Men in Dark Times"Dark times" is Brecht's phrase, and Hannah Arendt uses it not to suggest that those she writes about are "mouthpieces of the Zeitgeist" (none in fact fit such roles), but, rather, that the routine repetitive horrors of our century form the substance of the dark against which their lives of illumination were lived. All the essays, written over a period of years, are concerned with persons--writers who (except Lessing) share the first half of the twentieth century--and only implicitly with issues. Dr. Arendt believes that "Even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination may come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and works, will kindle under almost all circumstances and shed over the time-span that was given them on earth."--Publisher description. |
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appeared attitude Baal became become Bertolt Brecht Brecht Briefe Broch century cognitive common Communist compassion concerned course criticism dark Death of Virgil early earth earthly absolute East Berlin epistemology essay everything existence experience fact fear feeling flâneur Franz Kafka friends friendship Gedichte German Goethe HANNAH ARENDT Hitler Hofmannsthal human Ibid intellectual Isak Dinesen James Joyce Jaspers Jaspers's Jewish Jews Jogiches Kafka Kant Karl Jaspers knew language later Lenin Leo Jogiches less Lessing's literary literature living logical mankind mathematics matter means nature Nettl never object original Paris Party passion past person philosophy poem poet poetic poetry political precisely problem public realm question Randall Jarrell reality reason remained revolution Rosa Luxemburg Russian Scholem Schriften seems sense social Spartakusbund speak Stalin story strange theory things thinking thought tion tradition translation true truth Walter Benjamin words write wrote