Leo Strauss - An Unspoken PROLOGUE TO A PUBLIC LECTURE [1959]

Leo Strauss AN UNSPOKEN PROLOGUE TO A PUBLIC LECTURE AT ST. JOHN'S [In Honor

The

common

privileges

in

it

of

for

easier

mankind

in

themselves

them

is

these privileges

of

about

sense

Klein, 1899-1978]

order to compensate them

to make

or

least

Jacob

of

has for

indulge

to

granted

*

old

men

infirmities

the

certain

of old age

infirmities. Not

those

the

the permission granted to old men to speak

public more

freely

than

men can

young

in

pro

priety do. I have always regarded it as both an honor and a pleasure to come to St. John's to lecture and to meet faculty members and But I also had a private reason for enjoying my journeys to St. John's. St. John's harbors it is a perfect harbor for my oldest

students.

friend,

Jacob Klein. Permit

intend

first

occasion, the

present

do I

to

regard as an act of

Yet however innocent the

actions

be

not

with

keep

publicity

State

a

number

which

cerned,

of

to our

which came

youth

is

avoid at all are

costs

anything

*The

occasion

Klein. The

other

I

am

for

which

tempted

young

his

idle

to

be

to

in

we are virtuous of

our

far in

our

talked

and

and

levity

As far

but

all

the

Prussian

in

a coffee

work

for many hours

about

in

one

cultivating

everything

the proportion

limit:

was con must

we

their minds;

let

us

the appearance that we

inefficient young

tribute

this

Mr. Klein

as

only

of

limelight.

twenties we worked

sat together

maxim

fitting

pro

abhorrence

hours in

was written was the a

the

men,

malice,

reminds of the

from

say,

men

silent

and

this piece

it

men

must

is

such

the present case the appear

some

mixing gravity

this was

editors thought

we

to mix them.

public as

other than

for

relaxed

young

mind

likely

there was,

not appear to the

and

period we

Library. There

the

addition

if

even

were

these

such a situation one

remotely

we

intentions,

cloak

may

went somewhat too

When

longish

in Berlin

by

close

their

from Mr. Klein's idiosyncratic

abhorrence.

a

as regards

the appearance

bounds. In

anything that Mr. Klein

Library

house

in

arises

day during

every

heart,

from

In

on the

birthday. What I of a pleasant duty.

performed

duty. In

one's

which even

justified

with

within certain

found

always

too

of

do

still

pleasure

some

malice

of

ance

are

Mr. Klein

to

sixtieth

although

may be

they

the things of the

of

may derive

vided we

which

and

his

duty

appearance of malice.

squeamish

complexity we

I

an

our actions

in

circumstances

pay homage

me to

occasion after

men of

60th

business

birthday

in his honor.

Ed.

of

or

Jacob

Interpretation

2

lucrative

the

of

professions or

I derived

casions

kind

other

any

of

drones. On

such oc

from suddenly exclaiming as loudly as I and from watching the anticipated wincing

enjoyment

"Nietzsche!"

could, say,

Mr. Klein.

of

Nothing

us

affected

as

profoundly in

in

the years

which

our

lasting directions as the thought of Heidegger. This for speaking of that thought and its effects in general must be said: Heidegger who surpasses in speculative

minds took their

is

not the place

Only

this much

intelligence

all

his

the counterpart to what

ally

not yet trodden

way

philosophers at

has

one

no

hear

questioned

the

premise

simply rejecting the

first

see

the roots so

of

many

healthy

was

the

and

by

great

to

light,

rear-guard

centuries

one

believe,

But

was

as

not

to

a

look

at

them

of classical

which

Klein

uprooting and not it possible for

made

to

say how

many

thus perhaps to

only

to

know,

natural

or

the outset a pre-modern

a

philosopher

danger

no

work which

to

disinter

Heidegger

Heidegger had

was the

to

not

a

was

to

was

the

uproot

bring

first

opened without

return to classical

trying

Aristotle in

the roots, to

Klein

familiarity

of

them

to under

intending

philosophy,

to the

Plato, a return with open eyes and in infinite difficulties which it entails. He turned

penetration and an

his

are and

with wonder.

which

about the

study

sobriety in grew

they

by he

hesitates

him,

against

that those roots are the

was compelled

possibility

full clarity toil,

actions

tempted to understand

it: the possibility of a genuine philosophy of Aristotle and of to the

well-

Thomas Aquinas. Above all, his intention

the

stand

young

generation who

thus was protected against the

Aristotle.

Aristotle: he thus

as

radically

else

the

sociologically speaking, Heidegger German philosopher who was a Catholic by origin

Christian: he thus of

as

philosophy

that

by Heidegger or overwhelmed by him engaged in

Superficially

Aristotle; he

light

which

overwhelmed

training; he thus had from

modernize

way in

ears

the tradition as

roots.

first

a

had

in

completely

many merely

and

with

of

in

before. Certain it is

the tradition of philosophy,

time after

attempts to go a

politically,

why Heidegger is truly important:

saw

what

was

intellectu

at the same time

never thought

completely

almost

is

or rather to think

anyone

have

intentioned but ineffective alone

Hitler

everyone else

either

was

been

having

by

rate

any

Heidegger. While to

contemporaries and

philosophy

with

intelligence,

an

devotion and a love of intellectual probity and a a

contemporary equals him. Out of that study bears the title "Greek Logistics and the Genesis

3

An Unspoken Prologue Algebra."

No title

of

be less

could

individuality

expressive of a man's

intention; and yet if one knows Klein, the title his individuality, his idiosyncracy mentioned perfectly

and even of a man's expresses

before. The take

we

it

is

work

as a

purely historical

historical

than a

much more

is

this

if

the

other

the

fact

hailing

distance

less

that

inference from man

than

B

"Quellen

of

Astronomie some

does

not

half a dozen

cannot

in

idiosyncracy. I hope that you,

do

in intrinsic

people seem

to

it is

misanthropy, if

does

worth

but a sign of to have read it,

not remain

valid.

Any

he did

not

inaccessible

come across volume

III

to

of section

der Mathematik, does not read German with blame Klein because he is excused by his

and

fluency. One

to

Studien

und

Physik"

und

if

a proof

of references

be blamed for happen

which

it. Not indeed

of

take care that such a contribution everyone who

even

is not, in my opinion, a philosophy or science or in

the number

justly

would

But

work, there

contemporary work in the history of ideas" "the history of generally speaking comes within

study.

zur

Geschichte

addition

faculty,

St. John's,

and students of

trespassing if I say: some man or body of men among you should have compelled Klein, if need be by starving him into submission, to close his eyes while you arrange for a decent The necessity for his is in English translation and its Mr. Klein the is said to prepare now a diminished fact that no way by new book which may contain a very long footnote giving the first not accuse me of

publication.1

Platonic dialogue

intelligent

account

be

Mathematics in the Curriculum of the School of not in order to make to you the foregoing suggestion that

was

made

these

prefatory

giving Mr. Klein

1

An English the

probably

I

ask

you

translation of this work, prepared

M.I.T. Press in 1968

to rise and

join

under

by

Eva Brann,

was

me

was published

the title Greek Mathematical Thought

in

and

by the

Ed.

preparing to publish A Commentary on Plato's Meno. It in 1965 by the University of North Carolina Press. Ed.

Klein out

remarks:

an ovation.

Origin of Algebra. 2

and which will

Gorgias.2

entitled

But it I

of the

was

brought