Tag: Judaism

Topics

Books

Response to Frankfurt’s “Word of Principle”

– "Antwort auf das 'Prinzipielle Wort' der Frankfurter," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 9 (30 Jan. 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: One should not let oneself be deceived by the political demands of Walter Moses.  What he calls “political” is political in the ancient sense of the word, rather than… More

A Note on the Discussion of “Zionism and Anti-Semitism”

– "Anmerkung zur Diskussion uber Zionismus und Antisemitismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 83-84 (Sept. 28, 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: No fact has been more decisive for the liberation of the Jewish spirit from its galut-mentality [Galuth-Gesinnung] than that disruption of Jewish solidarity which found its most… More

The Zionism of Nordau

– "Der Zionismus bei Nordau," Der Jude, Vol. 7, No. 10-11 (October-November 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is the view of political Zionism that the plight of the Jews can only be alleviated by the establishment of a Jewish state, by the consolidation of the power of Jewish… More

Paul de Lagarde

– "Paul de Lagarde," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 1 (January 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jew is in need of an extraordinary measure of reflectiveness; while for the peoples of the world a distance is given from the start, he must first attain it by a great… More

Sociological Historiography?

– "Soziologische Geschichtsschreibung?" Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 3 (March 1924).  Reprinted Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Every author is measured first of all by the standard that he expressly acknowledges in his own work.  The best way to dispose of an author is therefore to prove that he fails to… More

Cohen’s Analysis of Spinoza’s Bible Science

– "Cohens Analyse der Bibel-Wissenchaft Spinozas," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 5-6 (May-June 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is typical of Hermann Cohen’s style that he couches the critique of an idea in the critique of the possibly accidental expression of that idea.  This is the way of our… More

Zionism and Orthodoxy

– "Zionismus und Orthodoxie," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 50 (June 24, 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.

Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers

– Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers, by Albert Levkowitz, Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 7 (July 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: In Contemporary Religious Thinkers: On Changes in the Modern Views of Life, which is a detailed review of the literature, Albert Levkowitz wants to acquaint with contemporary… More

Quellen des Zionismus

– "Quellen des Zionismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 77-78, 79 (Sept. 26, Oct. 3 1924).

On the Argument with European Science

– "On the Argument with European Science," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 10 (October 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Now and in future, this journal will report on works on the science of religion that, for the most part, are not animated by any specifically Jewish interest.  What right do we… More

Comment on Weinberg’s Critique

– "Comment on Weinberg's Critique," Der Judische Student, Vol. 22, No. 1-2 (February 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: What I presented at camp was the very preliminary result of my long-standing preoccupation with the problem of Zionism.  Since I never had the opportunity, either inside or… More

Ecclesia Militans

– "Ecclesia Militans," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 30, No. 36 (May 8, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jewish Church–as, here and elsewhere, we refer to the separatist Orthodoxy of Frankfurt–is on the offensive.  This fact is of interest to us, but it does not… More

Biblical History and Science

– "Biblical History and Science," Judische Rundschau, Vol 30, No. 88 (November 10, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: If, in the interest of genuine science, Dubnow turns against extraneous dogmas put ahead of science or dragged along by tradition, then, by so doing, he undoubtedly also turns… More

On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors

– "On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors," Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins zur Grundung Erhaltung einer Akademie fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums, Vol. 7 (1926).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Spinoza’s bible science is first of all a fact in the history of the sciences.  Spinoza has the undisputed merit of having established Bible science as a science “free… More

Review of The Future of an Illusion

– Review of The Future of an Illusion, by Sigmund Freud, Der Judische Student, Vol. 25, No. 4 (August 1928).  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The following remarks are meant as a call to develop the Zionist ideology in a direction in which it is not completely developed.  They follow The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund… More

Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism

– "Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism," Judische Wochenzeitung fur Kassel, Hessen und Waldeck, Vol. 6, No. 49 (13 December 1929).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Franz Rosenzweig’s idea, according to his express intention, was meant to be political.  This man, who as a thinker and a scholar made such great contributions to science,… More

Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, University of Chicago Press, 1997. Originally published as Die Religionskritik Spinozas als Grundlage seiner Bibelwissenschaft Untersuchungen zu Spinozas Theologisch-Politischem Traktat, Akademie-Verlag, 1930.
Excerpt from the preface to the English translation: Considerations like those sketched in the preceding paragraphs made one wonder whether an unqualified return to Jewish orthodoxy was not… More

Introductions to Pope ein Metaphysiker!

– Introductions to "Pope ein Metaphysiker!" "Sendschreiben an den Herrn Magister Lessing in Leipzig," "Kommentar zu den 'Termini der Logik' des Mose ben Maimon," and "Abhandlung über die Evidenz," Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1931.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

Introductions to Phadon

– Introducitons to Phadon, Abhandlung von der Unkorperlichkeit der menschlichen Seele, Uber einen schriftlichen Aufsatz des Herrn de Luc and Die Seele, Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1932.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

The Testament of Spinoza

– "The Testament of Spinoza," Bayerische Israelitische Gemeindezeitung, Vol. 8, No. 21 (1 November 1932).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Neutrality toward Spinoza set in once one was able to admit that the “modern worldview,” whose victory was decisively aided by Spinoza’s metaphysics, does not, or… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

On Abravanel’s Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching

– "On Abravanel's Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching," Isaac Abravanel: Six Lectures, ed. J. B. Trend and H. Leowe, Cambridge University Press, 1937.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.
Abravanel may be called the last of the Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages. He belongs to the Middle Ages, as far as the framework and the main content of his doctrine are concerned. It… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Review of John O. Riedl’s Edition of Errores Philosophorum

– Review of Errores Philosophorum, by Giles of Rome, ed. John O. Riedl, Church History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (March 1946).
Excerpt: The Errores is a valuable document of the thirteenth century conflict between the Christian teaching and the teaching of “the philosophers,” i.e., of Aristotle and the… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

Review of J. L. Talmon: The Nature of Jewish History

– Review of The Nature of Jewish History -- Its Universal Significance, by J. L. Talmon, Journal of Modern History, Vol. 29, No. 3 (September 1957).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: This is an earnest statement by a man who is both a Jew and a historian rather than a Jewish historian. According to him, the historian who studies the fate of the Jewish people… More

On the Basis of Hobbes’s Political Philosophy

– "On the Basis of Hobbes's Political Philosophy," What Is Political Philosophy?, The Free Press, 1959.  First printing of English original of "Les fondements de la philosophie politque de Hobbes," Critique, Vol. 10, No. 83 (April 1954).
Excerpt: We begin by wondering why we should study Hobbes.  This question implies that we doubt whether Hobbes’s teaching is the true teaching.  It implies, therefore, that our… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Notes on Maimonides’ Book of Knowledge

– "Notes on Maimonides' Book of Knowledge," Studies in Mysticism and Religion Presented to Gershom G. Scholem on His Seventieth Birthday by Pupils, Colleagues, and Friends, Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1967.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: If it is true that the Guide of the Perplexed is not a philosophic book but a Jewish book, it is surely not a Jewish book in the same manner in which the Mishneh Torah is a Jewish… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Introductory Essay to Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism

– "Introductory Essay," Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, by Hermann Cohen, 1972.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: I doubt whether I am the best mediator between Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) and the present-day American reader.   I grew up in an environment in which Cohen was the center of… More

Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings

– Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings as well as Sache Gottes oder die gerettete Vorsehung, Moses Mendelssohn: Gesammelte Schriften Jubilaumsausgabe, Band 3, 1974.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: Gesammelte Schriften, Band 2.

