Appendix D

Paragraph Headings of “How Fārābī Read Plato’s Laws”

Editorial remarks: Like some of Strauss’s other writings, such as Thoughts on Machiavelli, the manuscript of Strauss’s “How Fārābī read Plato’s Laws” has a heading for each paragraph which is carefully numbered. The headings are not reproduced in the published version of the essay but are significant for understanding Strauss’s intention.¹ My transcription of the headings was significantly improved by Heinrich Meier and Svetozar Minkov, to whom I am grateful.

· 1. F is silent on Legg. X.

· 2. F’ preface: the general statement.

· 3. F’ preface: the story.

· 4. F’ preface: the story viewed in the light of the general remark.

· 5. F’. preface: the application to Plato.

· 6. F. preface: interpretation of remark on Plato in the light of general statement.

· 7. F’ preface: interpretation of the remark on Plato in the light of the story.

· 8. F. adopts Plato’ principle of secretiveness: allusive character of his Summary.

· 9. F’ Summary is silent about philosophy ‒ just as his Plato is silent about God, the future life and the divine law.

· 10. Summary : Aflatūn = Kalām : philosophy.

· 11. Summary is personal – Aflatūn is not personal

· 12. General characteristics of the Summary: from simple report to mere iḥṣā [?] [Arabic for “enumeration”]

· 13. Continuation.

· 14. Continuation.

· 15. These features are partly due to the problem posed by Islam.

· 16. Plato’s Laws→ Is Islam true?

· 17. Allusions to the problem of Islam.

· 18. Ambiguities re : καλά.

· 19. Ambiguity re : θεος.

· 20. Transition to specimen

· 21. A specimen: the problem of νομος.

· 22. Philosophy of Plato on the Laws: the Laws, being emphatically Socratic = non-conformist, are silent about laws.

· 23. The “unhistorical” character of the Philosophy of Plato and of the Summary.

¹Leo Strauss Papers, box 22, folder 1, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.