> What did Hegel mean by his metaphor, "The Owl o Athena flies at twilight"?
> (From memory, probably inaccurately quoted.)
The passage in which it occurs is pretty self-explanatory - from the Preface to his Philosophy of Right:
"Only one word more concerning the desire to teach the world what it ought to be. For such a purpose philosophy at least always comes too late. Philosophy, as the thought of the world, does not appear until reality has completed its formative process, and made itself ready. History thus corroborates the teaching of the conception that only in the maturity of reality does the ideal appear as counterpart to the real, apprehends the real world in its substance, and shapes it into an intellectual kingdom. When philosophy paints its grey in grey, one form of life has become old, and by means of grey it cannot be rejuvenated, but only known. The owl of Minerva, takes its flight only when the shades of night are gathering."
I believe you've made essentially the same point a few times lately.