Walter Benjamin

"The story is told of an automaton constructed in such a way that it could play a winning game of chess, answering each move of an opponent with a countermove. 

"A puppet in Turkish attire and with a hookah in its mouth sat before a chessboard placed on a large table. 

"A system of mirrors created the illusion that this table was transparent from all sides. 

"Actually, a little hunchback who was an expert chess player sat inside and guided the puppet’s hand by means of strings. 

"One can imagine a philosophical counterpart to this device. 

"The puppet called historical materialism is to win all the time. 

"It can easily be a match for anyone if it enlists the services of theology, which today, as we know, is wizened and has to keep out of sight."  

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