Full Idea
Of the three divisions of time, how can two, the past and the future, be, when the past no longer is, and the future is not yet?
Gist of Idea
If the past is no longer, and the future is not yet, how can they exist?
Source
Augustine (Confessions [c.398], XI.14)
Book Reference
Augustine: 'Confessions', ed/tr. Pine-Coffin,R.S. [Penguin 1961], p.264
A Reaction
This is the oldest bewilderment about time, which naturally leads us to the thought that time cannot actually 'exist'. The remark implies that at least 'now' is safe, but that also succumbs to paradox pretty quickly.
Related Idea
Idea 16700 In order to speak about time and successive entities, the 'present' must be enlarged [Wycliff]