PDF | XML

University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Leo Strauss Papers circa 1930-1997

© 2008 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Strauss, Leo. Papers

Dates:

circa 1930-1997

Size:

105 boxes (99.5 linear feet)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

Leo Strauss (1899-1973), scholar of political philosophy. The Papers include correspondence, manuscripts, research notes, notebooks, publications and audio recordings. The papers document Strauss' career as a writer and professor of political philosophy at the Academy of Jewish Research, Berlin (1925-1932), the New School for Social Research (1941-1948), the University of Chicago (1949-1968) and other institutions in the United States and Europe.

Information on Use

Access

Series VII, Audio Recordings, does not include access copies for all material. Researchers will need to consult with staff before requesting material from this series. Series VIII, Subseries 1 contains student evaluative material which is restricted for 80 years from the date of creation. Series VIII, Subseries 2 includes specific reproduction and citation requirements. The remainder of the collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Leo Strauss. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Biographical Note

Leo Strauss was born on September 20, 1899, in Kirchhain, Hesse, Germany, to Hugo Strauss and Jennie David, owners of a small agricultural business. He graduated from the Gymnasium Philippinum in 1917, then served in the German army through the end of World War I.

Following the war, Strauss studied philosophy in Marburg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg, receiving a PhD in 1921 from Hamburg University for his dissertation "Das Erkenntnisproblem in der philosophischen Lehre Jacobis." He continued his studies, with a focus on history, in Freiburg, Giessen and Marburg. Publication of the essay "Cohens Analyse der Bibelwissenschaft Spinozas" in 1924 led to his 1925 appointment to Berlin's Academy of Jewish Research, where his research on Jewish philosophy formed the basis of his first major work, Die Religionskritik Spinozas als Grundlage seiner Bibelwissenschaft (1930). Strauss also translated Moses Mendelssohn's work from the Hebrew for the Academy's Mendelssohn Edition. In Berlin, Strauss met several scholars with whom he began long and substantive correspondence. Among them were Alexandre Kojeve, Karl Löwith, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jacob Klein and Gershom Scholem.

In 1932, Strauss was awarded a Rockefeller Fellowship in the social sciences, with the aid of which he studied medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy in Paris and Thomas Hobbes in England. Unable to return to pre-war Germany, he continued his work on Hobbes at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, publishing The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: Its Genesis in 1936. In 1937, he emigrated to the United States, first taking an appointment as Research Fellow in the Department of History at Columbia University, then a professorship at the New School for Social Research, where he remained until 1948. Strauss served as associate editor of Social Research from 1941 to 1948.

Strauss became Professor of political philosophy at the University of Chicago in 1949. He remained at Chicago until 1968, and was named Robert Maynard Hutchins Distinguished Service Professor in 1960. Natural Rights and History (1953) was based on lectures delivered at the University in 1949. An effort by Strauss and other faculty to establish a chair in Jewish Studies was unsuccessful.

Strauss served as visiting professor at the University of California at Berkeley in 1953. In the early 1950s, he corresponded with Martin Buber about a chair in sociology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He taught in Jerusalem as a visiting professor in 1954 and 1955, but chose to remain at the University of Chicago. Lectures delivered in Jerusalem were the basis for the title essay of Strauss' What is Political Philosophy? (1959).

In 1965, following the translation of many of his works into German, Strauss was awarded an honorary doctorate in Economy and Social Science by the University of Hamburg. From 1965 until his death, he was the Scott Buchanan Distinguished Scholar in residence at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. During his later years, he worked mainly on interpretation of ancient Greek philosophers. His last major work, The Argument and Action of Plato's "Laws" was published posthumously in 1975.

Strauss married Marie (Mirjam) Bernson on June 20, 1933. The couple raised two children, Thomas (Petri), Bernson's son from her first marriage, and Jenny Ann Kraus, the orphaned daughter of Strauss' sister, adopted by the Strauss' in 1946. Other members of Strauss' immediate family died in a German concentration camp in 1942. Strauss became an American citizen in 1938. He died in Annapolis, Maryland on October 18, 1973.

Leo Strauss is known mainly for five books, each of which has been widely translated and regularly reprinted: Die Religionskritik Spinozas (1930), The Political Philosophy of Hobbes (1936), On Tyranny (1948), Natural Right and History (1953) and Thoughts on Machiavelli (1958). While much of Strauss' writing is known mainly to scholars, On Tyranny and Natural Right and History deal with more general issues of political philosophy in a public context. On Tyranny wrestles with the ethical problems of dictatorship, as reflected in Xenophon's Hiero. Natural Right and History, closely related to Strauss' study of Hobbes in the 1930s, deals broadly with the philosophical and historical problems of the liberal state, brought to the forefront of Western consciousness by political events of the 1930s and World War II.

Strauss' five major works demonstrate the intertwining themes on which Strauss focused throughout his career. In a letter to Dr. Cyrus Adler (November 30, 1933) he described the genesis of his related interests:

My studies of Spinoza's Theological and Political Treatise have shown me a connection between the theological and political problem. These studies have led me to Spinoza's Jewish medieval predecessors, especially Maimonides, on the one hand, and Hobbes' political science on the other hand. During the pursuit of these sources, I formed the plan to make 1. the political science of Hobbes and 2. the theory of prophecy in Jewish and Islamic philosophy of the Middle Ages the subject of my future studies…. After finishing my book on Spinoza, I was charged by the Akademie to analyze Gersonides' Milchamot Hashem. I started with an analysis of Gersonides' Teaching on Prophecy. The research on his sources led me from Maimonides to Islamic philosophers, of whom I studied several in Arabic manuscripts – and made me realize that the connection between medieval Jewish and Islamic teaching on prophecy and Plato's Statesman and Laws had not yet been thoroughly evaluated.

Though Strauss maintained a deep interest in Jewish religious thought and philosophy, his study of Jewish thinkers culminates with his writings on Spinoza in the 1930s. He was particularly sensitive to the legacy of medieval Jewish thought, which he saw as essential to understanding developments in later European thought. He concerned himself also with contemporary perceptions of Spinoza and with the image of the Jew in German literature of the Enlightenment.

Strauss believed that the roots of Western Civilization could be found in Jewish and Greek philosophy. His early classical humanistic education included extensive study of Latin and ancient Greek, and his later studies of philosophy broadened his knowledge of classical languages and deepened his appreciation of the humanistic method of tracing concepts and beliefs to their roots in primary material. After 1960, Strauss turned increasingly toward the study of Greek philosophy.

Scope Note

The Leo Strauss Papers have been divided into eight series: Series I, Correspondence; Series II, Teaching; Series III, Manuscripts; Series IV, Publications and Reviews; Series V, Personal Files ; Series VI, Oversize; Series VII, Audio Recordings and Series VIII, Restricted Files. The collection spans the years 1930 to 1997, with the bulk dating from the 1930s through the 1960s. Photocopies of some of Strauss' writings from the 1920s are also included.

Series I contains approximately 1000 letters. Strauss' correspondents include friends, students, publishers, academic officials and colleagues. Letters are written German, English and French.

Correspondence from Strauss' colleagues generally concerns ongoing scholarship. Letters often focus on particular themes or problems, as in Erich Voegelin's discussion of "das Verhaltnis von Wissenschaft und Offerbarung." (April 22, 1951) Other colleagues give detailed analyses of Strauss' writings. See, for example, letters from Hans-Georg Gadamer.

Strauss formed many long-lasting intellectual and personal ties to fellow scholars. Many of these relationships are reflected in correspondences that span several decades and show the ups and downs of long friendships. The noted scholar and educator Jacob Klein, for example, analyzed Strauss' personality in a letter of December 1, 1932, while Strauss characterized Klein in his "Unspoken Prologue." A spirited and amusing friendship is reflected in letters from Peter von Blanckenhagen, which contain poems and scholarly humor. Another sort of relationship may be found in Strauss' correspondence with Julius Guttman, Strauss' superior at the Academy of Jewish Research in Berlin. Strauss held Guttman in high esteem, but his work failed to win Guttman's full approval.

