Literary History and the Challenge of Philology: The Legacy of Erich AuerbachA century after his birth and fifty years after the composition of Mimesis, Auerbach still stands as a touchstone for contemporary academic debates on the place of historical criticism in the construction of literary history, on the relations between intellectual activity and political action, and on the function of the critic in recording or effecting social change. More than an occasion to review past accomplishments or revel in the nostalgias of