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy

– "The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy," Independent Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 3 (1979).
Excerpt: When we attempt to return to the roots of Western civilization , we observe soon that Western civilization has two r0ots which are in conflict with each other, the biblical and the… More

On the Interpretation of Genesis

– "On the Interpretation of Genesis," Revue francaise d'anthropologie, Vol. 21, No. 2 (January - March 1981).
Excerpt: I want to begin with the remark that I am not a biblical scholar; I am a political scientist specializing in political theory. Political theory is frequently said to be concerned… More

Progress or Return?

– "Progress or Return? The Contemporary Crisis in Western Civilization," Modern Judaism, Vol. 1, No. 1 (May 1981).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The title of this lecture indicates that progress has become a problem-that it could seem as if progress has led us to the brink of an abyss, and it is therefore necessary to… More

Note on Maimonides’ Letter on Astrology

– "Note on Maimonides' Letter on Astrology," Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.
Excerpt: The addressees of this Letter had asked Maimonides for his view about astrology.  After having praised their question, he says that if they had known his Mishneh Torah, they would… More

Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy

– Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.  Reprint: University of Chicago, 1986.
Whoever is concerned with political philosophy must face the fact that in the last two generations political philosophy has lost its credibility.  Political philosophy has lost its… More

How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy

– "How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy," The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism: An Introduction to the Thought of Leo Strauss, Thomas L. Pangle, ed., University of Chicago Press, 1989. Complete, unedited version published as "How to Study Medieval Philosophy," Interpretation, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Spring 1996).
Excerpt: The attempt to understand a philosopher of the past better than he understood himself presupposes that the interpreter considers his insight superior to the insight of the old… More

Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought

– Hillel Fradkin, "Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: It is therefore necessary to try to address not only his contributions to the understanding of medieval Jewish thought but the latter’s role in his general legacy. It is only… More

Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature

– John G. Gunnell, "Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Despite the impact of Leo Strauss on American political science and political theory, where, exactly, Strauss was “coming from,” in both senses of that phrase, has been… More

Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem

– Steven B. Smith, "Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Harold Bloom, the Yale literary critic, once described Leo Strauss as “political philosopher and Hebraic sage.”‘ This always seemed to me unusually prescient. For… More

A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas

– James V. Schall, "A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Leo Strauss often spoke of Jerusalem and Athens.2 He never spoke of Rome in the same context, never of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome. Western civilization, in his view, was… More

Blasphemy and Leo Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Dante Germino, "Blasphemy and Leo Strauss's Machiavelli," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: In 1966, I published a review article hailing Leo Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli as an instant classic. I also expressed some reservations or “second thoughts”… More

Why We Remain Jews

– "Why We Remain Jews: Can Jewish Faith and History Still Speak to Us?" Leo Strauss: Political Philosopher and Jewish Thinker, ed. Kenneth L. Deutsch and Walter Nicgorski, Rowman and Littlefield, 1994.
Excerpt: I take more serious cases; first, the anti-Judaism of late classical antiquity, when we (and incidentally also the Christians) were accused by the pagan Romans of standing… More

Cohen und Maimuni

– "Cohen und Maimuni," Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2, Heinrich Meier, ed.,  1997.

Freud on Moses and Monotheism

– "Freud on Moses and Monotheism," Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity, Kenneth Hart Green, ed., State University of New York Press, 1997.
Excerpt: The first sentence is: “To deny a people the man whom it praises as the greatest of its sons is not a deed to be undertaken lightheartedly–especially by one belonging… More

Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher

– Eugene R. Sheppard, Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher, Brandeis University Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Born in rural Hesse, Germany, Leo Strauss (1899-1973) became an active Zionist and philosopher during the tumultuous and fractious Weimar Republic. As Eugene R. Sheppard… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… More

Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker

– Steven Smith, "Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker," Yale University, February 14, 2008.
Steven Smith of Yale University lectures on Leo Strauss as Jewish Thinker.

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn

– Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn, translated and edited by Martin D. Yaffe, University of Chicago Press, 2012.
From the publisher: Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86) was the leading Jewish thinker of the German Enlightenment and the founder of modern Jewish philosophy. His writings, especially his… More

Essays

Response to Frankfurt’s “Word of Principle”

– "Antwort auf das 'Prinzipielle Wort' der Frankfurter," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 9 (30 Jan. 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: One should not let oneself be deceived by the political demands of Walter Moses.  What he calls “political” is political in the ancient sense of the word, rather than… More

A Note on the Discussion of “Zionism and Anti-Semitism”

– "Anmerkung zur Diskussion uber Zionismus und Antisemitismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 83-84 (Sept. 28, 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: No fact has been more decisive for the liberation of the Jewish spirit from its galut-mentality [Galuth-Gesinnung] than that disruption of Jewish solidarity which found its most… More

The Zionism of Nordau

– "Der Zionismus bei Nordau," Der Jude, Vol. 7, No. 10-11 (October-November 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is the view of political Zionism that the plight of the Jews can only be alleviated by the establishment of a Jewish state, by the consolidation of the power of Jewish… More

Paul de Lagarde

– "Paul de Lagarde," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 1 (January 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jew is in need of an extraordinary measure of reflectiveness; while for the peoples of the world a distance is given from the start, he must first attain it by a great… More

Sociological Historiography?

– "Soziologische Geschichtsschreibung?" Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 3 (March 1924).  Reprinted Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Every author is measured first of all by the standard that he expressly acknowledges in his own work.  The best way to dispose of an author is therefore to prove that he fails to… More

Cohen’s Analysis of Spinoza’s Bible Science

– "Cohens Analyse der Bibel-Wissenchaft Spinozas," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 5-6 (May-June 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is typical of Hermann Cohen’s style that he couches the critique of an idea in the critique of the possibly accidental expression of that idea.  This is the way of our… More

Zionism and Orthodoxy

– "Zionismus und Orthodoxie," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 50 (June 24, 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.

Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers

– Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers, by Albert Levkowitz, Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 7 (July 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: In Contemporary Religious Thinkers: On Changes in the Modern Views of Life, which is a detailed review of the literature, Albert Levkowitz wants to acquaint with contemporary… More

Quellen des Zionismus

– "Quellen des Zionismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 77-78, 79 (Sept. 26, Oct. 3 1924).