Correspondence from the 1930s and 1940s contains surprisingly little comment regarding political affairs in Germany. An exception is Jacob Klein's lengthy description of the local situation in a letter from June 20, 1934. After the war, Strauss corresponded regularly with German academics and with German publishers interested in his writings. A letter from the philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer (December 16, 1948) expresses grief and shame over the crimes of the Third Reich.

Series II, Teaching, includes manuscripts of Strauss' lectures and essays and numerous groups of reading notes on subjects on which he wrote and taught. Although many of Strauss' publications were based on his lectures, the collection does not seem to include texts directly related to his most well-known books and articles.

Strauss' notes are largely organized by subject. They have been organized into four groups, reflecting major themes in Strauss' thought and work. The first group comprises notes on Hobbes and Natural Right. Strauss did most of his research on Hobbes in England in the early 1930s. His work led to the publication of The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: Its Basis and Genesis (1936), the German manuscript of which is in Series IV. Notes found in Series II are likely to have been used for this book as well as for occasional lectures and articles. Also included are notes related to Strauss' interest in editing Hobbes' unpublished letters.

The second group of notes concerns Jewish thought. Among the major thinkers appearing in Strauss notes are:

Averroes (Ibn Rushd) (Roschd), 1126-1198, a Mohammedan of noble birth. His commentary on Aristotle was one of the most widely read texts of the Middle Ages. He is often known as "the Commentator."

Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides) (FMbM), 1134-1204, author of the Mishneh Torah (1180) and the Guide of the Perplexed (1190). His work profoundly influenced Thomas Aquinas and Albertus Magnus.

Rabbi Lewy ben Gerson (Gerschom) (Gersonides) (RLbG), 1288-1344, defended Averroes' Commentaries against later critics. His most important work is Milchamot Hashem, translated into German in the sixteenth century as Die Kampfe Gottes.

Hermann Cohen, 1842-1918, founded the Marburg school of Neo-Kantianism and taught at the Academy for Jewish Research.

A third group of notes comments extensively on books read by Strauss in the original Greek. Strauss was extremely well-versed in classical languages, and others often sought his advice on the subject. Many of the major research themes of the field are discussed in his correspondence, particularly with Karl Löwith, Jacob Klein, Joseph Cropsey and Seth Benardete, and reflected in his notes. A final group of notes covers a range of subjects outside the major categories discussed above.

Series III, Manuscripts, and Series IV, Publications and Reviews include manuscript, typescript and published texts of many of Strauss' writings. A small amount of correspondence with colleagues and publishers is included with the texts. Series IV contains proof sheets for several of Strauss' books. Also included in Series IV are a small number of writings by other scholars, collected by Strauss, and also review articles and newspaper clippings concerning his work.

Series V, Personal, contains a small number of biographical documents and several honors and awards received by Strauss. It also includes a brief diary kept by Strauss in 1944.

Series VII, Audio-Visual, contains audio recordings of Strauss lectures, primarily from the 1960s. The recordings are arranged chronologically. Subseries 1 contains original and new master copies. These are not available for listening. Subseries 2 contains access copies of many of the recordings, on audio cassette. These are available for listening onsite. Items from Subseries 1, for which access copies are not available in Subseries 2, may be eligible for reproduction. Please see Special Collections Research Center staff for further information.

Series VIII, Restricted, contains letters of recommendation written by Strauss, and correspondence with Gershom Scholem, to which access is restricted.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.

Digitized recordings and transcripts of many lectures are available from the Leo Strauss Center.

Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Series I: Correspondence

Series I contains approximately 1000 letters, organized into three alphabetical subseries. Letters are written in German, English and French.

Subseries 1, Correspondence to Leo Strauss, contains letters received by Strauss from the 1930s through the 1960s. It includes a file of correspondence related to the Rockefeller Foundation grants awarded to Strauss in the 1932 and 1934.

Subseries 2, Correspondence from Leo Strauss, contains carbon copies of Strauss' outgoing letters from the 1950s and 1960s. Also included are a few handwritten letters, some from earlier dates.

Subseries 3, General Correspondence, includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence between Strauss and friends, students, publishers and colleagues. The subseries also contains biographical information on Strauss and a small number of his colleagues. Also included are several letters between individuals other than Strauss, which were acquired by Strauss or other custodians of his papers.

Subseries 1: Correspondence to Leo Strauss

Box 1   Folder 1

Illegible signatures

Box 1   Folder 2

A (Ab-As) including Asch

Box 1   Folder 3

B (Ba-Bu) including Bloom, Buber, Bultmann

Box 1   Folder 4

Barker, Ernest

Box 1   Folder 4A

Beadle, George, 1963-1967

Box 1   Folder 5

Benardete, Seth

Box 1   Folder 6

Berns, Walter

Box 1   Folder 7

Blankenhagen, Peter H. von

Box 1   Folder 8

C (Ca-Co) including Cassirer

Box 1   Folder 9

Cropsey

Box 1   Folder 10

D (Da-Di)

Box 1   Folder 11

E (Ea-En)

Box 1   Folder 12

Edelstein, Ludwig

Box 1   Folder 13

F (Fa-Fu)

Box 1   Folder 14

G (Ga-Gu) including Gadamer, Guttmann

Box 2   Folder 1

H (Ha-He) including v. Hentig

Box 2   Folder 2

H (Ho-Hy)

Box 2   Folder 3

J (Ja-Jo) including Jaffa, Jonas

Box 2   Folder 4

K (Ka-Ku) including Kuhn

Box 2   Folder 5

Kendall, Willmore (includes mss. The Social Contract)

Box 2   Folder 6

Klein, Jacob (includes mss. "An Unspoken Prologue to Public Lecture at St. Johns," in tribute to Klein)

Box 2   Folder 7

Kojève, Alexandre

Box 2   Folder 8

Koyre, Alexandre

Box 2   Folder 9

Krueger, G.

Box 2   Folder 10

L (La-Lu)

Box 2   Folder 10A

Lerner, Ralph, 1952-1972

Box 2   Folder 11

Löwith, Karl

Box 3   Folder 1

M (Mc-Mo) including Momigliano

Box 3   Folder 2

Mayer, Carl

Box 3   Folder 3

Mayer, Clara

Box 3   Folder 4

N (Na-Ny) including Nef)

Box 3   Folder 5

O (Od-Os)

Box 3   Folder 6

P (Pa-Pu)

Box 3   Folder 7

R (Ra-Ru)

Box 3   Folder 8

Rockefeller Grants, 1932-1934, containing biographical data

Box 3   Folder 9

S (Sa-Si) including See, Shils

Box 3   Folder 10

S (So-Su)

Box 3   Folder 11

Scholem, Gershom

Box 3   Folder 12

Speier, Hans

Box 3   Folder 13

T (Ta-Ty) including Toennis

Box 3   Folder 14

Tawney, R.H.

