‘Humanitas et Ratio - Reflections of Ludwig Edelstein’s life and work in his extant epistolary network’ Fiona Jade Howarth Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of History, Classics and Archaeology Newcastle University February 2015 Abstract This thesis produces an in-depth study of Ludwig Edelstein’s life and work enabled by the use of his correspondence read in the light of his ample scholarly output. Ludwig Edelstein (1902-1965) was an important scholar in the fields of the history of ancient medicine and science, classics, and philosophy, yet his life has not been accorded the interest it merits. This thesis will be the first extensive exploration of the entanglement of Edelstein’s bion and ergon. It will demonstrate the importance of considering life and work within the same sphere. Furthermore, it will underline the value of using correspondence for historiography and the richness of information a biographical study can provide, strengthening the case for more investigations of this kind. The thesis adopts a thematic approach and each chapter will explore Edelstein in a different role; as a dissenter, friend, collaborator, scholar, and teacher. The combined study of Edelstein’s correspondence alongside his published work allows for a more complete understanding of Edelstein’s legacy than has been available thus far. However, Edelstein’s life cannot be separated from its context, and so the thesis will also provide valuable information on a number of other areas including, but not limited to, the history of the disciplines he worked in, the intellectual milieu he was a part of, the ‘red scare’ at American universities, humanist ideals of education, and, via the first portrayal of his wife ever written, the position of female scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. i Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Thomas Rütten for his wide-ranging and unwavering support during the production of this thesis. He has not only provided abundant intellectual support and guidance, but he has also been a keen source of moral support, encouraging and reassuring me, and bolstering my confidence. His door was always open to me for whatever issue I had, or simply for a caring ear to listen. This thesis would not have existed without him. I also give my thanks for his aid with the translation of some of the foreign language material used within the thesis. I would also like to thank my second supervisor Dr. Rowland Smith for the help and direction he has provided me with. Thanks also go to Dr. Rüdiger Kinsky for his assistance in the transcription of some of the earlier handwritten German letters. I wish to thank the AHRC and Newcastle University for providing the funding which enabled me study for a PhD. Without financial support I received this would be have been impossible, and I am very grateful for this privilege. I would like to thank all the archival staff I contacted from various institutions across the US who aided me in my research and sent me material which has greatly enriched this thesis. In particular I would like to thank Marjorie W. Kehoe from the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives, Carol A. Leadenham from the Hoover Institution Archives, Diana Peterson from Haverford College Special Collections, Kathryn Neal from the University Archives at the Bancroft Library, Lee Hiltzik and Patrick Galligan from the Rockefeller Archive Center, Jenifer Brathovde and Bonnie Coles from the Library of Congress, Heather Smedberg from the Mandeville Special Collections Library, and Kay Brown from the University of Washington Libraries. I am extremely grateful to Lorna Green and Audrie and Larry Sturman, Edelstein’s students, who took the time to share their memories with me. I would also like to acknowledge the support of my friends from Newcastle’s PhD community, who provided much needed solidarity. Finally, thanks go to my sisters Rachel Howarth and Laura Barratt for the high levels of patience, love, and care they have demonstrated throughout my extended period of study, for always being there for me when I needed support, and never faltering in their belief in me. ii Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. ii Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Thesis and Limitations ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Previous Work .................................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Edelstein’s Epistolary Network and the Physicality of the Letters .................................. 6 1.4 Letters as a Source Material in the Study of Edelstein .................................................... 9 Chapter 2. Edelstein as a Dissenter ...................................................................................... 14 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 The Adoption of the Loyalty Oath ................................................................................. 16 2.3 The Oath Controversy at the University of California ................................................... 18 2.4 Academic Freedom on Trial: The Lecturers Litigate ..................................................... 23 2.5 Edelstein, the Non-Signers, and the Regents’ Motives .................................................. 26 2.6 Hostility and Help: Responses to the Actions of Edelstein and the Non-signers .......... 33 2.7 Repercussions for Edelstein’s Life and Work ................................................................ 37 2.8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 3. Edelstein as a Friend .......................................................................................... 43 3.1 Introduction; or, on Friendship....................................................................................... 43 3.2 Leo Strauss ..................................................................................................................... 47 3.3 Henry Sigerist ................................................................................................................. 54 3.4 Owsei Temkin ................................................................................................................ 64 3.5 Roy Harvey Pearce ......................................................................................................... 68 3.6 Sidney Hollander ............................................................................................................ 73 3.7 Detlev Bronk .................................................................................................................. 76 3.8 Heinrich Zimmer and Erich Frank ................................................................................. 80 3.9 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 84 Chapter 4. Edelstein as a Collaborator ................................................................................ 86 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 86 4.2 Emma Edelstein.............................................................................................................. 89 4.3 Renata, Hercules, and the Pythagorean Y ...................................................................... 98 4.4 An Act of Piety: Producing Erich Frank’s Pythagoras ................................................ 101 4.5 A True Collaboration: Constructing and Reinterpreting Asclepius ............................. 106 4.6 Further Collaborations.................................................................................................. 113 iii 4.7 Ludwig and Renata, Academic Marriages, and Female Scholars in the Early Twentieth Century ............................................................................................................................... 115 4.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 124 Chapter 5. Edelstein as a Scholar ....................................................................................... 126 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 126 5.2 Platonism or Aristotelianism? ...................................................................................... 128 5.3 Re-evaluating the Symposium ...................................................................................... 130 5.4 Elucidating the Function of Platonic Myth .................................................................. 132 5.5 Addressing Platonic Anonymity .................................................................................. 138 5.6 Edelstein and the Seventh Letter .................................................................................