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Confessiones

Caput 26

Nonne tibi confitetur anima mea confessione veridica metiri me tempora? ita, domine deus meus, metior et quid metiar nescio. metior motum corporis tempore. item ipsum tempus nonne metior? an vero corporis motum metirer, quamdiu sit et quamdiu hinc illuc perveniat, nisi tempus, in quo movetur, metirer? ipsum ergo tempus unde metior? an tempore breviore metimur longius, sicut spatio cubiti spatium transtri? sic enim videmus spatio brevis syllabae metiri spatium longae syllabae atque id duplum dicere. ita metimur spatia carminum spatiis versuum, et spatia versuum spatiis pedum, et spatia pedum spatiis syllabarum, et spatia longarum spatiis brevium: non in paginis -- nam eo modo loca metimur, non tempora -- sed cum voces pronuntiando transeunt, et dicimus: longum carmen est, nam tot versibus contexitur; longi versus, nam tot pedibus constant; longi pedes, nam tot syllabis tenduntur; longa syllaba est, nam dupla est ad brevem. sed neque ita comprehenditur certa mensura temporis, quandoquidem fieri potest, ut ampliore spatio temporis personet versus brevior, si productius pronuntietur, quam longior, si correptius. ita carmen, ita pes, ita syllaba. inde mihi visum est nihil esse aliud tempus quam distentionem: sed cuius rei, nescio, et mirum, si non ipsius animi. quid enim metior, obsecro, deus meus, et dico aut indefinite: longius est hoc tempus quam illud aut etiam definite: duplum est hoc ad illud? tempus metior, scio; sed non metior futurum, quia nondum est, non metior praesens, quia nullo spatio tenditur, non metior praeteritum, quia iam non est. quid ergo metior? an praetereuntia tempora, non praeterita? sic enim dixeram.

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The Confessions of St. Augustin In Thirteen Books

Chapter XXVI.--We Measure Longer Events by Shorter in Time.

33. Doth not my soul pour out unto Thee truly in confession that I do measure times? But do I thus measure, O my God, and know not what I measure? I measure the motion of a body by time; and the time itself do I not measure? But, in truth, could I measure the motion of a body, how long it is, and how long it is in coming from this place to that, unless I should measure the time in which it is moved? How, therefore, do I measure this very time itself? Or do we by a shorter time measure a longer, as by the space of a cubit the space of a crossbeam? For thus, indeed, we seem by the space of a short syllable to measure the space of a long syllable, and to say that this is double. Thus we measure the spaces of stanzas by the spaces of the verses, and the spaces of the verses by the spaces of the feet, and the spaces of the feet by the spaces of the syllables, and the spaces of long by the spaces of short syllables; not measuring by pages (for in that manner we measure spaces, not times), but when in uttering the words they pass by, and we say, "It is a long stanza because it is made up of so many verses; long verses, because they consist of so many feet; long feet, because they are prolonged by so many syllables; a long syllable, because double a short one." But neither thus is any certain measure of time obtained; since it is possible that a shorter verse, if it be pronounced more fully, may take up more time than a longer one, if pronounced more hurriedly. Thus for a stanzas, thus for a foot, thus for a syllable. Whence it appeared to me that time is nothing else than protraction; but of what I know not. It is wonderful to me, if it be not of the mind itself. For what do I measure, I beseech Thee, O my God, even when I say either indefinitely, "This time is longer than that;" or even definitely, "This is double that?" That I measure time, I know. But I measure not the future, for it is not yet; nor do I measure the present, because it is extended by no space; nor do I measure the past, because it no longer is. What, therefore, do I measure? Is it times passing, not past? For thus had I said.