Box 3   Folder 15

Thompson, Francis

Box 3   Folder 16

U, V (Ul-Vo) including Voegelin

Box 3   Folder 17

W (Wa-We)

Box 3   Folder 18

W-Z (Wh-Zo)

Box 3   Folder 19

Weinstein, Leo

Box 3   Folder 20

White, Howard

Subseries 2: Correspondence from Leo Strauss

Box 4   Folder 1

A including Asch

Box 4   Folder 2

B including Berns

Box 4   Folder 3

Benardete, Seth, See also Folders 18-25

Box 4   Folder 4

Bloom, Allan

Box 4   Folder 5

C including Cropsey

Box 4   Folder 6

D

Box 4   Folder 7

E-F including Edelstein

Box 4   Folder 8

G including Gadamer, Guttmann

Box 4   Folder 9

H

Box 4   Folder 10

J including Jaffa, Jonas

Box 4   Folder 11

K including Kojeve, Kuhn (photocopies)

Box 4   Folder 12

L including Löwith

Box 4   Folder 13

M-N including Momigliano

Box 4   Folder 14

O

Box 4   Folder 15

P

Box 4   Folder 16

R

Box 4   Folder 17

S-W including Scholem

Box 4   Folder 18

Leo Strauss to Seth Benardete, 1952-1954

Box 4   Folder 19

Leo Strauss to Seth Benardete, 1955-1957

Box 4   Folder 20

Leo Strauss to Seth Benardete, 1958-1960

Box 4   Folder 21

Leo Strauss to Seth Benardete, 1961-1963

Box 4   Folder 22

Leo Strauss to Seth Benardete, 1964-1966

Box 4   Folder 23

Leo Strauss to Seth Benardete, 1967-1969

Box 4   Folder 24

Leo Strauss to Seth Benardete, 1970-1973

Box 4   Folder 25

Leo Strauss to Seth Benardete, n.d.; and unidentified letters

Subseries 3: General Correspondence

Box 4   Folder 26

Correspondence

  • Joseph Cropsy to LS, June 14, 1972
  • Gerhart Husserl to Klein, January 12, 1935
  • Klein to Frau Dodo and Gerhart Husserl, December 30, 1934
  • LS to Helmut Kuhn, n.d.
  • Reizler (?) to LS, n.d.
  • Philippe Rousseau to LS, September 12, 1972
  • LS to Mrs. E. M. Sinclair, August 7, 1961
  • Eric Voegelar (?) to LS, March 18, 1948
  • Elliott Zuckerman to LS, May 4, 1973
Box 5   Folder 1

Correspondence with Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellshaft (Frau Brigitte Scheer und Josepha Munning), to Strauss

  • 3 February 1969
  • 27 September 1967
  • 20 September 1967
  • 3 February 1969
  • 28 October 1968
  • 26 June 1967
  • 12 June 1967
  • 17 May 1967
Box 5   Folder 1

Correspondence with Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellshaft (Frau Brigitte Scheer und Josepha Munning), from Strauss

  • 29 November 1968
  • 16 June 1967
Box 5   Folder 2

Correspondence Strauss to Gerhard Kruger

  • 24 September 1928
  • 28 November 1929
  • 7 January (?) 1930
  • 8 January (?) 1930
  • 26 June 1930
  • 27 February 1931
  • 7 May 1931
  • 23 May 1931
  • 1 June 1931
  • 28 June 1931
  • 8 July 1931
  • 25 July 1931
  • 3 August 1931
  • 15 October 1931
  • 16 November 1931
  • 12 December (?) 1931
  • letter, n.d.
  • 19 August 1932
  • postcard, n.d.
  • 8 October 1932
  • 27 November 1932
  • 29 November 1932
  • 7 February (?) 1933
  • 18 (?) 1933
  • 17 July 1933
  • 3 August (?) 1933
  • 7 December 1933
  • 29 December 1933
  • 27 March 1933 (postcard)
  • 12 May 1935
  • 3 (?) 1936 (by hand)
  • (?) July 1958
  • 6 August 1962
  • 12 September 1962
  • 29 January 1962
  • 12 September 1962 (by hand)
  • 29 January 1962 (by hand)
Box 5   Folder 3

Correspondence, Leo Baeck Institute (Strauss to Salomon), 7 January 1945

Box 5   Folder 4

Loose notes from Strauss's copy of Vogelin's New Science of Politics 24 November 1947

Box 5   Folder 5

Correspondence, Strauss to Walter Belrns

  • 30 December 1957
  • 18 November 1959
  • 4 February 1957
  • undated note
  • 26 April 1960
  • 18 April 1960
Box 5   Folder 6

Gadamer on Strauss: An Interview

Box 5   Folder 7

Correspondence, Strauss, Wilmoore Kendall, 19 November 1956 (2 copies; 1 with list of receivers)

Box 5   Folder 8

Newspaper clippings, The Cornell Daily Sun

  • Strauss Lecture, 30 April 1964
  • Criticism by Krabtz, Weber, 30 April 1964
  • Letters to the editor, Bolotin, Shulsky, Bruell, 12 May 1964
  • Krabtz, Weber, 18 May 1964
  • Bolotin, Shulsky, Bruell, 20 May 1964
  • Greenberg, 21 May 1964
  • D.L. Schaefer, undated
Box 5   Folder 9

Correspondence, H. Kuhn to W. Berns, 17 October 1961

Box 5   Folder 10

Correspondence, Robert Goldwin, to Strauss

  • 8 December 1960
  • 14 December 1960
  • 17 December 1960
  • 9 January 1961
  • 7 February 1961
  • 6 April 1961
  • 21 June 1961
  • 10 February 1961
Box 5   Folder 10

Correspondence, Robert Goldwin, from Strauss

  • 12 December 1960
  • 24 December 1960
  • 13 February 1961
  • 8 April 1961
  • 8 May 1961
  • 23 June 1961
  • 16 July 1962 (dictated by Strauss)
Box 5   Folder 11

Correspondence, Strauss to Percy

  • 13 February 1961
  • 24 October 1961 (2 typed memos, 1 with handwritten notes)
  • 12 February 1963
Box 5   Folder 12

Correspondence, Strauss to Schmitt

  • 13 May 1932
  • 4 September 1932
  • 4 September 1932 (same letter as above entry)
  • 10 July 1933
Box 5   Folder 13

Correspondence, Strauss to Morton Frisch

  • 23 March 1961
  • 17 June 1963
Box 5   Folder 14

Correspondence, Strauss to F. Tonnies

  • 1 February (?) 1930
  • 5 August 1933
Box 5   Folder 15

Correspondence, Strauss to W. Welliver

  • 30 July 1956
  • 5 August 1933
Box 5   Folder 16

Correspondence, Strauss to C. Bruell

  • 18 February 1970
  • 17 July 1973
Box 5   Folder 17

Translation of a Strauss letter to H. Kuhn

Box 5   Folder 18

Correspondence, Strauss to H. Magid

  • 26 June 1939
  • 22 July 1939
  • "What is Political Philosophy?" (typescript and handwritten notes to a talk by Strauss at the Alumni Association, Graduate Faculty New School for Social Research), 30 January 1954
  • Obituary, New York Times, 21 October 1973
Box 5   Folder 19

Correspondence, Strauss to Faulkner

  • 6 September 1962
  • 17 September 1962
  • 29 November 1965
  • 4 November 1966
  • 13 August 1969
  • 14 September 1969
  • 11 October 1969
  • 29 November 1969
  • 21 December 1969
  • 12 March 1970
  • 8 April 1972
  • 21 July 1973
Box 5   Folder 20

Correspondence, Strauss letter "To Whom It May Concern" regarding Rev. Duncan B. Forrester, 8 December 1969

Box 5   Folder 21

Correspondence

  • Leo Strauss, ALS, April 29, 1971, 1 p. with envelope.
  • Leo Strauss, ALS, June 2, 1971. 1 p.
  • Leo Strauss, ALS, June 2, 1971, 1 p.: photocopy of above letter.
  • Leo Strauss, TL, June 2, 1971, 1 p.: typed transcription of above letter.
Box 5   Folder 22

Correspondence, 1957-1997

Box 5   Folder 23

Correspondence, photocopies of letters between Strauss and Eric Vogelin

Box 5   Folder 24

Correspondence, Hoffmann, Verlag, Oehler, 1962-1965

Box 5   Folder 25

Correspondence and general transcription receipts, 1974-1976

Series II: Teaching

Series II contains material related to Strauss' teaching and research and is divided into three subseries: 1, Lectures; 2, Essays; 3, Notes.

Subseries 1 and 2 contain texts of many of Strauss' lectures and essays. Many of these are hand-written in bound notebooks and some are given only in brief outline. Because the texts are not always clearly dated or labeled, the distinction between lectures and essays is sometimes unclear.

Subseries 3 consists of research and writing notes. Strauss organized his research material by subject. Many are on small scraps of paper, and most are handwritten. They are organized into three Sub-subseries: 1, Hobbes, Natural Right; 2, Jewish Thought; 3, Greek Thought and 4, Miscellaneous.

