Abstract

This paper explores the differences between Oakeshott and Leo Strauss over the place of the ancient Romans in Western thought, by addressing the puzzling silence of Strauss and on the place of Roman thought in this history. It suggests the Straussian narrative that early modern thinkers “dethroned” the contemplative life and elevated the importance of practical concerns, are part of a strategy to fill the vacuum and counter the baleful effects left by centuries of otherworldly, perfectionist Christian ethics. It raises the question whether this is a rhetorical strategy to avoid lessening the force of Strauss’s particular critique of modernity as something new, as opposed to Oakeshott’s account of greater continuity in political thought and practice.