A Beautiful Mind

Harvey Mansfield, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor
of Government at Harvard, a conservative political philosopher and all around genius said of Classicist Seth Benardete, "(he) was a scholar, a philosopher, and a most extraordinary man ... Before he died on November 14, 2001, at the age of seventy one, he was the most learned man alive -- and, I venture to assert, the deepest thinker as well."

Having read some of his unbelievably dense and brilliant books, I emailed Professor Mansfied, "I'm curious ... Mr. Benardete didn't speak out
about contemporary political events despite the fact
that he dealt quite a bit in political philosophy.
Would you characterize Mr. Benardete as a
conservative?"

Less than an hour later in my email box was Mansfield's reply, "Perhaps he was above conservatism, if such a thing is possible. HM"