Subseries 1: Lectures

Box 6   Folder 1

Die religiöse Gegenwart 1930

Box 6   Folder 2

Cohen und Maimuni 1931. Containing a translation from the Hebrew of Milchamot Hashem for Guttman

Box 6   Folder 3

Die geistige Lage der Gegenwart 1932

Box 6   Folder 4

Greek and Roman Political Thought I 1938

Box 6   Folder 5

Greek and Roman Political Thought II

Box 6   Folder 6

On the Study of Classical Political Philosophy 1938

Box 6   Folder 7

Hesiod and the Presocratics 1939?

Box 6   Folder 8

Political Philosophy in the Age of Reason 1941: Kant, Hume, Descartes, Hobbes

Box 6   Folder 9

Philosophy and Sociology of Knowledge 1941

Box 6   Folder 10

German Nihilism 1941

Box 6   Folder 11

The Origins of Economic Sciences: Xenophon's Oeconomicus 1941-1942

Box 6   Folder 12

What can we learn from Political Theory? 1942

Box 6   Folder 13

On Plato's "Laws" 1973?

Box 6   Folder 14

History of Ideas 1942 and History of Political Ideas 1949

Box 6   Folder 15

Natural Right, containing notes on Thomas Aquinas 1946

Box 7   Folder 1

Natural Right 1951 and 1954

Box 7   Folder 2

Progress or Return 1953

Box 7   Folder 3

Basic Problems of Political Philosophy 1953

Box 7   Folder 4

Basic Problems 1955 and Historicism 1955

Box 7   Folder 5

The Origins of Political Sciences and the Problem of Socrates 1958, first 10 pages missing

Box 7   Folder 6

Existenzialism 1960?; Existenz 1960?

Box 7   Folder 7

On Higher Education in the Crisis of Our Time 1961

Box 7   Folder 8

Gorgias; Protagoras 1963; 1965

Box 7   Folder 9

Analecta Maimonidea: Treatise on the Art of Logic

Box 8   Folder 1

The Problem of Socrates n.d.

Box 8   Folder 2

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lecture 11

Box 8   Folder 3

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lecture 12

Box 8   Folder 4

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lecture 13

Box 8   Folder 5

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lecture 14 and 15

Box 8   Folder 6

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lecture 16

Box 8   Folder 7

Thucydides' The Peloponnesian War, lectures 1 and 3

Box 8   Folder 8

Plato's Laws, lectures 23-26

Box 8   Folder 9-13

Aristotle's Politics, lectures 1-17, Spring 1960

Box 9   Folder 1-4

Hegel, lectures 1-12, Fall 1958

Box 9   Folder 5-7

Sources on Socrates: Plato's Apology and Crito and Aristophanes' Clouds, Birds, and Wasps, Seminars 1-14, n.d. (2 copies)

Box 9   Folder 8-9

Sources on Socrates: Plato's Apology and Crito and Aristophanes' Clouds, Birds, and Wasps, Seminars 1-14, n.d. (2 copies)

Box 10   Folder 1

Sources on Socrates: Plato's Apology and Crito and Aristophanes' Clouds, Birds, and Wasps, Seminars 1-14, n.d. (2 copies)

Box 10   Folder 2

Xenophon's Memorabilia, 4.3-4.4.1-8 and 3.4.12-3.6

Box 10   Folder 3-4

Thucydides' Peloponnesian War, lectures 1-9, December 6, 1972-April 4, 1973

Box 10   Folder 5-8

Plato's Laws, lectures 1-15, Winter 1959

Box 11   Folder 1-5

Political Philosophy of Spinoza, lectures 1-16 , Fall 1959

Box 11   Folder 6-9

Political Philosophy of Cicero, lectures, Spring 1959

Box 11   Folder 10-11

Historicism and Modern Relativism, Winter 1956

Box 12   Folder 1-4

Basic Principles of Classical Political Philosophy, Fall 1961

Box 12   Folder 5-8

Political Philosophy of John Locke, Winter 1958

Box 12   Folder 9-10

Plato's Symposium, n.d.

Box 13   Folder 1-2

Plato's Symposium, n.d.

Box 13   Folder 3-6

Nietzsche, Winter 1967

Box 13   Folder 7-10

Montesquieu, Winter 1966

Box 14   Folder 1-4

Montesquieu, Spring 1966

Subseries 2: Essays

Box 14   Folder 5

Der Konspektivismus: über Mannheims Ideologie 1929

Box 14   Folder 6

Einige Anmerkungen über die politische Wissenschaft des Hobbes 1932

Box 14   Folder 7

The Living Issues of German Post-War Philosophy 1941?

Box 14   Folder 8

On Machiavelli 1972 and Note on the Plan for Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil" 1973 and Xenophon "Anabasis" 1973

Box 14   Folder 9

Note on Kurt Riezler's "Some critical remarks on man's Science of Man" n.d.

Box 14   Folder 10

The Frame of Reference in the Social Sciences n.d.

Box 14   Folder 11

The Origin of Modern Political Thought n.d.

Box 14   Folder 12

Exoteric Teaching [cf. notes: miscellaneous]

Subseries 3: Course Notes

Sub-subseries 1: Hobbes; Natural Right

Box 14   Folder 13

Bacon, Montaigne, Hobbes, and British Writers of the 17th and 18th century 1931

Box 14   Folder 14

Augustine, Thomas, Calvin; Hobbes' Behemoth: edition Toennies; Drafts of letters to Kruger (Krieger?); Outline: Die politische Wissenschaft des Hobbes, eine Einführung in das Naturrecht 1931-1934

Box 14   Folder 15

Planned Book on Hobbes a) Notes on Hobbes' works 1931

Box 15   Folder 1

Planned Book on Hobbes b) Vorwort zu einem Buch über Hobbes; Notes on: Naturrecht 1931

Box 15   Folder 2

Planned Book on Hobbes c) Einleitung, Kapitel I and II 97 pages 1930-1931

Box 15   Folder 3

Hobbes; Arbeitsplan: Spinoza and Hobbes 1934

Box 15   Folder 4

Vorurteil und defensive Kritik; Descartes; Plan of the Molesworth Edition of Hobbes; Outline: Die Grundlage von Hobbes Metaphysik und seine Religionkritik 1934?

Box 15   Folder 5

Die Religionskritik des Hobbes, ein Beitrag zur Aufklarung n.d.

Box 15   Folder 6

Photocopies and photographs of Hobbes' Manuscripts in the British Museum and in Chatsworth

Box 15   Folder 7

"Essayes" attributed to Hobbes, Manuscript copy by Leo Strauss

Box 15   Folder 8

Hobbes' "Essays" proposed edition. Carbon copies of letters concerning this plan

Box 15   Folder 9

Hobbes' vitae and correspondence; publication proposal 1934

Box 15   Folder 10

Cumberland, Hobbes 1951?; 1931?

Box 15   Folder 11

Hobbes n.d.

Box 15   Folder 12

Naturrecht; outline for "Naturrecht" 1933

Box 15   Folder 13

Notes Jus et Lex 1943

Box 15   Folder 14

Natural Right 1945-1947?

Box 15   Folder 15

Declaration of Human Rights 1947

Box 15   Folder 16

Natural Right 1950

Sub-subseries 2: Jewish Thought

Box 15   Folder 17

Maimonides: Mishneh Torah 1926; Notes on Maimonides' "Letter on Astrology"

Box 15   Folder 18

Averroës' Commentary on Aristoteles 1926[?]

Box 16   Folder 1

Ibn Rushd (Averroës); Outline: RLbG Lehre von der Vorsehung und ihre Voraussetzung 1930?

