Confessions - Book XI - Chapter Xxviii
St. Augustine explores the nature of time as a function of the mind, emphasizing how past, present, and future exist through memory, attention, and expectation.
In this devotional reflection, St. Augustine delves into the complex nature of time, revealing how it is experienced through the mind’s faculties of memory, attention, and expectation. Using the example of reciting a psalm, he illustrates how past, present, and future are interconnected in human consciousness. This sermon invites listeners to contemplate the spiritual significance of time and the mind’s role in perceiving it.
Text
37. But how is the future diminished or consumed when it does not yet exist? Or how does the past, which exists no longer, increase, unless it is that in the mind in which all this happens there are three functions? For the mind expects, it attends, and it remembers; so that what it expects passes into what it remembers by way of what it attends to. Who denies that future things do not exist as yet? But still there is already in the mind the expectation of things still future. And who denies that past things now exist no longer? Still there is in the mind the memory of things past. Who denies that time present has no length, since it passes away in a moment? Yet, our attention has a continuity and it is through this that what is present may proceed to become absent. Therefore, future time, which is nonexistent, is not long; but \"a long future\" is \"a long expectation of the future.\" Nor is time past, which is now no longer, long; a \"long past\" is \"a long memory of the past.\"
38. I am about to repeat a psalm that I know. Before I begin, my attention encompasses the whole, but once I have begun, as much of it as becomes past while I speak is still stretched out in my memory. The span of my action is divided between my memory, which contains what I have repeated, and my expectation, which contains what I am about to repeat. Yet my attention is continually present with me, and through it what was future is carried over so that it becomes past. The more this is done and repeated, the more the memory is enlarged--and expectation is shortened--until the whole expectation is exhausted. Then the whole action is ended and passed into memory. And what takes place in the entire psalm takes place also in each individual part of it and in each individual syllable. This also holds in the even longer action of which that psalm is only a portion. The same holds in the whole life of man, of which all the actions of men are parts. The same holds in the whole age of the sons of men, of which all the lives of men are parts.
Sermon Outline
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I. The Paradox of Time
- Future does not yet exist but is expected
- Past no longer exists but is remembered
- Present is momentary but attended continuously
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II. The Mind’s Three Functions
- Expectation of future events
- Attention to the present moment
- Memory of past experiences
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III. Illustration Through Psalm Recitation
- Attention encompasses the whole psalm before reciting
- Memory grows as expectation shortens during recitation
- The process mirrors the flow of human life and history
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IV. The Continuity of Human Experience
- Individual moments form life’s actions
- Lives form the age of humanity
- Time is experienced through mental functions
Key Quotes
“For the mind expects, it attends, and it remembers; so that what it expects passes into what it remembers by way of what it attends to.” — St. Augustine
“Future time, which is nonexistent, is not long; but 'a long future' is 'a long expectation of the future.'” — St. Augustine
“The span of my action is divided between my memory, which contains what I have repeated, and my expectation, which contains what I am about to repeat.” — St. Augustine
Application Points
- Recognize that our experience of time is shaped by how we remember the past and anticipate the future.
- Cultivate mindfulness to better attend to the present moment as it passes.
- Reflect on the spiritual implications of time as a gift from God experienced through the mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Augustine define the present moment?
He describes the present as having no length, passing away instantly, but attended continuously by the mind.
What are the three functions of the mind related to time?
Expectation, attention, and memory are the three functions that allow us to experience future, present, and past.
Why does Augustine use the example of reciting a psalm?
To illustrate how expectation, attention, and memory work together in the flow of time and human experience.
Does Augustine believe time exists independently of the mind?
He suggests that time as we experience it is a function of the mind's operations rather than an independent entity.