"[the] situation changed abruptly after the war: the inflation had impoverished, even dispossessed, large numbers of the bourgeoisie, and in the weimar republic a university career was open even to unbaptized jews. the unhappy story of the habilitation shows clearly how little benjamin took these altered circumstances into account and how greatly he continued to be dominated by prewar ideas in all financial matters. for from the outset the habilitation had only been intended to call his father 'to order' by supplying 'evidence of public recognition' and to make him grant his son, who was in his thirties at that time, an income that was adequate and, one should add, commensurate with his social standing. at no time, not even when he had already come close to the communists, did he doubt that...he was entitled to such a subvention and that [his parents'] demand that he 'work for a living' was 'unspeakable.' ... until his parents' death in 1930, benjamin was able to solve the problem of his livelihood by moving back into the parental home... it is evident that this arrangement caused him a great deal of suffering, but it is just as evident that in all probability he never seriously considered another solution. it is also striking that despite his permanent financial trouble he managed throughout these years constantly to enlarge his library." (from hannah arendt's introduction to illuminations, essays and reflections)
and from the man himself: "quotations in my works are like robbers by the roadside who make an armed attack and relieve an idler of his convictions." (walter benjamin)
and then something from mallarmé.
a century of progress.
q.e.d.
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