Box 16   Folder 2

RLbG Milchamot; Reading notes on Averroës Commentary 1930-1938

Box 16   Folder 3

Das Gesetz im jüdisch-islamischen Mittelalter; Outline: Die Lehre des RLbG 1930

Box 16   Folder 4

RMbM Die Philosophie des Gesetzes 1935-1936

Box 16   Folder 5

Lessings Nathan der Weise and the 18th century 1936

Box 16   Folder 6

RMbM; Outline for The Secret Teaching of the Guide of the Perplexed 1938 and Juda Halewi; The Philosopher in the Cuzari 1941

Box 16   Folder 7

The Problem of Revelation; unidentified

Box 16   Folder 8

Notes 1946

Box 16   Folder 9

Philosophy and the Law, Outline 1946

Box 16   Folder 10

Spinoza 1947

Box 16   Folder 11

Spinoza; Revelation and Reason; Draft of a letter to Voegelin 1947-1951

Box 16   Folder 12

Notebooks on Maimonides, 1954-1961; A-B

Box 16   Folder 13

Notebooks on Maimonides, 1954-1961; C-D (Xeroxes)

Box 16   Folder 14

Natural Right; RMbM and Plato's "Laws" n.d.

Box 16   Folder 15

Is divine law possible at all, n.d.

Box 16   Folder 16

Reading notes: Mishneh Torah, BMbM? n.d.

Box 16   Folder 17

Spinoza n.d.

Sub-subseries 3: Notes: Greek Thought

Box 17   Folder 1

Platos Lehre vom Gesetz 1935

Box 17   Folder 2

Plato "Republic" 38pp.; Exoteric Teaching, 8pp. 1935?

Box 17   Folder 3

Plato, Outline: Classical Politics 1944

Box 17   Folder 4

Classical Politics 1944?

Box 17   Folder 5

Thucydides, History 1952

Box 17   Folder 6

Symposium 1959

Box 17   Folder 7

Aristophanes, A 1960-1962

Box 17   Folder 8

Aristophanes, B

Box 17   Folder 9

Aristophanes, C

Box 17   Folder 10

Thucydides, paper on Thucydides by Christopher Bruel 1961-1972

Box 17   Folder 11

Plato's Meno; Commentary by J. Klein 1969

Box 17   Folder 12-13

Xenophon n.d.

Box 17   Folder 14

Physis; Plutarch: die drei Theologiem n.d.

Box 17   Folder 15

City and Man n.d.

Box 17   Folder 16

Plato "Republic" n.d.

Sub-subseries 4: Miscellaneous Notes

Box 18   Folder 1

Democracy 1945

Box 18   Folder 2

Husserl; Heidegger 1946

Box 18   Folder 3

Basic Problems 1950 [cf. lecture]

Box 18   Folder 4

Machiavelli: Discorsi, Principe; Arte della Guerra 1954-1955

Box 18   Folder 5

Machiavelli's success n.d.

Box 18   Folder 6

Moral Philosophy: Kant, Scheler n.d.

Box 18   Folder 7

Politics and Literature: Lessing, Addison; Volaire; Shakespeare n.d.

Box 18   Folder 8

Political Theory and Political Sciences, 28pp. n.d.

Box 18   Folder 9

Why is Philosophy Absolutely Necessary n.d.

Box 18   Folder 10

Notes: Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics; contains correspondence

Box 18   Folder 11

Unidentified notes 1951

Box 18   Folder 12

Unidentified notes 1955

Box 18   Folder 13

Unidentified notes 1964

Box 18   Folder 14

Program for a political science course, Fall semester 1958-1959

Box 18   Folder 15

Notebook and notes: commentaries on Plato's Euthyphro and Crito

Box 18   Folder 16

Notes and commentaries on Plato's Statesman

Box 18   Folder 17

Miscellaneous notes

  • Theology and Politics
  • Zu Abravanels Kritik des Konigtums
  • Untitled, "I do not read the Laws..." [beginning of text]
  • Der Ort der Vorsehungslehre nach der Ansicht Maimunis
  • Untitled, "How to approach Islamic (political) philosophy..." [beginning of text]
  • Arthur Liebert, Heist und Welt der Dialektik, 1928
Box 19   Folder 1

Readings in Philosophy, Spring 1941

Box 19   Folder 2

Thoughts on Machiavelli, manuscript, pp. 57-113

Box 19   Folder 3

Thoughts on Machiaveli, manuscript, pp. 114-152, 1957; Review of Leyden's edition of Locke's On Natural Law, pp. 1-12, 1957-1958

Box 19   Folder 4

Socrates and Aristophanes, pp. 1-48, 1963-1964

Box 19   Folder 5

Socrates and Aristophanes, pp. 49-97

Box 19   Folder 6

Socrates and Aristophanes, pp. 98-147

Box 19   Folder 7

Socrates and Aristophanes, pp. 148-159

Box 19   Folder 8

Miscellaneous notes

  • Memorabilia, pp. 36-60, 1969
  • Xenophon's Socrates, pp. 61-81, 1970
  • Studies in Platonic political philosophy, pp. 82-93, 1970
  • On the Crito, pp. 94-102, 1970
  • The Argument and the Action of Plato's "Laws", pp. 103-110, 1970-1971
  • Unidentified notes, 1969-1970
Box 19   Folder 9

The Argument and the Action of Plato's "Laws", pp. 111-219, 1970-1971

Box 19   Folder 10

The Argument and the Action of Plato's "Laws", typescript, second copy, pp. 1-119

Box 20   Folder 1

The Argument and the Action of Plato's "Laws", typescript, second copy, pp. 120-275

Box 20   Folder 2

"1001 Nights," typescript, 18 pp.

Box 20   Folder 3

Grobius, n.d.

Box 20   Folder 4

Hobbes, n.d.

Box 20   Folder 5

Kant, n.d.

Box 20   Folder 6

Montesquieu, 1950s and Winter and Spring, 1966

Box 20   Folder 7

Nietzsche, n.d.

Box 20   Folder 8

Nietzsche, n.d.

Box 20   Folder 9

Nietzsche, Winter 1967

Box 20   Folder 10

Pascal, n.d.; Philosophy and Revelation, New School of Social Research, New York, notes and required reading list, ca. 1947

Box 20   Folder 11

Rousseau, Emile, n.d.

Box 20   Folder 12

Vico, n.d.

Box 20   Folder 13

Xenophon, n.d.

Box 20   Folder 14

Arabic (notebook); Biblical Book of Kings; and "The New Theology and the Secularization of the City" (notebook)

Box 20   Folder 15

"Arbeitsplan" and fragments

Box 20   Folder 16

Strauss Lecture on Machiavelli delivered at St. John's College, 12 March 1971

Series III: Manuscripts

Series III, Manuscripts, includes manuscript and typescript texts of many of Strauss' writings. A small amount of correspondence with colleagues and publishers is included with the texts.

Box 21   Folder 1

"The Problem of Socrates", typescript and photocopy of handwritten

Box 21   Folder 2

"Existentialism", typescript

Box 21   Folder 3

A German translation of "How to Study Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise" (W.B., N. Altwicker, Darmstadt, 1971)

Box 21   Folder 4

A German translation of pp. 41-59, 66 of Natural Right and History (W.B., N. Altwicker et. E. Topitsch, Darmstadt, n.d.)

Box 21   Folder 5-6

Strauss, Leo, The Argument and the Action of Plato's Laws, manuscript, photocopy, ca. 1973

Box 22   Folder 1

"How Farabi Read Plato's Laws" (notebook); Final paragraph of "Restatement on Xenophon's Hiero," in On Tyranny, omitted from English version

Box 22   Folder 2

Thoughts on Machiavelli, 1956 (2 spiral bound notebooks)

Box 22   Folder 3

Socrates and Aristophanes

Box 22   Folder 4

Socrates and Aristophanes

Box 22   Folder 5

Socrates and Aristophanes

Box 22   Folder 6

Socrates and Aristophanes; includes 2 letters to Basic Books, Inc.

