Quote by Walter Benjamin

The true picture of the past flits by. The past can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the instant when it can be recognized and is never seen again.

The true picture of the past flits by. The past can be seize

Summary

This quote by Walter Benjamin suggests that our understanding of the past is fleeting and can only be grasped momentarily. The past is like a rapidly passing image that can only be recognized in its essence in that brief moment, as it never manifests the same way again. It alludes to the idea that we can never fully capture or comprehend the entirety of the past, only fragments of it, and these fragments hold value in shaping our perception of history.

Topics

Past

By Walter Benjamin

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