SOURCE: Momigliano, Arnaldo. “Philosophy & Poetry.” Commentary 44, no. 4 (October 1967): 102-04.

In the following review, Momigliano places Socrates and Aristophanes within the context of Strauss's oeuvre and political philosophy.

Leo Strauss is right in reminding us that we must not assume too easily that the philosophers started the war against poetry. To the best of our information, the first shot came from the other side. It was fired by Aristophanes against Socrates. Yet Aristophanes was a friend of Socrates. Plato's Symposium ends with Aristophanes and Agathon falling asleep in the late hours while Socrates is trying to convince them that the writer of tragedies is also the writer of comedies. There is no personal animosity against Socrates in Aristophanes's Clouds. Indeed, there is not even unambiguous evidence that Aristophanes condemns Socrates. It is only when we analyze Aristophanes's other comedies (as Leo Strauss would argue) that we are led to...