On the Argument with European Science

– "On the Argument with European Science," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 10 (October 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Now and in future, this journal will report on works on the science of religion that, for the most part, are not animated by any specifically Jewish interest.  What right do we… More

Comment on Weinberg’s Critique

– "Comment on Weinberg's Critique," Der Judische Student, Vol. 22, No. 1-2 (February 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: What I presented at camp was the very preliminary result of my long-standing preoccupation with the problem of Zionism.  Since I never had the opportunity, either inside or… More

Ecclesia Militans

– "Ecclesia Militans," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 30, No. 36 (May 8, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jewish Church–as, here and elsewhere, we refer to the separatist Orthodoxy of Frankfurt–is on the offensive.  This fact is of interest to us, but it does not… More

Biblical History and Science

– "Biblical History and Science," Judische Rundschau, Vol 30, No. 88 (November 10, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: If, in the interest of genuine science, Dubnow turns against extraneous dogmas put ahead of science or dragged along by tradition, then, by so doing, he undoubtedly also turns… More

On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors

– "On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors," Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins zur Grundung Erhaltung einer Akademie fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums, Vol. 7 (1926).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Spinoza’s bible science is first of all a fact in the history of the sciences.  Spinoza has the undisputed merit of having established Bible science as a science “free… More

Review of The Future of an Illusion

– Review of The Future of an Illusion, by Sigmund Freud, Der Judische Student, Vol. 25, No. 4 (August 1928).  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The following remarks are meant as a call to develop the Zionist ideology in a direction in which it is not completely developed.  They follow The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund… More

Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism

– "Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism," Judische Wochenzeitung fur Kassel, Hessen und Waldeck, Vol. 6, No. 49 (13 December 1929).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Franz Rosenzweig’s idea, according to his express intention, was meant to be political.  This man, who as a thinker and a scholar made such great contributions to science,… More

Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, University of Chicago Press, 1997. Originally published as Die Religionskritik Spinozas als Grundlage seiner Bibelwissenschaft Untersuchungen zu Spinozas Theologisch-Politischem Traktat, Akademie-Verlag, 1930.
Excerpt from the preface to the English translation: Considerations like those sketched in the preceding paragraphs made one wonder whether an unqualified return to Jewish orthodoxy was not… More

Introductions to Pope ein Metaphysiker!

– Introductions to "Pope ein Metaphysiker!" "Sendschreiben an den Herrn Magister Lessing in Leipzig," "Kommentar zu den 'Termini der Logik' des Mose ben Maimon," and "Abhandlung über die Evidenz," Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1931.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

Introductions to Phadon

– Introducitons to Phadon, Abhandlung von der Unkorperlichkeit der menschlichen Seele, Uber einen schriftlichen Aufsatz des Herrn de Luc and Die Seele, Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1932.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

The Testament of Spinoza

– "The Testament of Spinoza," Bayerische Israelitische Gemeindezeitung, Vol. 8, No. 21 (1 November 1932).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Neutrality toward Spinoza set in once one was able to admit that the “modern worldview,” whose victory was decisively aided by Spinoza’s metaphysics, does not, or… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

On Abravanel’s Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching

– "On Abravanel's Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching," Isaac Abravanel: Six Lectures, ed. J. B. Trend and H. Leowe, Cambridge University Press, 1937.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.
Abravanel may be called the last of the Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages. He belongs to the Middle Ages, as far as the framework and the main content of his doctrine are concerned. It… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Review of John O. Riedl’s Edition of Errores Philosophorum

– Review of Errores Philosophorum, by Giles of Rome, ed. John O. Riedl, Church History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (March 1946).
Excerpt: The Errores is a valuable document of the thirteenth century conflict between the Christian teaching and the teaching of “the philosophers,” i.e., of Aristotle and the… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

Review of J. L. Talmon: The Nature of Jewish History

– Review of The Nature of Jewish History -- Its Universal Significance, by J. L. Talmon, Journal of Modern History, Vol. 29, No. 3 (September 1957).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: This is an earnest statement by a man who is both a Jew and a historian rather than a Jewish historian. According to him, the historian who studies the fate of the Jewish people… More

On the Basis of Hobbes’s Political Philosophy

– "On the Basis of Hobbes's Political Philosophy," What Is Political Philosophy?, The Free Press, 1959.  First printing of English original of "Les fondements de la philosophie politque de Hobbes," Critique, Vol. 10, No. 83 (April 1954).
Excerpt: We begin by wondering why we should study Hobbes.  This question implies that we doubt whether Hobbes’s teaching is the true teaching.  It implies, therefore, that our… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Notes on Maimonides’ Book of Knowledge

– "Notes on Maimonides' Book of Knowledge," Studies in Mysticism and Religion Presented to Gershom G. Scholem on His Seventieth Birthday by Pupils, Colleagues, and Friends, Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1967.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: If it is true that the Guide of the Perplexed is not a philosophic book but a Jewish book, it is surely not a Jewish book in the same manner in which the Mishneh Torah is a Jewish… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Introductory Essay to Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism

– "Introductory Essay," Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, by Hermann Cohen, 1972.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: I doubt whether I am the best mediator between Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) and the present-day American reader.   I grew up in an environment in which Cohen was the center of… More

Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings

– Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings as well as Sache Gottes oder die gerettete Vorsehung, Moses Mendelssohn: Gesammelte Schriften Jubilaumsausgabe, Band 3, 1974.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: Gesammelte Schriften, Band 2.

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy

– "The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy," Independent Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 3 (1979).
Excerpt: When we attempt to return to the roots of Western civilization , we observe soon that Western civilization has two r0ots which are in conflict with each other, the biblical and the… More

On the Interpretation of Genesis

– "On the Interpretation of Genesis," Revue francaise d'anthropologie, Vol. 21, No. 2 (January - March 1981).
Excerpt: I want to begin with the remark that I am not a biblical scholar; I am a political scientist specializing in political theory. Political theory is frequently said to be concerned… More

Progress or Return?

– "Progress or Return? The Contemporary Crisis in Western Civilization," Modern Judaism, Vol. 1, No. 1 (May 1981).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The title of this lecture indicates that progress has become a problem-that it could seem as if progress has led us to the brink of an abyss, and it is therefore necessary to… More

Note on Maimonides’ Letter on Astrology

– "Note on Maimonides' Letter on Astrology," Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.
Excerpt: The addressees of this Letter had asked Maimonides for his view about astrology.  After having praised their question, he says that if they had known his Mishneh Torah, they would… More

Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy

– Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.  Reprint: University of Chicago, 1986.
Whoever is concerned with political philosophy must face the fact that in the last two generations political philosophy has lost its credibility.  Political philosophy has lost its… More

How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy

– "How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy," The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism: An Introduction to the Thought of Leo Strauss, Thomas L. Pangle, ed., University of Chicago Press, 1989. Complete, unedited version published as "How to Study Medieval Philosophy," Interpretation, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Spring 1996).
Excerpt: The attempt to understand a philosopher of the past better than he understood himself presupposes that the interpreter considers his insight superior to the insight of the old… More

Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought

– Hillel Fradkin, "Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: It is therefore necessary to try to address not only his contributions to the understanding of medieval Jewish thought but the latter’s role in his general legacy. It is only… More

Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature

– John G. Gunnell, "Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Despite the impact of Leo Strauss on American political science and political theory, where, exactly, Strauss was “coming from,” in both senses of that phrase, has been… More

Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem

– Steven B. Smith, "Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Harold Bloom, the Yale literary critic, once described Leo Strauss as “political philosopher and Hebraic sage.”‘ This always seemed to me unusually prescient. For… More

A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas

– James V. Schall, "A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Leo Strauss often spoke of Jerusalem and Athens.2 He never spoke of Rome in the same context, never of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome. Western civilization, in his view, was… More

Blasphemy and Leo Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Dante Germino, "Blasphemy and Leo Strauss's Machiavelli," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: In 1966, I published a review article hailing Leo Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli as an instant classic. I also expressed some reservations or “second thoughts”… More

Why We Remain Jews

– "Why We Remain Jews: Can Jewish Faith and History Still Speak to Us?" Leo Strauss: Political Philosopher and Jewish Thinker, ed. Kenneth L. Deutsch and Walter Nicgorski, Rowman and Littlefield, 1994.
Excerpt: I take more serious cases; first, the anti-Judaism of late classical antiquity, when we (and incidentally also the Christians) were accused by the pagan Romans of standing… More

Cohen und Maimuni

– "Cohen und Maimuni," Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2, Heinrich Meier, ed.,  1997.

