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1、OntheConceptofHistory«THESESONTHEPHILOSOPHYOFHISTORY»byWalterBenjaminIThestoryistoldofanautomatonconstructedinsuchawaythatitcouldplayawinninggameofchess,answeringeachmoveofanopponentwithacountermove.ApuppetinTurkishattireandwithahookahinitsmouthsatbeforeachessboardplacedonalarget
2、able.Asystemofmirrorscreatedtheillusionthatthistablewastransparentfromallsides.Actually,alittlehunchbackwhowasanexpertchessplayersatinsideandguidedthepuppet’shandbymeansofstrings.Onecanimagineaphilosophicalcounterparttothisdevice.Thepuppetcalled‘historicalmaterialism’istowinallth
3、etime.Itcaneasilybeamatchforanyoneifitenliststheservicesoftheology,whichtoday,asweknow,iswizenedandhastokeepoutofsight.II‘Oneofthemostremarkablecharacteristicsofhumannature,’writesLotze,‘is,alongsidesomuchselfishnessinspecificinstances,thefreedomfromenvywhichthepresentdisplaystow
4、ardthefuture.’Reflectionshowsusthatourimageofhappinessisthoroughlycoloredbythetimetowhichthecourseofourownexistencehasassignedus.Thekindofhappinessthatcouldarouseenvyinusexistsonlyintheairwehavebreathed,amongpeoplewecouldhavetalkedto,womenwhocouldhavegiventhemselvestous.Inotherwo
5、rds,ourimageofhappinessisindissolublyboundupwiththeimageofredemption.Thesameappliestoourviewofthepast,whichistheconcernofhistory.Thepastcarrieswithitatemporalindexbywhichitisreferredtoredemption.Thereisasecretagreementbetweenpastgenerationsandthepresentone.Ourcomingwasexpectedone
6、arth.Likeeverygenerationthatprecededus,wehavebeenendowedwithaweakMessianicpower,apowertowhichthepasthasaclaim.Thatclaimcannotbesettledcheaply.Historicalmaterialistsareawareofthat.IIIAchroniclerwhoreciteseventswithoutdistinguishingbetweenmajorandminoronesactsinaccordancewiththefol
7、lowingtruth:nothingthathaseverhappenedshouldberegardedaslostforhistory.Tobesure,onlyaredeemedmankindreceivesthefullnessofitspast-whichistosay,onlyforaredeemedmankindhasitspastbecomecitableinallitsmoments.Eachmomentithaslivedbecomesacitational'ordredujour—andthatdayisJudgmentDay.I
8、VSeekforfoodandclothingfirst,thentheKing
