They heard these days that Constantine and the events of his reign will be judged by History with a capital letter. But history is not a man standing in the other world, outside and far from us, who will evaluate everything that happened in its fair scale in a more direct time. This perception, on the one hand, recalls the etymological root of the term “historas”, which in ancient Greek literature had the meaning of an experienced judge and sage, and on the other hand, makes history a substitute for God in a secularized universe. This shows that we must believe that, in the end, when events unfold to their final consequences, an impartial and impartial judge will dispense justice. But it also shows that we are hesitant to take on this task and trust it to an idealized – and non-existent – being who is superior to us. We do not trust our own judgment. We fear that it will be subjective, immature, still obscured by the passions of the time and the inevitable ignorance of all facts. This is still a disclaimer and possibly an evasion.

But the apotheosis of history can only be a metaphor and refer to the future judgment of historians, when passions and feelings subside and they can, without distraction, judge how things really are, find out who he really was. right and who is wrong. But this expectation is illusory. Historians will never agree. Not because they cannot be objective, as is often said, but because every time new questions are asked and problems are defined a little or a lot differently. No one claims that historians should put all political, ideological, religious, philosophical beliefs out of their heads. An empty mind is a useless mind. No man can eliminate his point of view, the position from which he looks at things. No one has a “view out of nowhere”. He is always in a certain place and at a certain time. This, however, does not discredit his judgment.

We, mere mortals, study the events of the past, they concern us, and we judge them. We, and above all the community of historians, set the criteria for what is real. We are constantly judging the past, directly or indirectly. Whether professional historians do it, or so-called public history, or all of us with our attitude every day and at more important moments. The past is vital to us both individually and collectively. It makes up who we are. We are born ignorant and unarmed. And through education and living together, we are given the ark of humanity, which is history in all its aspects. What we will be taught, what we will discuss, question and seek, the memories that will be kept and heard will shape our personality and largely determine our course. It is our responsibility today, not someone else’s in the future, to know what happened, how we got to where we are.

Preoccupation with the past can be a heavy ball tied to our feet, which immobilizes us, prevents us from living far-sightedly, which drowns us and lures us into a web of worlds. But it can give us the confidence to jump into the future. It can free us from prejudices, trivial repetitions, fixed and hopeful interpretations, and open up alternative possibilities if we question validity, raise new questions, and question the self-evident. By returning to the past in new ways, we can see the past and the present with new eyes. In any case, we cannot get rid of the past. Though by definition absent, though perfect and unsaleable, though full of deadness, she is always alive among us. It introduces us, it touches us, it is a shadow that follows us, sometimes as a cover, sometimes as a threat.

It is our responsibility today, not someone else’s in the future, to know what happened, how we got to where we are.

The most important thing, as Nietzsche says, is to find this balance so that the past “does not become the undertaker of the present.” To be able to leave it behind us so that it does not crush us, does not slow down our action.

There are forces in our political life that are mired in the past, because they cannot withstand the challenges of the future and are making tireless, but breathless attempts at every opportunity to drag the country into old confrontations and conflicts, reworking petrified slogans. But, recalling Kierkegaard, “life must be understood in retrospect. However, they forget another principle, that we must live with hope.”

Ms. Vaso Kinti is Professor of Philosophy at EKPA. Her latest book is The Philosophy of History (Polis publishing house, 2021).