{"id":"01KJR8Q6G2YQQSZEH1ATKPXBJS","cid":"bafkreifk5ls3ebq6oh45rfxtnas3ei4avzh6wovk3a72zybwampcypnxpq","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":463358,"char_start":455430,"chunk_index":64,"chunk_total":89,"estimated_tokens":1982,"source_file_key":"confessions","text":"but if they abode, they should not be times. For what is time? Who can\r\nreadily and briefly explain this? Who can even in thought comprehend it,\r\nso as to utter a word about it? But what in discourse do we mention more\r\nfamiliarly and knowingly, than time? And, we understand, when we speak\r\nof it; we understand also, when we hear it spoken of by another. What\r\nthen is time? If no one asks me, I know: if I wish to explain it to one\r\nthat asketh, I know not: yet I say boldly that I know, that if nothing\r\npassed away, time past were not; and if nothing were coming, a time to\r\ncome were not; and if nothing were, time present were not. Those two\r\ntimes then, past and to come, how are they, seeing the past now is\r\nnot, and that to come is not yet? But the present, should it always be\r\npresent, and never pass into time past, verily it should not be time,\r\nbut eternity. If time present (if it is to be time) only cometh into\r\nexistence, because it passeth into time past, how can we say that either\r\nthis is, whose cause of being is, that it shall not be; so, namely, that\r\nwe cannot truly say that time is, but because it is tending not to be?\r\n\r\nAnd yet we say, \"a long time\" and \"a short time\"; still, only of time\r\npast or to come. A long time past (for example) we call an hundred years\r\nsince; and a long time to come, an hundred years hence. But a short\r\ntime past, we call (suppose) often days since; and a short time to come,\r\noften days hence. But in what sense is that long or short, which is not?\r\nFor the past, is not now; and the future, is not yet. Let us not then\r\nsay, \"it is long\"; but of the past, \"it hath been long\"; and of the\r\nfuture, \"it will be long.\" O my Lord, my Light, shall not here also Thy\r\nTruth mock at man? For that past time which was long, was it long when\r\nit was now past, or when it was yet present? For then might it be long,\r\nwhen there was, what could be long; but when past, it was no longer;\r\nwherefore neither could that be long, which was not at all. Let us not\r\nthen say, \"time past hath been long\": for we shall not find, what hath\r\nbeen long, seeing that since it was past, it is no more, but let us say,\r\n\"that present time was long\"; because, when it was present, it was long.\r\nFor it had not yet passed away, so as not to be; and therefore there\r\nwas, what could be long; but after it was past, that ceased also to be\r\nlong, which ceased to be.\r\n\r\nLet us see then, thou soul of man, whether present time can be long:\r\nfor to thee it is given to feel and to measure length of time. What wilt\r\nthou answer me? Are an hundred years, when present, a long time? See\r\nfirst, whether an hundred years can be present. For if the first of\r\nthese years be now current, it is present, but the other ninety and\r\nnine are to come, and therefore are not yet, but if the second year be\r\ncurrent, one is now past, another present, the rest to come. And so if\r\nwe assume any middle year of this hundred to be present, all before it,\r\nare past; all after it, to come; wherefore an hundred years cannot be\r\npresent. But see at least whether that one which is now current, itself\r\nis present; for if the current month be its first, the rest are to come;\r\nif the second, the first is already past, and the rest are not yet.\r\nTherefore, neither is the year now current present; and if not present\r\nas a whole, then is not the year present. For twelve months are a year;\r\nof which whatever by the current month is present; the rest past, or to\r\ncome. Although neither is that current month present; but one day only;\r\nthe rest being to come, if it be the first; past, if the last; if any of\r\nthe middle, then amid past and to come.\r\n\r\nSee how the present time, which alone we found could be called long, is\r\nabridged to the length scarce of one day. But let us examine that also;\r\nbecause neither is one day present as a whole. For it is made up of four\r\nand twenty hours of night and day: of which, the first hath the rest to\r\ncome; the last hath them past; and any of the middle hath those before\r\nit past, those behind it to come. Yea, that one hour passeth away in\r\nflying particles. Whatsoever of it hath flown away, is past; whatsoever\r\nremaineth, is to come. If an instant of time be conceived, which cannot\r\nbe divided into the smallest particles of moments, that alone is it,\r\nwhich may be called present. Which yet flies with such speed from future\r\nto past, as not to be lengthened out with the least stay. For if it be,\r\nit is divided into past and future. The present hath no space. Where\r\nthen is the time, which we may call long? Is it to come? Of it we do not\r\nsay, \"it is long\"; because it is not yet, so as to be long; but we say,\r\n\"it will be long.\" When therefore will it be? For if even then, when it\r\nis yet to come, it shall not be long (because what can be long, as yet\r\nis not), and so it shall then be long, when from future which as yet is\r\nnot, it shall begin now to be, and have become present, that so there\r\nshould exist what may be long; then does time present cry out in the\r\nwords above, that it cannot be long.\r\n\r\nAnd yet, Lord, we perceive intervals of times, and compare them, and\r\nsay, some are shorter, and others longer. We measure also, how much\r\nlonger or shorter this time is than that; and we answer, \"This is\r\ndouble, or treble; and that, but once, or only just so much as that.