Box 22   Folder 7

The City and Man

Box 22   Folder 8

The City and Man

Box 22   Folder 9

Review of Greek Historical Writing by W. P. Henry

Box 22   Folder 10

How to Study Medieval Philosophy

Box 22   Folder 11

Jerusalem and Athens

Box 23   Folder 1

Memorabilia (partial, with notes)

Box 23   Folder 2

Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil"

Box 23   Folder 3

Notes on Lucretius

Box 23   Folder 4

Philosophy as Rigorous Science and Political Philosophy

Box 23   Folder 5

Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides' Work

Box 23   Folder 6

Xenophon's Socratic Discourse

Box 23   Folder 7

"An Epilogue," for Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics, edited by H. J. Storing

Box 23   Folder 8

"Exoteric Teaching"

Box 23   Folder 9

"On the Minos"

Box 23   Folder 10

"Natural Law"

Box 23   Folder 11

"On Plato's Apology of Socrates and Crito"

Box 23   Folder 12

Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise, Preface

Box 23   Folder 13

"Thousand and One Nights"

Series IV: Publications and Reviews

Series IV is divided into three subseries. Subseries 1, Writings by Strauss, includes manuscripts and reprints of Strauss writings, from the 1920s into the 1970s. Subseries 2 includes a small number of published or photocopied writings by others. Subseries 3 contains reviews of Strauss' writings.

Subseries 1: Writings by Strauss

Box 24   Folder 1

Das Erkenntnisproblem der philosophischen Lehre Jacobis, See Box 15 Folder 1

Box 24   Folder 2

Auszug aus der Dissertation (Abstract); Leo Strauss' review of Ebbinghaus

Box 24   Folder 3

Hobbes politische Wissenschaft in ihrer Genesis (typescript)

Box 24   Folder 4

Einleitung zu Mendellssohns "Morgenstunden" und "An die Freunde Lessings" mit Kommentar (typescript)

Box 24   Folder 5

correspondence and notes regarding Einleitung zu Mendellssohns "Morgenstunden" und "An die Freunde Lessings" mit Kommentar

Box 24   Folder 6

Xenophon: Anabasis (typescript and photocopy)

Box 24   Folder 7

Plato's Laws, Book 1-6 (typescript)

Box 24   Folder 8

Plato's Laws, Book 7-12 (typescript)

Box 24   Folder 9

Writings, 1934-1959

  • "Maimunis Lehre von der Prophetie und ihre Quellen," Le Monde Oriental 28, 1934 Reprint
  • Eine vermifk Schrift Farabis 1936 Reprint
  • "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research 17, 1948 Reprint
  • "Political Philosophy and History," Journal of the History of Ideas 10/1, 1949 Reprint
  • "Machiavelli's Intention: The Prince," American Political Science Review 51/1, 1957 Reprint
  • "What Is Liberal Education?" an address delivered at the tenth annual graduation exercises of the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults, University of Chicago, June 6, 1959
Box 25   Folder 1

"Das Erkenntnisproblem in der philosophischen Lehre Fr. H. Jacobis," doctoral dissertation, University of Hamburg, 1921, typescript (2 copies)

Box 25   Folder 2

Writings, 1923

  • "Antwort auf das 'Prinzipielle Wort' der Frankfurter," Juedische Rundschau (Berlin) 28 no. 9 (1923): 45-46
  • "Anmerkung zur Diskussion über 'Zionismus und Antisemitismus,'" Juedische Rundschau (Berlin) 28 no. 83/84 (1923): 501-502
  • "Das Heilige," Der Jude (Berlin) 7 (1923): 240-242
  • "Der Zionismus bei Nordau," Der Jude (Berlin) 7 (1923): 657-660
Box 25   Folder 3

Writings, 1924

  • "Paul de Lagarde," Der Jude (Berlin) 8 (1924): 8-15
  • "Soziologische Geschichtschreibung?" Der Jude (Berlin) 8 (1924): 190-192
  • "Cohens Analyse der Bibel-Wissenschaft Spinozas," Der Jude (Berlin) 8 (1924): 295-314
  • "Bucherschau," Der Jude (Berlin) 8 (1924): 432
  • "Zur Auseinandersetzung mit der europaischen Wissenschaft," Der Jude (Berlin) 8: 613-617
Box 25   Folder 4

Writings, 1925-1926

  • "Biblische Geschichte und Wissenschaft," Juedische Rundschau (Berlin) 30 no. 88 (1925): 744-745
  • "Zur Bibelwissenschaft Spinozas und seiner Vorlaufer," Korrespondenzblatt (des Vereins zur Grundung und Erhaltung einer Akademie fur die Wissenschat des Judentums) 7 (1926): 1-22
Box 25   Folder 5

Die Religionskritik Spinozas als Grundlage seiner Bibelwissenschaft: Untersuchungen zu Spinozas Theologisch-politischem Traktat, 1930, review by Gerhard Kruger, Deutsche Literaturzeitung 51 (1931): 2407-2412

Box 25   Folder 6

Writings, 1932-1933

  • "Anmerkungen zu Carl Schmitt, Der Begriff des Politischen," Archiv fur Sozialwissenschaft und Soziapolitik 67 no. 6 (August-September 1932): 732-749
  • "Das Testament Spinozas," Bayerische Israelitische Gemeindezeitung (Munich) 8 no. 21 (1932): 322-326
  • "Quelques remarques sur la science politique de Hobbes," Recherches Philosophiques 2 (1933): 609-622
Box 25   Folder 7

Writings, 1936

  • "Quelques remarques sur la science politique de Maimonide et de Farabi, Revue des Etudes Juives 100 (1936): 1-37
  • "Eine vermisste Schrift Farabis," Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums 80 (1936): 96-106
Box 25   Folder 8

Writings, 1937

  • "Der Ort der Vorsehungslehre nach der Ansicht Maimunis," Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums 81 (1937): 93-105
  • "On Abravanel's Philosophical Tendency and Political Teaching," in Isaac Abravanel, ed. J.B. Trend and H. Loewe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1937), pp. 93-129
Box 26   Folder 1

Writings, 1926-1959

  • "Zur Bibel Wissenschaft Spinozas und seiner Vorläufer," Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins zur Grundung und Erhaltung einer Akademie fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums 7, 1926
  • "Quelques remarques sur la science politique de Maϊmonide et de Farabi," Revue des Etudes Juives 199-200, 1936
  • Review of Giles of Rome, Errores Philosophorum, translated by John O. Riedl, Church History 15/1, 1946
  • "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research 17, 1948
  • "The Liberalism of Classical Political Philosophy," Review of Metaphysics 12/3, 1959
Box 26   Folder 2

Writings, 1959-1973, n.d.

  • "Liberal Education and Mass Democracy," combined lecture, 1959-1960
  • "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," reprint of "Introductory Essay" from The Guide of the Perplexed, University of Chicago Press, 1963
  • "Note on the Plan of Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil," Interpretation 2/2-3, 1973
  • "Der Ort der Vorsehungslehre nach der Ansicht Maimunis," Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums, n.d.
  • Review of The Nature of Jewish History--Its Universal Significance, by J. L. Talmon, Journal of Modern History, n.d.
Box 26   Folder 3

"The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," reprinted from chapter three of Essays on Maimonides, Columbia University Press, n.d., heavily annotated by Strauss with inserted notes and correspondence

Subseries 2: Writings by Others

Box 26   Folder 4

Reviews and articles, 1972, n.d.

