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It was probably Rousseau who first thought of dreams as ennobling
experiences. Anyone who has ever read Reveries du Promeneur
Solitaire must be struck by the dreamlike quality of Rousseau's
meditations. This dreamlike quality is still with us, and those who
experience it find themselves ennobled by it. Witness Martin Luther
King's famous "1 have a dream. " Dreaming and inspiration raise the
artist to the top rung in the ladder ofhuman relations. That is
probably the prevailing view among educated people of our time.
Rousseau made that view respectable and predominant. Yet in another
sense, the problem is much older. It is the problem of political
philosophy and poetry, the problem of Socrates and Aristophanes, of
Plato and Homer. Yet, while antiquity usually gives the crown to
philosophy, since Rous seau, the alternative view tends to prevail.
The distinction is not, however, a formal one. Sir Philip Sidney
enlisted Plato on the side of poetry. The true distinction is
between imagination and reason. If reason is to rule, as Aristotle
points out, l the most architectonic of the sciences, that is
political science, should rule. It is political philosophy which
must determine the nature of the arts which will help or which will
hinder the good of the city or the polity. That does not mean that
a mere professor should stand in judgment of Shake speare, Bacon,
and Rembrandt. It means that ifhe studies these three great
artists, he is not over-stepping disciplinary limits."
The departmentalism of American universities has doubtless much to
recommend it. It indicates that exuberance is not a sufficient sub
stitute for scholarship, that, for better or for worse, every
scholar today must be something of a specialist. But when any great
writer and great thinker reaches out and grasps the whole of human
life, the study of his work transcends specialization. And while
exuberance may not replace scholarship, it may accompany it. Most
of my work has been done in the history of political philosophy. I
have dared to overstep departmental boundaries, because I believe
that Shakespeare has something to say to political philosophy. I am
not the first to express this view. Whether I express it well or
badly, I shall not be the last. I want to thank Leo Strauss, my
teacher. He has read the manus cript and given me the benefit of
his insight and judgment. I want to thank Richard Kennington, who
has taken so much time from his own work to comment meticulously
and constructively on this work as on other things I have written.
His help has been generous, and my appreciation is deep. I must, in
particular, thank my colleague, Adolph Lowe. He has perused this
study, much of it in several versions. Through long walks in
Manchester, Vermont, we have discussed my work and his comments.
Usually his comments have been compelling. I can regret only that I
am completely unqualified to reciprocate."
The departmentalism of American universities has doubtless much to
recommend it. It indicates that exuberance is not a sufficient sub
stitute for scholarship, that, for better or for worse, every
scholar today must be something of a specialist. But when any great
writer and great thinker reaches out and grasps the whole of human
life, the study of his work transcends specialization. And while
exuberance may not replace scholarship, it may accompany it. Most
of my work has been done in the history of political philosophy. I
have dared to overstep departmental boundaries, because I believe
that Shakespeare has something to say to political philosophy. I am
not the first to express this view. Whether I express it well or
badly, I shall not be the last. I want to thank Leo Strauss, my
teacher. He has read the manus cript and given me the benefit of
his insight and judgment. I want to thank Richard Kennington, who
has taken so much time from his own work to comment meticulously
and constructively on this work as on other things I have written.
His help has been generous, and my appreciation is deep. I must, in
particular, thank my colleague, Adolph Lowe. He has perused this
study, much of it in several versions. Through long walks in
Manchester, Vermont, we have discussed my work and his comments.
Usually his comments have been compelling. I can regret only that I
am completely unqualified to reciprocate."
It was probably Rousseau who first thought of dreams as ennobling
experiences. Anyone who has ever read Reveries du Promeneur
Solitaire must be struck by the dreamlike quality of Rousseau's
meditations. This dreamlike quality is still with us, and those who
experience it find themselves ennobled by it. Witness Martin Luther
King's famous "1 have a dream. " Dreaming and inspiration raise the
artist to the top rung in the ladder ofhuman relations. That is
probably the prevailing view among educated people of our time.
Rousseau made that view respectable and predominant. Yet in another
sense, the problem is much older. It is the problem of political
philosophy and poetry, the problem of Socrates and Aristophanes, of
Plato and Homer. Yet, while antiquity usually gives the crown to
philosophy, since Rous seau, the alternative view tends to prevail.
The distinction is not, however, a formal one. Sir Philip Sidney
enlisted Plato on the side of poetry. The true distinction is
between imagination and reason. If reason is to rule, as Aristotle
points out, l the most architectonic of the sciences, that is
political science, should rule. It is political philosophy which
must determine the nature of the arts which will help or which will
hinder the good of the city or the polity. That does not mean that
a mere professor should stand in judgment of Shake speare, Bacon,
and Rembrandt. It means that ifhe studies these three great
artists, he is not over-stepping disciplinary limits."
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