\"\r\nBut we measure times as they are passing, by perceiving them; but past,\r\nwhich now are not, or the future, which are not yet, who can measure?\r\nunless a man shall presume to say, that can be measured, which is not.\r\nWhen then time is passing, it may be perceived and measured; but when it\r\nis past, it cannot, because it is not.\r\n\r\nI ask, Father, I affirm not: O my God, rule and guide me. \"Who will tell\r\nme that there are not three times (as we learned when boys, and taught\r\nboys), past, present, and future; but present only, because those two\r\nare not? Or are they also; and when from future it becometh present,\r\ndoth it come out of some secret place; and so, when retiring, from\r\npresent it becometh past? For where did they, who foretold things to\r\ncome, see them, if as yet they be not? For that which is not, cannot be\r\nseen. And they who relate things past, could not relate them, if in mind\r\nthey did not discern them, and if they were not, they could no way be\r\ndiscerned. Things then past and to come, are.\"\r\n\r\nPermit me, Lord, to seek further. O my hope, let not my purpose be\r\nconfounded. For if times past and to come be, I would know where they\r\nbe. Which yet if I cannot, yet I know, wherever they be, they are not\r\nthere as future, or past, but present. For if there also they be future,\r\nthey are not yet there; if there also they be past, they are no longer\r\nthere. Wheresoever then is whatsoever is, it is only as present.\r\nAlthough when past facts are related, there are drawn out of the memory,\r\nnot the things themselves which are past, but words which, conceived by\r\nthe images of the things, they, in passing, have through the senses left\r\nas traces in the mind. Thus my childhood, which now is not, is in time\r\npast, which now is not: but now when I recall its image, and tell of it,\r\nI behold it in the present, because it is still in my memory. Whether\r\nthere be a like cause of foretelling things to come also; that of\r\nthings which as yet are not, the images may be perceived before, already\r\nexisting, I confess, O my God, I know not. This indeed I know, that we\r\ngenerally think before on our future actions, and that that forethinking\r\nis present, but the action whereof we forethink is not yet, because it\r\nis to come. Which, when we have set upon, and have begun to do what\r\nwe were forethinking, then shall that action be; because then it is no\r\nlonger future, but present.\r\n\r\nWhich way soever then this secret fore-perceiving of things to come be;\r\nthat only can be seen, which is. But what now is, is not future,\r\nbut present."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJR8NK5DAD726FMQ6JCHGZ5R","peer_label":"confessions","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJR8M0JHPZXCPKJ34HTYXSWW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJR8R5M8VXDW8Z6YHQTCPK14","peer_label":"god","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"divine_being","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8RPPKYW47TDNV7M0J1MEJ","peer_label":"augustine","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8RFMM5VH589N8HRFJ5K6W","peer_label":"memory","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"cognitive_faculty","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8RZVJRZTY1HV2S63N125S","peer_label":"future time","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"philosophical_concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8RZX09NYSJEN0JER93ZHY","peer_label":"time","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"philosophical_concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8RZVR82ZJVGSKP6STDVRA","peer_label":"present time","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"philosophical_concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S04RH6C1XEH3F15H5V2N","peer_label":"past time","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"philosophical_concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S06TNX0PCJDA29N2MTD2","peer_label":"instant of time","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"philosophical_concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S0DKE52T8G1VHHJW2R26","peer_label":"eternity","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"philosophical_concept","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S0GGZFMBR7WZNAPMRJFW","peer_label":"forethinking","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"cognitive_process","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S0NM0WFX7RQ3TS5TEBSG","peer_label":"images of things","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"mental_representation","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S0PNSV33T79EGAN3V5B7","peer_label":"human perception","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"cognitive_process","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S0YGWHYR0S01W58Y1M1T","peer_label":"childhood","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"life_stage","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S11G7PE7J3DVPYDZHJ84","peer_label":"future actions","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"event_type","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}},{"peer":"01KJR8S16Z9GNJ3AX48ZHNSRNZ","peer_label":"senses","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"biological_faculty","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T21:55:27.502Z"}}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-03-02T21:54:24.898Z","ts":"2026-03-02T21:55:28.571Z","edited_by":{"method":"system","user_id":"01KJ60XQBHJ0GBGTP9X8HXAPPM"}}