Freud on Moses and Monotheism

– "Freud on Moses and Monotheism," Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity, Kenneth Hart Green, ed., State University of New York Press, 1997.
Excerpt: The first sentence is: “To deny a people the man whom it praises as the greatest of its sons is not a deed to be undertaken lightheartedly–especially by one belonging… More

Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher

– Eugene R. Sheppard, Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher, Brandeis University Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Born in rural Hesse, Germany, Leo Strauss (1899-1973) became an active Zionist and philosopher during the tumultuous and fractious Weimar Republic. As Eugene R. Sheppard… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… More

Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker

– Steven Smith, "Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker," Yale University, February 14, 2008.
Steven Smith of Yale University lectures on Leo Strauss as Jewish Thinker.

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn

– Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn, translated and edited by Martin D. Yaffe, University of Chicago Press, 2012.
From the publisher: Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86) was the leading Jewish thinker of the German Enlightenment and the founder of modern Jewish philosophy. His writings, especially his… More

Commentary

Response to Frankfurt’s “Word of Principle”

– "Antwort auf das 'Prinzipielle Wort' der Frankfurter," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 9 (30 Jan. 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: One should not let oneself be deceived by the political demands of Walter Moses.  What he calls “political” is political in the ancient sense of the word, rather than… More

A Note on the Discussion of “Zionism and Anti-Semitism”

– "Anmerkung zur Diskussion uber Zionismus und Antisemitismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 83-84 (Sept. 28, 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: No fact has been more decisive for the liberation of the Jewish spirit from its galut-mentality [Galuth-Gesinnung] than that disruption of Jewish solidarity which found its most… More

The Zionism of Nordau

– "Der Zionismus bei Nordau," Der Jude, Vol. 7, No. 10-11 (October-November 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is the view of political Zionism that the plight of the Jews can only be alleviated by the establishment of a Jewish state, by the consolidation of the power of Jewish… More

Paul de Lagarde

– "Paul de Lagarde," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 1 (January 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jew is in need of an extraordinary measure of reflectiveness; while for the peoples of the world a distance is given from the start, he must first attain it by a great… More

Sociological Historiography?

– "Soziologische Geschichtsschreibung?" Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 3 (March 1924).  Reprinted Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Every author is measured first of all by the standard that he expressly acknowledges in his own work.  The best way to dispose of an author is therefore to prove that he fails to… More

Cohen’s Analysis of Spinoza’s Bible Science

– "Cohens Analyse der Bibel-Wissenchaft Spinozas," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 5-6 (May-June 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is typical of Hermann Cohen’s style that he couches the critique of an idea in the critique of the possibly accidental expression of that idea.  This is the way of our… More

Zionism and Orthodoxy

– "Zionismus und Orthodoxie," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 50 (June 24, 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.

Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers

– Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers, by Albert Levkowitz, Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 7 (July 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: In Contemporary Religious Thinkers: On Changes in the Modern Views of Life, which is a detailed review of the literature, Albert Levkowitz wants to acquaint with contemporary… More

Quellen des Zionismus

– "Quellen des Zionismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 77-78, 79 (Sept. 26, Oct. 3 1924).

On the Argument with European Science

– "On the Argument with European Science," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 10 (October 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Now and in future, this journal will report on works on the science of religion that, for the most part, are not animated by any specifically Jewish interest.  What right do we… More

Comment on Weinberg’s Critique

– "Comment on Weinberg's Critique," Der Judische Student, Vol. 22, No. 1-2 (February 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: What I presented at camp was the very preliminary result of my long-standing preoccupation with the problem of Zionism.  Since I never had the opportunity, either inside or… More

Ecclesia Militans

– "Ecclesia Militans," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 30, No. 36 (May 8, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jewish Church–as, here and elsewhere, we refer to the separatist Orthodoxy of Frankfurt–is on the offensive.  This fact is of interest to us, but it does not… More

Biblical History and Science

– "Biblical History and Science," Judische Rundschau, Vol 30, No. 88 (November 10, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: If, in the interest of genuine science, Dubnow turns against extraneous dogmas put ahead of science or dragged along by tradition, then, by so doing, he undoubtedly also turns… More

On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors

– "On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors," Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins zur Grundung Erhaltung einer Akademie fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums, Vol. 7 (1926).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Spinoza’s bible science is first of all a fact in the history of the sciences.  Spinoza has the undisputed merit of having established Bible science as a science “free… More

Review of The Future of an Illusion

– Review of The Future of an Illusion, by Sigmund Freud, Der Judische Student, Vol. 25, No. 4 (August 1928).  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The following remarks are meant as a call to develop the Zionist ideology in a direction in which it is not completely developed.  They follow The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund… More

Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism

– "Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism," Judische Wochenzeitung fur Kassel, Hessen und Waldeck, Vol. 6, No. 49 (13 December 1929).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Franz Rosenzweig’s idea, according to his express intention, was meant to be political.  This man, who as a thinker and a scholar made such great contributions to science,… More

Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, University of Chicago Press, 1997. Originally published as Die Religionskritik Spinozas als Grundlage seiner Bibelwissenschaft Untersuchungen zu Spinozas Theologisch-Politischem Traktat, Akademie-Verlag, 1930.
Excerpt from the preface to the English translation: Considerations like those sketched in the preceding paragraphs made one wonder whether an unqualified return to Jewish orthodoxy was not… More

Introductions to Pope ein Metaphysiker!

– Introductions to "Pope ein Metaphysiker!" "Sendschreiben an den Herrn Magister Lessing in Leipzig," "Kommentar zu den 'Termini der Logik' des Mose ben Maimon," and "Abhandlung über die Evidenz," Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1931.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

Introductions to Phadon

– Introducitons to Phadon, Abhandlung von der Unkorperlichkeit der menschlichen Seele, Uber einen schriftlichen Aufsatz des Herrn de Luc and Die Seele, Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1932.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

The Testament of Spinoza

– "The Testament of Spinoza," Bayerische Israelitische Gemeindezeitung, Vol. 8, No. 21 (1 November 1932).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Neutrality toward Spinoza set in once one was able to admit that the “modern worldview,” whose victory was decisively aided by Spinoza’s metaphysics, does not, or… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

On Abravanel’s Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching

– "On Abravanel's Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching," Isaac Abravanel: Six Lectures, ed. J. B. Trend and H. Leowe, Cambridge University Press, 1937.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.
Abravanel may be called the last of the Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages. He belongs to the Middle Ages, as far as the framework and the main content of his doctrine are concerned. It… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Review of John O. Riedl’s Edition of Errores Philosophorum

– Review of Errores Philosophorum, by Giles of Rome, ed. John O. Riedl, Church History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (March 1946).
Excerpt: The Errores is a valuable document of the thirteenth century conflict between the Christian teaching and the teaching of “the philosophers,” i.e., of Aristotle and the… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

Review of J. L. Talmon: The Nature of Jewish History

– Review of The Nature of Jewish History -- Its Universal Significance, by J. L. Talmon, Journal of Modern History, Vol. 29, No. 3 (September 1957).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: This is an earnest statement by a man who is both a Jew and a historian rather than a Jewish historian. According to him, the historian who studies the fate of the Jewish people… More

