believes? (Consider the situation of Araspus)
Why is Cyrus amazed by Croesus?
What does Cyrus offer Panthea in exchange for Abradatus’s death? Why is it not good enough?
Why is Cyrus both stunned by Panthea’s death and admiring of her willingness to die?
What problems does Cyrus face in maintaining the virtue of the Persian peers now that he (and they) are no longer on campaign? “I think it is a great work to gain an empire, but it is an even much greater work to keep one safe after taking it”

Session V

Readings:

Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus, Book VIII, Chs. 1–8

Discussion Questions:

Why did Cyrus want his friends to report to him each day and how did he compel them to do so?
How does Cyrus “bewitch” his subjects? Why is this bewitching necessary? What role do appearances play in the empire?
How does Cyrus make himself loved
Is Pheraulas happy now that Cyrus has made him rich?
Why does Cyrus take such severe measures to secure his empire?
In his final speech, Cyrus insists that people must SAY he was happy after he dies, and that he desires to obtain the MEMORY of being happy. Was Cyrus happy during his life? Why is he so concerned about what people say about him, and what is Xenophon trying to suggest about Cyrus?
Why does Cyrus predict that his younger son will be much happier than his older son?
In the last paragraph of the book, Xenophon states that he has “accomplished what I proposed.” What exactly did he propose, and what did he accomplish?

The Tempest

Session I

Readings:

Act I

Session II

Readings:

Act II

Session III

Readings:

Act III

Session IV

Readings:

Act IV

Session V

Readings:

Act V

WHO SHOULD APPLY

Any college or university undergraduate, or very recent graduate (2024 or 2025) not already pursuing an advanced degree, may apply to the Political Studies Program.

Admission is extremely competitive, and every year we decline admission to many highly qualified applicants simply due to lack of space. A typical competitive applicant will have:

An undergraduate GPA > 3.5
A statement of purpose that tells us how the applicant’s interests and ambitions relate to the preferred program. The statement of purpose is very important and deserves careful attention.
An academic writing sample that demonstrates the applicant’s powers of analysis and independent thought, and not only their ability to do scholarly research or comment on a text.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

CV OR RÉSUMÉ
PERSONAL STATEMENT

Describe, in 1,000 words or less, the political questions you find most interesting, your future ambitions, and how these relate to your preferred program(s).
A COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT

Unofficial
AN ACADEMIC WRITING SAMPLE

12 pages maximum; double-spaced. Please send academic writing that best showcases your ability to invent and sustain a persuasive argument, no matter the subject-matter.
ACADEMIC LETTER & REFERENCE

Provide the name and contact information of a professor, mentor, or supervisor. (Letter not required for nominated applicants.)

Apply Now

Alumni Spotlight

Amanda Wynter

Amanda Wynter has written for The Atlantic, and worked as an Atlantic Media Research Fellow at National Journal. She came to Political Studies from Georgetown University, where she majored in Government, with a minor in Political Philosophy.

“Hertog gives people the opportunity to think about politics for an extended period of time with other people who are also interested in doing the same thing. The mindset Hertog puts you in is specifically defined by developing a reverence for old texts while also looking at contemporary issues. The juxtaposition of those two activities is critical, and I don’t think students can get that in everyday college classes where you’re either focused on reading Plato in Ancient Greek or reading The Washington Post.”

Amanda Wynter

Current Position:

Product Manager, Google
Past:

FiscalNote, National Journal, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
Education:

Georgetown University

HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT THE HERTOG FOUNDATION? WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO APPLY?

A friend of mine at Georgetown from political theory circles was an alum of Political Studies, and he suggested that the Program was something I would really benefit from and enjoy. At the time, I had recently transferred schools within Georgetown from security studies to political philosophy, and Hertog looked like a chance to delve deeper into the examination of big political ideas. That aspect of the Program was definitely attractive to me, and it proved to be really valuable.

TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR CAREER PATH.

Eventually I want to go to graduate school, and ultimately I see myself teaching at the university level. Political Studies was my first glimpse of what a life in academia would look like. Spending time around graduate students and other university students interested in entering the academy was certainly informative and influential.

Right now, I’m working for a research team that looks at government affairs from a business perspective. Since I was a government major in school, working in government affairs now lines up well. But it was my time at Hertog that really put me on the first path towards looking at politics writ large.

WHAT STICKS OUT IN YOUR MEMORY ABOUT YOUR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH POLITICAL STUDIES?

During Political Studies, I spent one of the weeks in the bioethics course. I found that really wrestling with questions of ethics and morality and the way that plays into policy was extremely valuable. I had never been exposed to such drastically different perspectives.

We had people there with views across the entire political spectrum, which I think is one of Hertog’s biggest accomplishments. Getting people who think completely different things into the same room and opening a dialogue is hard, but it was a hallmark of Political Studies. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people with whom to flesh out those ideas.

OVERALL, WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF POLITICAL STUDIES?

First and foremost, Hertog gives people the opportunity to think about politics for an extended period of time with other people who are also interested in doing the same thing. Though you have a similar experience in universities, the mindset Hertog puts you in is specifically defined by developing a reverence for old texts while also looking at contemporary issues.

The juxtaposition of those two activities is critical, and I don’t think students can get that in everyday college classes where you’re either focused on reading Plato in Ancient Greek or reading The Washington Post. Being able to do both at the same time, and furthermore, being expected to do both at the same time, is very important.

DO YOU THINK HERTOG PROGRAMS ARE BENEFICIAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN JOURNALISM?

Hertog is great for people interested in journalism. The crux of journalism is writing about ideas, and Hertog gets you thinking about big ideas. Political Studies also gives you exposure to important organizations and the different parts of DC, which is definitely beneficial.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?

Hopefully by that time I’ll have finished a Ph.D. and won’t be struggling through lonely nights with Rousseau and ramen. The actual teaching part I would be willing to wait for—first, I want to either travel and explore cultures and political issues through different lenses, or work in a specific sector like education or technology.

Hands-on experience will give me better sense of how to look at certain topics, and thus enable me to teach others how to look at them. Whatever happens, I want to be reading good things, and talking to good people about them.