  • Helmut Kuhn, "Philosophie - Ideologie - Politik," Zeitschrift fur Politik, n.d.
  • John D. Moore, review of Plato's Symposium by Stanley Rosen, American Journal of Philosophy, n.d.
  • Julius Guttmann, "Philosophie der Religion oder Philosophie des Gesetzes?" n.d.
  • Jenny Clay, review of Erl"uterungen zum N der Ilias by Michel Christoph, Classical World, 1972

Subseries 3: Reviews of Strauss' work

Box 26   Folder 5

Liberalism: Ancient and Modern, 1968

Box 26   Folder 6

History of Political Philosophy; Socrates and Aristophanes, 1963

Box 26   Folder 7

Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, 1963

Box 26   Folder 8

What is Political Philosophy? And other studies, 1959

Box 26   Folder 9

Thoughts on Machiavelli, 1958

Box 26   Folder 10-11

Natural Right and History, 1953

Box 26   Folder 12

Persecution and the Art of Writing, 1952

Box 27

Folder, 1: On Tyranny, 1948

Box 27   Folder 2

On Tyranny, 1963

Box 27   Folder 3

Philosophie und Gesetz, 1935

Box 27   Folder 4

Spinoza's Critique of Religion, 1931 and, 1962

Box 27   Folder 5

The Political Philosophy of Hobbes, 1936; 1952; 1962; and 1966

Box 27   Folder 6

Articles on Strauss' work in general

  • Ermeneutica e pensiero classico in Leo Strauss; by Arnaldo Momigliano, 1967
  • Tiranni e filosofi tiranni by Enrico Paresce, c.1970
Box 27   Folder 7

Reviews, 1931-1973

  • Gerhard Kruger, review of Die Religionskritik Spinozas als Grundlage seiner Bibelwissenschaft, Deutsche Literaturzeitung 51, 1931
  • Willmoore Kendall, review of Thoughts on Machiavelli, Triumph 8/7, 1973
  • Gehart Niemeyer, "Humanism, Positivism, Immorality," review of Thoughts on Machiavelli, Political Science Reviewer 1, 1971 (2 copies)
  • Review of What is Political Philosophy? Revista de Estodios Sociales 2, n.d. (Spanish)
  • Robert G. Hoerber, review of Xenophon's Socratic Discourse, Classical Outlook, 49/8, 1972
  • A. E. Raubitschek, review of Xenophon's Socratic Discourse, American Classical Review, 1971
  • J. A. Schwandt, review of Xenophon's Socratic Discourse, Thought, 1971
  • Review of Xenophon's Socratic Discourse, American Classical Review 1/4, n.d.
  • Carroll Moulton, review of Xenophon's Socrates, Yale Review, 1972
  • Stanley Rosen, review of Xenophon's Socrates, Classical World, 1973 (2 copies)
  • Review of Xenophon's Socrates, Bibliography of Philosophy, 1973
  • Review of Xenophon's Socrates, Choice, 1973
  • Review of Xenophon's Socrates, Classical Bulletin, 1972
  • Review of Xenophon's Socrates, Greece and Rome, 1973
  • Review of Xenophon's Socrates, Social Science Quarterly, 1973
Box 27   Folder 8

Memorials and biographical articles, 1972-1974, n.d.

  • Robert L. Bartley, "Irving Kristol and Friends," Wall Street Journal, May 3, 1972
  • Hiram Caton, Der hermeneutische Weg Leo Strauss'," n.d.
  • Milton Himmelfarb, "On Leo Strauss," Commentary, 1974
  • Marie-Merlin Veronica Price, "Tracking Mr. Strauss," Wall Street Journal, letter to the editor, n.d.
  • George K. Romoser, "Leo Strauss," obituary, n.d. (German)
  • Eulogy by unidentified student

Series V: Personal Files

Series V contains a small number of documents related to Strauss' biography and personal life. In addition to biographical items and identification documents, the Personal files include a brief diary kept by Strauss in 1944 and several of the many awards he received in the later years of his career.

Box 28   Folder 1

Passports, certificate of literacy, voter identification cards, Naturalization Papers

Box 28   Folder 2

miscellaneous notes, programs, and memberships

Box 28   Folder 3

note about Professor David Spitz; Leo Strauss' vita 1938

Box 28   Folder 4

Dinner speech at the New School 1941; letters and program regarding the Annual meeting of the Conference on Jewish Relations 1943

Box 28   Folder 5

Diary, presented by J. Guttmann, with a few entries 1944

Box 28   Folder 6

Honors, 1964-1966

  • Certificate in appreciation from the University of California 1964
  • Honorary Doctorate from the University of Hamburg 1965
  • Honorary Doctorate from the Hebrew Union College 1966
  • Certificate from Gynasium Philippinum, Marburg, n.d.
Box 28   Folder 7

Citation for Doctor of Laws, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York, 1969

Box 28   Folder 8

Diploma, honorary Doctor of Laws, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York, 1969

Box 28   Folder 9

Citation for Doctor of Laws, Dropsie College, 1963

Box 28   Folder 10

Articles about Strauss 1967-1968

Box 28   Folder 11

Letter from Laurence Berns to Joseph Cropsey concerning the disposition of the Leo Strauss papers 1976

Box 28   Folder 12

Strauss memorials; photograph of Leo Strauss and Marie Bernsohn Strauss

Series VI: Oversized Documents

Box 29   Folder 1

Hebrew newspaper

Box 29   Folder 2

Certificates

  • Diploma, honorary Doctor of Laws, Dropsie College, 1963
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences, certificate of election, 1968
Box 30

Mimeograph, Nietzsche, Lecture 1, 1962

Box 30

Mimeograph, Nietzsche, Lecture 2, 1962

Box 30

Mimeograph, Montesquieu, session 27, 1966

Box 30

Mimeograph, Political Science 256, final examination, 1977

Box 30

Mimeograph, "Second meeting, December 5, 1972," 1972

Series VII: Audio Recordings

Series VII, Audio-Visual, contains audio recordings of Strauss lectures, primarily from the 1960s. The recordings are arranged chronologically. Subseries 1 contains original and new master copies. These are not available for listening. Subseries 2 contains access copies of many of the recordings, on audio cassette. These are available for listening onsite. Items from Subseries 1, for which access copies are not available in Subseries 2, may be eligible for reproduction. Please see Special Collections Research Center staff for further information.

Digitized recordings and transcripts of many lectures are available from the Leo Strauss Center.

Subseries 1: Masters

Box 31

Conversation with Martin Buber, December 3, 1951 (1 new master) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 31

Alexander Altman lecture, 1957 (1 new master) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 31

Kant, lectures 1-16, spring 1958 (13 old master reels) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 31

Kant, lectures 1-3, spring 1958 (7 new masters reels) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 32

Kant, lectures 4-9, spring 1958 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 33

Kant, lectures 10-16, spring 1958 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 34

Kant, lecture 16, spring 1958 (1 new master) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 34

Cicero, May 1959 (3 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 34

Cicero, 1959 (3 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 34

On Reason and Revelation, 1960 (1 new master) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 34

Crisis of Modernity, 1960 (1 new master) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 34

Origins of Political Science, lectures 1-15, 1960 (15 old masters)

Box 35

Aristotle’s Politics, spring 1960 (16 old masters)

Box 35

Marx, Lectures 1-5, 7-16, spring 1960 (15 old masters)

Box 35

Marx, spring 1960 (lecture transcript)

Box 36

Natural Right, lectures 1-8, fall 1962 (8 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 36

Natural Right, lectures 1-6, fall 1962 (12 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 37

Natural Right, lectures 7-8, fall 1962 (4 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 37

Rousseau, 1962 (4 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 38

Xenophon, winter 1963 (7 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 38

Xenophon, winter 1963 (7 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 39

Vico/New Science, lectures 1-17, fall 1963 (16 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 39

Vico/New Science, lectures 1-3, fall 1963 (5 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 40

Vico/New Science, lectures 3-10, fall 1963 (12 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 41

Vico/New Science, lectures 10-17, fall 1963 (12 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 42

Plato’s Gorgias, lectures 1-15, fall 1963 (15 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 43

Hobbes, lectures 1-16, winter 1964 (16 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 43

Hobbes, lectures 1-3, winter 1964 (6 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 44

Hobbes, lectures 4-10, winter 1964 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 45

Hobbes, lectures 10-16, winter 1964 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 46

Aristotle’s Rhetoric, lectures 1-16, spring 1964 (16 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 46

Aristotle’s Rhetoric, lectures 1-4, spring 1964 (8 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 47

Aristotle’s Rhetoric, lectures 5-11, spring 1964 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 48

Aristotle’s Rhetoric, lectures 12-16, spring 1964 (10 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 48

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lectures 1-10, winter 1965, (10 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 49

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lectures 1-7, winter 1965 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 50

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lectures 8-10, winter 1965 (6 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 50

Hegel-Philosophy of History, lectures 1-16, winter 1965 (16 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 51

Hegel-Philosophy of History, lectures 1-6, winter 1965 (12 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 52

Hegel-Philosophy of History, lectures 6-12, winter 1965 (12 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 53