On the Basis of Hobbes’s Political Philosophy

– "On the Basis of Hobbes's Political Philosophy," What Is Political Philosophy?, The Free Press, 1959.  First printing of English original of "Les fondements de la philosophie politque de Hobbes," Critique, Vol. 10, No. 83 (April 1954).
Excerpt: We begin by wondering why we should study Hobbes.  This question implies that we doubt whether Hobbes’s teaching is the true teaching.  It implies, therefore, that our… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Notes on Maimonides’ Book of Knowledge

– "Notes on Maimonides' Book of Knowledge," Studies in Mysticism and Religion Presented to Gershom G. Scholem on His Seventieth Birthday by Pupils, Colleagues, and Friends, Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1967.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: If it is true that the Guide of the Perplexed is not a philosophic book but a Jewish book, it is surely not a Jewish book in the same manner in which the Mishneh Torah is a Jewish… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Introductory Essay to Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism

– "Introductory Essay," Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, by Hermann Cohen, 1972.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: I doubt whether I am the best mediator between Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) and the present-day American reader.   I grew up in an environment in which Cohen was the center of… More

Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings

– Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings as well as Sache Gottes oder die gerettete Vorsehung, Moses Mendelssohn: Gesammelte Schriften Jubilaumsausgabe, Band 3, 1974.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: Gesammelte Schriften, Band 2.

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy

– "The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy," Independent Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 3 (1979).
Excerpt: When we attempt to return to the roots of Western civilization , we observe soon that Western civilization has two r0ots which are in conflict with each other, the biblical and the… More

On the Interpretation of Genesis

– "On the Interpretation of Genesis," Revue francaise d'anthropologie, Vol. 21, No. 2 (January - March 1981).
Excerpt: I want to begin with the remark that I am not a biblical scholar; I am a political scientist specializing in political theory. Political theory is frequently said to be concerned… More

Progress or Return?

– "Progress or Return? The Contemporary Crisis in Western Civilization," Modern Judaism, Vol. 1, No. 1 (May 1981).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The title of this lecture indicates that progress has become a problem-that it could seem as if progress has led us to the brink of an abyss, and it is therefore necessary to… More

Note on Maimonides’ Letter on Astrology

– "Note on Maimonides' Letter on Astrology," Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.
Excerpt: The addressees of this Letter had asked Maimonides for his view about astrology.  After having praised their question, he says that if they had known his Mishneh Torah, they would… More

Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy

– Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.  Reprint: University of Chicago, 1986.
Whoever is concerned with political philosophy must face the fact that in the last two generations political philosophy has lost its credibility.  Political philosophy has lost its… More

How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy

– "How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy," The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism: An Introduction to the Thought of Leo Strauss, Thomas L. Pangle, ed., University of Chicago Press, 1989. Complete, unedited version published as "How to Study Medieval Philosophy," Interpretation, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Spring 1996).
Excerpt: The attempt to understand a philosopher of the past better than he understood himself presupposes that the interpreter considers his insight superior to the insight of the old… More

Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought

– Hillel Fradkin, "Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: It is therefore necessary to try to address not only his contributions to the understanding of medieval Jewish thought but the latter’s role in his general legacy. It is only… More

Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature

– John G. Gunnell, "Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Despite the impact of Leo Strauss on American political science and political theory, where, exactly, Strauss was “coming from,” in both senses of that phrase, has been… More

Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem

– Steven B. Smith, "Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Harold Bloom, the Yale literary critic, once described Leo Strauss as “political philosopher and Hebraic sage.”‘ This always seemed to me unusually prescient. For… More

A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas

– James V. Schall, "A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Leo Strauss often spoke of Jerusalem and Athens.2 He never spoke of Rome in the same context, never of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome. Western civilization, in his view, was… More

Blasphemy and Leo Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Dante Germino, "Blasphemy and Leo Strauss's Machiavelli," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: In 1966, I published a review article hailing Leo Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli as an instant classic. I also expressed some reservations or “second thoughts”… More

Why We Remain Jews

– "Why We Remain Jews: Can Jewish Faith and History Still Speak to Us?" Leo Strauss: Political Philosopher and Jewish Thinker, ed. Kenneth L. Deutsch and Walter Nicgorski, Rowman and Littlefield, 1994.
Excerpt: I take more serious cases; first, the anti-Judaism of late classical antiquity, when we (and incidentally also the Christians) were accused by the pagan Romans of standing… More

Cohen und Maimuni

– "Cohen und Maimuni," Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2, Heinrich Meier, ed.,  1997.

Freud on Moses and Monotheism

– "Freud on Moses and Monotheism," Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity, Kenneth Hart Green, ed., State University of New York Press, 1997.
Excerpt: The first sentence is: “To deny a people the man whom it praises as the greatest of its sons is not a deed to be undertaken lightheartedly–especially by one belonging… More

Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher

– Eugene R. Sheppard, Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher, Brandeis University Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Born in rural Hesse, Germany, Leo Strauss (1899-1973) became an active Zionist and philosopher during the tumultuous and fractious Weimar Republic. As Eugene R. Sheppard… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… More

Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker

– Steven Smith, "Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker," Yale University, February 14, 2008.
Steven Smith of Yale University lectures on Leo Strauss as Jewish Thinker.

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn

– Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn, translated and edited by Martin D. Yaffe, University of Chicago Press, 2012.
From the publisher: Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86) was the leading Jewish thinker of the German Enlightenment and the founder of modern Jewish philosophy. His writings, especially his… More

Multimedia

Response to Frankfurt’s “Word of Principle”

– "Antwort auf das 'Prinzipielle Wort' der Frankfurter," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 9 (30 Jan. 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: One should not let oneself be deceived by the political demands of Walter Moses.  What he calls “political” is political in the ancient sense of the word, rather than… More

A Note on the Discussion of “Zionism and Anti-Semitism”

– "Anmerkung zur Diskussion uber Zionismus und Antisemitismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 83-84 (Sept. 28, 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: No fact has been more decisive for the liberation of the Jewish spirit from its galut-mentality [Galuth-Gesinnung] than that disruption of Jewish solidarity which found its most… More

The Zionism of Nordau

– "Der Zionismus bei Nordau," Der Jude, Vol. 7, No. 10-11 (October-November 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is the view of political Zionism that the plight of the Jews can only be alleviated by the establishment of a Jewish state, by the consolidation of the power of Jewish… More

Paul de Lagarde

– "Paul de Lagarde," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 1 (January 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jew is in need of an extraordinary measure of reflectiveness; while for the peoples of the world a distance is given from the start, he must first attain it by a great… More

Sociological Historiography?

– "Soziologische Geschichtsschreibung?" Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 3 (March 1924).  Reprinted Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Every author is measured first of all by the standard that he expressly acknowledges in his own work.  The best way to dispose of an author is therefore to prove that he fails to… More

Cohen’s Analysis of Spinoza’s Bible Science

– "Cohens Analyse der Bibel-Wissenchaft Spinozas," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 5-6 (May-June 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is typical of Hermann Cohen’s style that he couches the critique of an idea in the critique of the possibly accidental expression of that idea.  This is the way of our… More

Zionism and Orthodoxy

– "Zionismus und Orthodoxie," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 50 (June 24, 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.

Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers

– Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers, by Albert Levkowitz, Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 7 (July 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: In Contemporary Religious Thinkers: On Changes in the Modern Views of Life, which is a detailed review of the literature, Albert Levkowitz wants to acquaint with contemporary… More

Quellen des Zionismus

– "Quellen des Zionismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 77-78, 79 (Sept. 26, Oct. 3 1924).

