The theses are most effective as a critique of the historicists perspectives of universal history against which the theses are aimed. The thesis also give evidence of that towards the end of his life Benjamin still chose to make use of theological vocabulary that had been much more prevalent in his early writings. But even this very brief sketch of some of the motifs of the theses is sufficient to establish that they do in fact present more problems than they solve. He clearly is thinking of the mystical nunc stans . Materialism historiography differs from it as a method more clearly than from any other kin.
Universal history has no theoretical armature.
Materialistic historiography, on the other hand is based on a constructive principle. The thesis continues Thinking involves not only the flow of thoughts, but their arrest as well, where thinking suddenly stops in a configuration pregnant with tensions, it gives that configuration a shock, by which it crystallizes into a monad. A historical materialist approaches a historical subject only where he encounters it as a monad. Translated by Harry Zohn. A constellation is after all a configuration of stars, and perhaps the translator was shy of the metaphorical turn of phrase, with its evocations of astrology.