Hegel-Philosophy of History, lectures 13-16, winter 1965 (8 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 53

Philosophy of Plato, Protagoras, spring 1965 (17 old masters)

  • This item has been digitally reformatted.
Box 54

Montesquieu Seminar, lectures 1-33, 1965-1966 (18 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 54

Montesquieu-Fall, lectures 1-2, fall 1965 (4 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 55

Montesquieu Winter, lectures 1-9, winter 1966 (9 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 55

Montesquieu-Spring, lectures 1-4, spring 1966 (4 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 56

Montesquieu-Spring, spring 1966 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 57

Montesquieu-Spring, spring 1966 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 58

Plato’s Meno, fall 1965 (2 new masters)

Box 58

Plato’s Meno, lectures 1-16, spring 1966, (9 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 58

Plato’s Meno, lectures 1-4, spring 1966 (7 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 59

Plato’s Meno, lectures 4-10, spring 1966, (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 60

Plato’s Meno, lectures 10-16, spring 1966 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 61

Plato’s Apology/Crito, lectures 1-17, fall 1966 (9 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 61

Plato’s Apology/Crito, lectures 1-4, fall 1966 (8 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 62

Plato’s Apology/Crito, lectures 5-11, fall 1966 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 63

Plato’s Apology/Crito, lectures 11-17, fall 1966 (11 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 64

Kant, lectures 1-17, spring 1967 (9 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 64

Kant, lectures 1-5, spring 1967 (9 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 65

Kant, lectures 5-11, spring 1967 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 66

Kant, lectures 12-17, spring 1967 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 66A

The Socratic Question, February 15, 1968 (2 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 67

Nichomachean Ethics, lectures 2-26, winter/spring 1968 (24 old masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 67

Nichomachean Ethics, lectures 2-8, winter/spring 1968 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 68

Nichomachean Ethics, lectures 9-16, winter/spring 1968 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 69

Nichomachean Ethics, lectures 17-24, winter/spring 1968 (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 70

Nichomachean Ethics, lectures 25-26, winter/spring 1968 (4 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 70

The Origins of Political Philosophy, lectures 1-5, undated, (9 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 71

The Origins of Political Philosophy, lectures 4-10, undated, (13 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 72

The Origins of Political Philosophy, lectures 11-15, undated (11 new masters) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 72

Jerusalem Lectures, undated (1 new master)

Box 72

Genesis, undated (1 new master) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 72

Religion and the Commonweal, undated (1 new master) See Subseries 2 for access copies

Box 73

Thucydides-Peloponnesian War, 1972-1973 (16 original cassettes)

Box 74

Economics, undated (5 original cassettes)

Box 74

Memorabilia, undated (14 original cassettes)

Subseries 2: Access Copies

Box 75

Series of lectures given at Hillel House, 1950-1963 (17 access copies)

Box 76

Series of lectures given at Hillel House, 1950-1963 (8 access copies)

Box 76

Conversation with Martin Buber, December 3, 1951 (1 access copies)

Box 76

Alexander Altman lecture, 1957 (1 access copy)

Box 76

Kant, lectures 1-3, spring 1958 (7 access copies)

Box 77

Kant, lectures 4-11, spring 1958 (16 access copies)

Box 78

Kant, lectures 12-16, spring 1958 (10 access copies)

Box 78

Cicero, 1959 (1 access copy)

Box 78

On Reason and Revelation, 1960 (1 access copy)

Box 78

Crisis of Modernity, 1960 (1 access copy)

Box 78

Natural Right, lectures 1-3, fall 1962 (6 access copies)

Box 79

Natural Right, lectures 4-8, fall 1962 (11 access copies)

Box 79

Rousseau, 1962 (6 access copies)

Box 79

Xenophon, 1963 (2 access copies)

Box 80

Xenophon, 1963 (6 access copies)

Box 80

Vico/New Science, lectures 1-6, fall 1963 (12 access copies)

Box 81

Vico/New Science, lectures 6-15, fall 1963 (18 access copies)

Box 81

Cicero, spring 1964 (2 access copies)

Box 82

Plato’s Gorgias, lectures 1-8, fall 1963, (18 access copies)

Box 83

Plato’s Gorgias, lectures 8-15, fall 1963, (19 access copies)

Box 84

Hobbes, lectures 1-7, winter 1964 (14 access copies)

Box 85

Hobbes, lectures 8-16, winter 1964 (17 access copies)

Box 86

Hobbes, lectures 16, winter 1964 (1 access copy)

Box 86

Aristotle’s Rhetoric, lectures 1-8, spring 1964 (16 access copies)

  • This item has been digitally reformatted.
Box 87

Aristotle’s Rhetoric, lectures 9-16, spring 1964 (15 access copies)

  • This item has been digitally reformatted.
Box 87

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lecture 1, winter 1968 (2 access copies)

Box 88

Introduction to Political Philosophy, lectures 2-9, winter 1965 (16 access copies)

Box 89

Hegel, Lectures 1-9, winter 1965 (17 access copies)

Box 90

Hegel, Lectures 9-16, winter 1965 (15 access copies)

Box 90

Montesquieu-Fall, lecture 1, fall 1965 (1 access copy)

Box 91

Montesquieu-Fall, lectures 1-2, fall 1965 (3 access copies)

Box 91

Montesquieu Winter, lectures 13-17, winter 1966 (9 access copies)

Box 91

Montesquieu-Spring, spring 1966 (5 access copies)

Box 92

Montesquieu-Spring, spring 1966 (17 access copies)

Box 93

Montesquieu-Spring, spring 1966 (8 access copies)

Box 93

Plato’s Meno, lectures 1-4, spring 1966 (9 access copies)

Box 94

Plato’s Meno, lectures 4-12, spring 1966 (17 access copies)

Box 95

Plato’s Meno, lectures 13-16, spring 1966 (8 access copies)

Box 95

Plato’s Apology/Crito, lectures 1-5, fall 1966 (9 access copies)

Box 96

Plato’s Apology/Crito, lectures 5-13, fall 1966 (17 access copies)

Box 97

Plato’s Apology/Crito, lectures 14-16, fall 1966 (6 access copies)

Box 97

Kant, lectures 1-6, spring 1967 (11 access copies)

Box 98

Kant, lectures 6-16, spring 1967 (17 access copies)

Box 99

Kant, lectures 14-17, spring 1967 (6 access copies)

Box 99

The Socaratic Question, February 15, 1968, (2 access copies)

Box 99

Nichomachean Ethics, lectures 2-7, winter/spring 1968 (11 access copies)

Box 100

Nichomachean Ethics, lectures 8-17, winter/spring 1968 (17 access copies)

Box 101

Nichomachean Ethics, lectures 18-26, winter/spring 1968 (15 access copies)

Box 101

The Origins of Political Philosophy, lecture 1, undated (2 access copies)

Box 102

The Origins of Political Philosophy, lectures 2-9, undated (17 access copies)

Box 103

The Origins of Political Philosophy, lectures 9-15, undated (14 access copies)

Box 103

Genesis, undated (1 access copy)

Box 103

Religion and the Commonweal, undated (1 access copy)

Series VIII: Restricted

Series VIII contains files to which access is restricted. Subseries 1 includes letters of recommendation written by Strauss for his students. Subseries 2 includes correspondence between Strauss and Gershom Scholem, scholar of Jewish mysticism. Access to and use of these materials is restricted in accordance with the notice below:

NOTE: Purchased From The Department Of Manuscripts And Archives, Jewish National And University Library, Jerusalem, September 1995. This material can be cited only with permission of the Department of Manuscripts and Archives, Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem. No photocopies can be made without permission of the Department Of Manuscripts And Archives, Jewish National And University Library, Jerusalem.

Subseries 1: Letters of Recommendation

Box 104 RESTRICTED   Folder 1

A-L

Box 104 RESTRICTED   Folder 2

M-Z

Subseries 2: Correspondence (purchased from Jewish National and University Library)

Box 105 RESTRICTED

Gershom Scholem, correspondence, 1929-1973