On the Argument with European Science

– "On the Argument with European Science," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 10 (October 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Now and in future, this journal will report on works on the science of religion that, for the most part, are not animated by any specifically Jewish interest.  What right do we… More

Comment on Weinberg’s Critique

– "Comment on Weinberg's Critique," Der Judische Student, Vol. 22, No. 1-2 (February 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: What I presented at camp was the very preliminary result of my long-standing preoccupation with the problem of Zionism.  Since I never had the opportunity, either inside or… More

Ecclesia Militans

– "Ecclesia Militans," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 30, No. 36 (May 8, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jewish Church–as, here and elsewhere, we refer to the separatist Orthodoxy of Frankfurt–is on the offensive.  This fact is of interest to us, but it does not… More

Biblical History and Science

– "Biblical History and Science," Judische Rundschau, Vol 30, No. 88 (November 10, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: If, in the interest of genuine science, Dubnow turns against extraneous dogmas put ahead of science or dragged along by tradition, then, by so doing, he undoubtedly also turns… More

On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors

– "On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors," Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins zur Grundung Erhaltung einer Akademie fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums, Vol. 7 (1926).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Spinoza’s bible science is first of all a fact in the history of the sciences.  Spinoza has the undisputed merit of having established Bible science as a science “free… More

Review of The Future of an Illusion

– Review of The Future of an Illusion, by Sigmund Freud, Der Judische Student, Vol. 25, No. 4 (August 1928).  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The following remarks are meant as a call to develop the Zionist ideology in a direction in which it is not completely developed.  They follow The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund… More

Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism

– "Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism," Judische Wochenzeitung fur Kassel, Hessen und Waldeck, Vol. 6, No. 49 (13 December 1929).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Franz Rosenzweig’s idea, according to his express intention, was meant to be political.  This man, who as a thinker and a scholar made such great contributions to science,… More

Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, University of Chicago Press, 1997. Originally published as Die Religionskritik Spinozas als Grundlage seiner Bibelwissenschaft Untersuchungen zu Spinozas Theologisch-Politischem Traktat, Akademie-Verlag, 1930.
Excerpt from the preface to the English translation: Considerations like those sketched in the preceding paragraphs made one wonder whether an unqualified return to Jewish orthodoxy was not… More

Introductions to Pope ein Metaphysiker!

– Introductions to "Pope ein Metaphysiker!" "Sendschreiben an den Herrn Magister Lessing in Leipzig," "Kommentar zu den 'Termini der Logik' des Mose ben Maimon," and "Abhandlung über die Evidenz," Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1931.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

Introductions to Phadon

– Introducitons to Phadon, Abhandlung von der Unkorperlichkeit der menschlichen Seele, Uber einen schriftlichen Aufsatz des Herrn de Luc and Die Seele, Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1932.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

The Testament of Spinoza

– "The Testament of Spinoza," Bayerische Israelitische Gemeindezeitung, Vol. 8, No. 21 (1 November 1932).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Neutrality toward Spinoza set in once one was able to admit that the “modern worldview,” whose victory was decisively aided by Spinoza’s metaphysics, does not, or… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

On Abravanel’s Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching

– "On Abravanel's Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching," Isaac Abravanel: Six Lectures, ed. J. B. Trend and H. Leowe, Cambridge University Press, 1937.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.
Abravanel may be called the last of the Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages. He belongs to the Middle Ages, as far as the framework and the main content of his doctrine are concerned. It… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Review of John O. Riedl’s Edition of Errores Philosophorum

– Review of Errores Philosophorum, by Giles of Rome, ed. John O. Riedl, Church History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (March 1946).
Excerpt: The Errores is a valuable document of the thirteenth century conflict between the Christian teaching and the teaching of “the philosophers,” i.e., of Aristotle and the… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

Review of J. L. Talmon: The Nature of Jewish History

– Review of The Nature of Jewish History -- Its Universal Significance, by J. L. Talmon, Journal of Modern History, Vol. 29, No. 3 (September 1957).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: This is an earnest statement by a man who is both a Jew and a historian rather than a Jewish historian. According to him, the historian who studies the fate of the Jewish people… More

On the Basis of Hobbes’s Political Philosophy

– "On the Basis of Hobbes's Political Philosophy," What Is Political Philosophy?, The Free Press, 1959.  First printing of English original of "Les fondements de la philosophie politque de Hobbes," Critique, Vol. 10, No. 83 (April 1954).
Excerpt: We begin by wondering why we should study Hobbes.  This question implies that we doubt whether Hobbes’s teaching is the true teaching.  It implies, therefore, that our… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Notes on Maimonides’ Book of Knowledge

– "Notes on Maimonides' Book of Knowledge," Studies in Mysticism and Religion Presented to Gershom G. Scholem on His Seventieth Birthday by Pupils, Colleagues, and Friends, Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1967.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: If it is true that the Guide of the Perplexed is not a philosophic book but a Jewish book, it is surely not a Jewish book in the same manner in which the Mishneh Torah is a Jewish… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Introductory Essay to Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism

– "Introductory Essay," Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, by Hermann Cohen, 1972.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: I doubt whether I am the best mediator between Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) and the present-day American reader.   I grew up in an environment in which Cohen was the center of… More

Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings

– Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings as well as Sache Gottes oder die gerettete Vorsehung, Moses Mendelssohn: Gesammelte Schriften Jubilaumsausgabe, Band 3, 1974.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: Gesammelte Schriften, Band 2.

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy

– "The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy," Independent Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 3 (1979).
Excerpt: When we attempt to return to the roots of Western civilization , we observe soon that Western civilization has two r0ots which are in conflict with each other, the biblical and the… More

On the Interpretation of Genesis

– "On the Interpretation of Genesis," Revue francaise d'anthropologie, Vol. 21, No. 2 (January - March 1981).
Excerpt: I want to begin with the remark that I am not a biblical scholar; I am a political scientist specializing in political theory. Political theory is frequently said to be concerned… More

Progress or Return?

– "Progress or Return? The Contemporary Crisis in Western Civilization," Modern Judaism, Vol. 1, No. 1 (May 1981).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The title of this lecture indicates that progress has become a problem-that it could seem as if progress has led us to the brink of an abyss, and it is therefore necessary to… More

Note on Maimonides’ Letter on Astrology

– "Note on Maimonides' Letter on Astrology," Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.
Excerpt: The addressees of this Letter had asked Maimonides for his view about astrology.  After having praised their question, he says that if they had known his Mishneh Torah, they would… More

Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy

– Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.  Reprint: University of Chicago, 1986.
Whoever is concerned with political philosophy must face the fact that in the last two generations political philosophy has lost its credibility.  Political philosophy has lost its… More

How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy

– "How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy," The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism: An Introduction to the Thought of Leo Strauss, Thomas L. Pangle, ed., University of Chicago Press, 1989. Complete, unedited version published as "How to Study Medieval Philosophy," Interpretation, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Spring 1996).
Excerpt: The attempt to understand a philosopher of the past better than he understood himself presupposes that the interpreter considers his insight superior to the insight of the old… More

Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought

– Hillel Fradkin, "Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: It is therefore necessary to try to address not only his contributions to the understanding of medieval Jewish thought but the latter’s role in his general legacy. It is only… More

Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature

– John G. Gunnell, "Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Despite the impact of Leo Strauss on American political science and political theory, where, exactly, Strauss was “coming from,” in both senses of that phrase, has been… More

Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem

– Steven B. Smith, "Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Harold Bloom, the Yale literary critic, once described Leo Strauss as “political philosopher and Hebraic sage.”‘ This always seemed to me unusually prescient. For… More

A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas

– James V. Schall, "A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Leo Strauss often spoke of Jerusalem and Athens.2 He never spoke of Rome in the same context, never of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome. Western civilization, in his view, was… More

Blasphemy and Leo Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Dante Germino, "Blasphemy and Leo Strauss's Machiavelli," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: In 1966, I published a review article hailing Leo Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli as an instant classic. I also expressed some reservations or “second thoughts”… More

Why We Remain Jews

– "Why We Remain Jews: Can Jewish Faith and History Still Speak to Us?" Leo Strauss: Political Philosopher and Jewish Thinker, ed. Kenneth L. Deutsch and Walter Nicgorski, Rowman and Littlefield, 1994.
Excerpt: I take more serious cases; first, the anti-Judaism of late classical antiquity, when we (and incidentally also the Christians) were accused by the pagan Romans of standing… More

Cohen und Maimuni

– "Cohen und Maimuni," Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2, Heinrich Meier, ed.,  1997.

Freud on Moses and Monotheism

– "Freud on Moses and Monotheism," Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity, Kenneth Hart Green, ed., State University of New York Press, 1997.
Excerpt: The first sentence is: “To deny a people the man whom it praises as the greatest of its sons is not a deed to be undertaken lightheartedly–especially by one belonging… More

Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher

– Eugene R. Sheppard, Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher, Brandeis University Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Born in rural Hesse, Germany, Leo Strauss (1899-1973) became an active Zionist and philosopher during the tumultuous and fractious Weimar Republic. As Eugene R. Sheppard… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… More

Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker

– Steven Smith, "Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker," Yale University, February 14, 2008.
Steven Smith of Yale University lectures on Leo Strauss as Jewish Thinker.

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn

– Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn, translated and edited by Martin D. Yaffe, University of Chicago Press, 2012.
From the publisher: Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86) was the leading Jewish thinker of the German Enlightenment and the founder of modern Jewish philosophy. His writings, especially his… More

Teaching

Response to Frankfurt’s “Word of Principle”

– "Antwort auf das 'Prinzipielle Wort' der Frankfurter," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 9 (30 Jan. 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: One should not let oneself be deceived by the political demands of Walter Moses.  What he calls “political” is political in the ancient sense of the word, rather than… More

A Note on the Discussion of “Zionism and Anti-Semitism”

– "Anmerkung zur Diskussion uber Zionismus und Antisemitismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 28, No. 83-84 (Sept. 28, 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: No fact has been more decisive for the liberation of the Jewish spirit from its galut-mentality [Galuth-Gesinnung] than that disruption of Jewish solidarity which found its most… More

The Zionism of Nordau

– "Der Zionismus bei Nordau," Der Jude, Vol. 7, No. 10-11 (October-November 1923).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is the view of political Zionism that the plight of the Jews can only be alleviated by the establishment of a Jewish state, by the consolidation of the power of Jewish… More

Paul de Lagarde

– "Paul de Lagarde," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 1 (January 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jew is in need of an extraordinary measure of reflectiveness; while for the peoples of the world a distance is given from the start, he must first attain it by a great… More

Sociological Historiography?

– "Soziologische Geschichtsschreibung?" Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 3 (March 1924).  Reprinted Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Every author is measured first of all by the standard that he expressly acknowledges in his own work.  The best way to dispose of an author is therefore to prove that he fails to… More

Cohen’s Analysis of Spinoza’s Bible Science

– "Cohens Analyse der Bibel-Wissenchaft Spinozas," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 5-6 (May-June 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: It is typical of Hermann Cohen’s style that he couches the critique of an idea in the critique of the possibly accidental expression of that idea.  This is the way of our… More

Zionism and Orthodoxy

– "Zionismus und Orthodoxie," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 50 (June 24, 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.

Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers

– Review of Contemporary Religious Thinkers, by Albert Levkowitz, Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 7 (July 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: In Contemporary Religious Thinkers: On Changes in the Modern Views of Life, which is a detailed review of the literature, Albert Levkowitz wants to acquaint with contemporary… More

Quellen des Zionismus

– "Quellen des Zionismus," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 29, No. 77-78, 79 (Sept. 26, Oct. 3 1924).

On the Argument with European Science

– "On the Argument with European Science," Der Jude, Vol. 8, No. 10 (October 1924).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Now and in future, this journal will report on works on the science of religion that, for the most part, are not animated by any specifically Jewish interest.  What right do we… More

Comment on Weinberg’s Critique

– "Comment on Weinberg's Critique," Der Judische Student, Vol. 22, No. 1-2 (February 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: What I presented at camp was the very preliminary result of my long-standing preoccupation with the problem of Zionism.  Since I never had the opportunity, either inside or… More

Ecclesia Militans

– "Ecclesia Militans," Judische Rundschau, Vol. 30, No. 36 (May 8, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The Jewish Church–as, here and elsewhere, we refer to the separatist Orthodoxy of Frankfurt–is on the offensive.  This fact is of interest to us, but it does not… More

Biblical History and Science

– "Biblical History and Science," Judische Rundschau, Vol 30, No. 88 (November 10, 1925).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: If, in the interest of genuine science, Dubnow turns against extraneous dogmas put ahead of science or dragged along by tradition, then, by so doing, he undoubtedly also turns… More

On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors

– "On the Bible Science of Spinoza and His Precursors," Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins zur Grundung Erhaltung einer Akademie fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums, Vol. 7 (1926).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Spinoza’s bible science is first of all a fact in the history of the sciences.  Spinoza has the undisputed merit of having established Bible science as a science “free… More

Review of The Future of an Illusion

– Review of The Future of an Illusion, by Sigmund Freud, Der Judische Student, Vol. 25, No. 4 (August 1928).  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: The following remarks are meant as a call to develop the Zionist ideology in a direction in which it is not completely developed.  They follow The Future of an Illusion by Sigmund… More

Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism

– "Franz Rosenzweig and the Academy for the Science of Judaism," Judische Wochenzeitung fur Kassel, Hessen und Waldeck, Vol. 6, No. 49 (13 December 1929).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Franz Rosenzweig’s idea, according to his express intention, was meant to be political.  This man, who as a thinker and a scholar made such great contributions to science,… More

Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, University of Chicago Press, 1997. Originally published as Die Religionskritik Spinozas als Grundlage seiner Bibelwissenschaft Untersuchungen zu Spinozas Theologisch-Politischem Traktat, Akademie-Verlag, 1930.
Excerpt from the preface to the English translation: Considerations like those sketched in the preceding paragraphs made one wonder whether an unqualified return to Jewish orthodoxy was not… More

Introductions to Pope ein Metaphysiker!

– Introductions to "Pope ein Metaphysiker!" "Sendschreiben an den Herrn Magister Lessing in Leipzig," "Kommentar zu den 'Termini der Logik' des Mose ben Maimon," and "Abhandlung über die Evidenz," Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1931.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

Introductions to Phadon

– Introducitons to Phadon, Abhandlung von der Unkorperlichkeit der menschlichen Seele, Uber einen schriftlichen Aufsatz des Herrn de Luc and Die Seele, Moses Mendelssohn Gesammelte Schriften: Jubiläumsausgabe: Band 2, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1932.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.

