As critics of Strauss and Straussianism have never ceased to emphasize, a view of political philosophy that puts esotericism at the heart of the whole enterprise poses unique hermeneutical challenges. Nods and winks are by definition harder to interpret than theoretical affirmations assumed to be sincere. How do these hermeneutical challenges affect the enterprise of interpreting Strauss himself? Can a theorist who sees esotericism as central to the nature and identity of philosophers be trusted not to engage in significant esoteric writing of his own? One sure way of surmounting this problem is to turn from Strauss’s public texts to his private texts, philosophical views confided to a good and trusted friend in a context where the imperatives of politic communication (as Strauss and Straussians understand this) are not applicable. In particular, we may be able to gain privileged access to Strauss’s most important ideas by eavesdropping on his epistolary exchanges with Karl Löwith on the all-important theme of nature versus history.

Consider Strauss’s remarkable letter to Löwith of August 15, 1946, containing the following astonishing statement of what Strauss believes with respect to what is fully natural: