| The political thought of the Leo Strauss---the prolific 20 th century author and political science professor---inspired controversies that extended beyond academia and well into 21st century political discourse. Central to his controversial thought was his theory of esoteric writing. According to the contemporary scholarly narrative Strauss, through his theory of writing, encouraged the practice of "reading between the lines." In this paper, I explore Strauss's theory of esoteric writing. l show that traditional scholarship has divided esotericism along predominantly modern political lines, thereby missing the philosophical essence of Strauss's teaching. I argue that esotericism represented a unique part of a philosophical disagreement, a debate that had been occurring within European intellectual circles prior to the outbreak of World War II, regarding the best way to protect philosophy from politics. |