The Testament of Spinoza

– "The Testament of Spinoza," Bayerische Israelitische Gemeindezeitung, Vol. 8, No. 21 (1 November 1932).  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 1.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: The Early Writings.
Excerpt: Neutrality toward Spinoza set in once one was able to admit that the “modern worldview,” whose victory was decisively aided by Spinoza’s metaphysics, does not, or… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

On Abravanel’s Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching

– "On Abravanel's Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching," Isaac Abravanel: Six Lectures, ed. J. B. Trend and H. Leowe, Cambridge University Press, 1937.  Reprinted in Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2.
Abravanel may be called the last of the Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages. He belongs to the Middle Ages, as far as the framework and the main content of his doctrine are concerned. It… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Review of John O. Riedl’s Edition of Errores Philosophorum

– Review of Errores Philosophorum, by Giles of Rome, ed. John O. Riedl, Church History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (March 1946).
Excerpt: The Errores is a valuable document of the thirteenth century conflict between the Christian teaching and the teaching of “the philosophers,” i.e., of Aristotle and the… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

Review of J. L. Talmon: The Nature of Jewish History

– Review of The Nature of Jewish History -- Its Universal Significance, by J. L. Talmon, Journal of Modern History, Vol. 29, No. 3 (September 1957).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: This is an earnest statement by a man who is both a Jew and a historian rather than a Jewish historian. According to him, the historian who studies the fate of the Jewish people… More

On the Basis of Hobbes’s Political Philosophy

– "On the Basis of Hobbes's Political Philosophy," What Is Political Philosophy?, The Free Press, 1959.  First printing of English original of "Les fondements de la philosophie politque de Hobbes," Critique, Vol. 10, No. 83 (April 1954).
Excerpt: We begin by wondering why we should study Hobbes.  This question implies that we doubt whether Hobbes’s teaching is the true teaching.  It implies, therefore, that our… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Notes on Maimonides’ Book of Knowledge

– "Notes on Maimonides' Book of Knowledge," Studies in Mysticism and Religion Presented to Gershom G. Scholem on His Seventieth Birthday by Pupils, Colleagues, and Friends, Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1967.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: If it is true that the Guide of the Perplexed is not a philosophic book but a Jewish book, it is surely not a Jewish book in the same manner in which the Mishneh Torah is a Jewish… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Introductory Essay to Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism

– "Introductory Essay," Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, by Hermann Cohen, 1972.  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: I doubt whether I am the best mediator between Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) and the present-day American reader.   I grew up in an environment in which Cohen was the center of… More

Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings

– Introductions to Morgenstunden and An die Freunde Lessings as well as Sache Gottes oder die gerettete Vorsehung, Moses Mendelssohn: Gesammelte Schriften Jubilaumsausgabe, Band 3, 1974.  Reprinted in Leo Strauss: Gesammelte Schriften, Band 2.

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy

– "The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy," Independent Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 3 (1979).
Excerpt: When we attempt to return to the roots of Western civilization , we observe soon that Western civilization has two r0ots which are in conflict with each other, the biblical and the… More

On the Interpretation of Genesis

– "On the Interpretation of Genesis," Revue francaise d'anthropologie, Vol. 21, No. 2 (January - March 1981).
Excerpt: I want to begin with the remark that I am not a biblical scholar; I am a political scientist specializing in political theory. Political theory is frequently said to be concerned… More

Progress or Return?

– "Progress or Return? The Contemporary Crisis in Western Civilization," Modern Judaism, Vol. 1, No. 1 (May 1981).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The title of this lecture indicates that progress has become a problem-that it could seem as if progress has led us to the brink of an abyss, and it is therefore necessary to… More

Note on Maimonides’ Letter on Astrology

– "Note on Maimonides' Letter on Astrology," Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.
Excerpt: The addressees of this Letter had asked Maimonides for his view about astrology.  After having praised their question, he says that if they had known his Mishneh Torah, they would… More

Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy

– Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, 1983.  Reprint: University of Chicago, 1986.
Whoever is concerned with political philosophy must face the fact that in the last two generations political philosophy has lost its credibility.  Political philosophy has lost its… More

How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy

– "How to Begin to Study Medieval Philosophy," The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism: An Introduction to the Thought of Leo Strauss, Thomas L. Pangle, ed., University of Chicago Press, 1989. Complete, unedited version published as "How to Study Medieval Philosophy," Interpretation, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Spring 1996).
Excerpt: The attempt to understand a philosopher of the past better than he understood himself presupposes that the interpreter considers his insight superior to the insight of the old… More

Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought

– Hillel Fradkin, "Philosophy and Law: Leo Strauss as a Student of Medieval Jewish Thought," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: It is therefore necessary to try to address not only his contributions to the understanding of medieval Jewish thought but the latter’s role in his general legacy. It is only… More

Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature

– John G. Gunnell, "Strauss before Straussianism: Reason, Revelation, and Nature," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Despite the impact of Leo Strauss on American political science and political theory, where, exactly, Strauss was “coming from,” in both senses of that phrase, has been… More

Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem

– Steven B. Smith, "Leo Strauss: Between Athens and Jerusalem," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Harold Bloom, the Yale literary critic, once described Leo Strauss as “political philosopher and Hebraic sage.”‘ This always seemed to me unusually prescient. For… More

A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas

– James V. Schall, "A Latitude for Statesmanship? Strauss on St. Thomas," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Leo Strauss often spoke of Jerusalem and Athens.2 He never spoke of Rome in the same context, never of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome. Western civilization, in his view, was… More

Blasphemy and Leo Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Dante Germino, "Blasphemy and Leo Strauss's Machiavelli," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: In 1966, I published a review article hailing Leo Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli as an instant classic. I also expressed some reservations or “second thoughts”… More

Why We Remain Jews

– "Why We Remain Jews: Can Jewish Faith and History Still Speak to Us?" Leo Strauss: Political Philosopher and Jewish Thinker, ed. Kenneth L. Deutsch and Walter Nicgorski, Rowman and Littlefield, 1994.
Excerpt: I take more serious cases; first, the anti-Judaism of late classical antiquity, when we (and incidentally also the Christians) were accused by the pagan Romans of standing… More

Cohen und Maimuni

– "Cohen und Maimuni," Gesammelte Schriften: Band 2, Heinrich Meier, ed.,  1997.

Freud on Moses and Monotheism

– "Freud on Moses and Monotheism," Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity, Kenneth Hart Green, ed., State University of New York Press, 1997.
Excerpt: The first sentence is: “To deny a people the man whom it praises as the greatest of its sons is not a deed to be undertaken lightheartedly–especially by one belonging… More

Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher

– Eugene R. Sheppard, Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher, Brandeis University Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Born in rural Hesse, Germany, Leo Strauss (1899-1973) became an active Zionist and philosopher during the tumultuous and fractious Weimar Republic. As Eugene R. Sheppard… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… More

Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker

– Steven Smith, "Leo Strauss as a Jewish Thinker," Yale University, February 14, 2008.
Steven Smith of Yale University lectures on Leo Strauss as Jewish Thinker.

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn

– Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn, translated and edited by Martin D. Yaffe, University of Chicago Press, 2012.
From the publisher: Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86) was the leading Jewish thinker of the German Enlightenment and the founder of modern Jewish philosophy. His writings, especially his… More