Exploring the grounds of a convent in Lebanon (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
As my students and I contemplate the writings of St. Augustine this week in Beirut, we’re exploring the relationship between time, memory, and personal narrative…
It is now, however, perfectly clear that neither the future nor the past are in existence, and that it is incorrect to say that there are three times – past, present, and future. Though one might perhaps say: ‘There are three times – a present of things past, a present of things present, and a present of things future.’ For these three do exist in the mind, and I do not see them anywhere else: the present time of things past is memory; the present time of things present is sight; the present time of things future is expectation…
— St. Augustine
