Remarks at the Funeral of Morton J. Frisch

December 26, 2006 (made by my teacher, Professor Gary D. Glenn)

Mort was of that generation which went to war to defend Western Civilization against an unprecedented threat which had arisen from within the West itself and even from within one of the West’s most civilized countries. But it was not just the West he defended. When I think of his wartime service, I think of him telling me about being stationed on the East coast England with an anti-aircraft group which tried to shoot down the V-1 bombs aimed indiscrimately at English cities. This defense of the cities and its civilians is the part of his service about which he spoke most memorably with me.

After the war, Mort was drawn to the study of political philosophy after the manner of Plato. The Platonic class to which Mort most belonged, I think, is that of the guardians. The Platonic guardians are warriors responsible for defending the city. From among the best of them, are drawn the lovers of wisdom who are to rule a just city.

Anyone who knew Mort at all, has to know that he had the soul of a warrior. Those who knew him well, especially his students and professional friends, knew him as a lover of wisdom. And those with experience of the world know how rare is the combination of the warriors’ soul and the love of wisdom. It is rare, I think, because these pull us in opposite directions. The warrior is drawn to defend the particular things about which he cares: his country, his family, his religious tradition. The lover of wisdom is drawn away from attachment to these particular things towards the things that are universal. Mort was one of those whose life was lived in the tension between those different and sometimes conflicting spiritual goods. And in his life that tension was, it seems to me, fructifying and mutually beneficial. The warrior in him came to the defense of the tradition of wisdom embodied in the books of Western political philosophy; and the wisdom in him came to the defense of that which was peculiarly his own; his family, his country, his students, and his Jewishness.

Strong loves, strong articulate convictions and a willingness to defend them with actions, even at risk of life, of comfort, and of peace of mind, characterized my friend.

I do not know whether he was a warrior before he went to war against the Nazis and in defense of Western civilization. But, if not, he became one then. And I do not know if he was a lover or wisdom before he encountered Leo Strauss at the University of Chicago in the late 1940's. But if not he became one then. And it seems to me that these qualities are the thread which runs through, holds together, and points to the unity of his life’s work: his military service to his country, his scholarly re appropriation and defense of Western political philosophy, his defense of the statesmanship of the American constitutional tradition, and his care and effort on behalf of his family and friends.

A life so lived, Mort’s life, was a blessing to his friends and a vexation to his enemies. And Mort would not want us to forget that distinction, even or especially in remembering him.

For the distinction between friends and enemies both justifies the way of the warrior and is the elementary introduction to what it means to be just. It is said in the Old Scripture [Proverbs 10.7] that “the memory of the just shall be for a blessing.” I take it one reason it blesses us is that it reminds us, by concrete examples from that life, of what justice is. The memory of Mort is that for me, even now, in my anguish. And I pray that it will continue to be that for us as we share with each other the stories of his life; and thereby remember with gratitude how his being with us made our lives the richer; even as we cannot now help knowing that his being gone makes them the poorer.