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There are two related expressions one currently hears. One would have it that “God is in the details,” the other that “The devil is in the details.” Which of these two phrases one prefers may well determine the reader's response to Saul Rosenzweig's new book. It is very good. And very detailed. As one who thinks deities rather than devils reside in details, I confess to a certain fascination with the extent of evidence Rosenzweig is able to marshall, after some 40 years of working on this volume (not full time, thank heaven), beginning when he was first on the teaching faculty at Clark University, the site of the famous events of 1909.
The fundamental facts of this pivotal event in early 20th century American intellectual history are relatively well known, although Rosenzweig adds a great deal of nuance to the standard accounts. Late in 1908, G. Stanley Hall, the first president of Clark University, wrote Freud, inviting him to participate in a celebration to be held early in July to celebrate the 20th anniversary (vigentennial) of the opening of Clark (which had been founded a few years before it opened), and offering him 1,600 marks ($400) expenses. Freud declined, on the grounds that the date would cause him to lose three weeks of his practice (which continued until July 15 and then resumed at the end of September). Hall wrote again, raising the honorarium to $750, postponing the date to the second week in September so that Freud could come without missing any of his practice, and adding in an honorary Doctor of Laws for good measure. Freud happily accepted and later invited Sándor Ferenczi to accompany him. Meanwhile, Hall also invited Carl Jung to participate and receive a degree. Hall invited 27 other distinguished participants, all of whom received honorary degrees, including the Nobel laureates in physics, A. A. Michelson and Ernest Rutherford. Part of the celebration was held in July, as