Some Views of the Time Problem

ugustine, as we saw, seeks refuge in the thought that long and short time, etc., as.we know it, is relative to our memories, expectations, and purposes. This was, no doubt, to a certain extent, an evasion of the problem he had started out with. But, on the other hand, a theory of time must be consistent with all the facts, and psychological facts are as much facts as any others are. What he made out was, essentially, that time as we know it in our living experience is relative to our present situation, to the memories we treasure and the plans and hopes we have at heart. "As we know it in our experience?," but I do not see that we have anything else to go on than just that,?any other way of knowing it, or any outside experience to build our theory on. So, it may not be amiss to review hastily some of the respects in which our time is relative. That at least our estimates of time are relative scarcely needs pointing out. If a grpflt nppH npprpgsps us and jimp is required for its satisfaction, it makes little difference how much cosmic change gdfes Ojq 3urlugIhe interval, thatinterval is long fnr.usJ1Xje.Ye.ry sense of the word. For the young the days are short but the years are long; fox the old the years are short but the days are long. The hour of monotony is longest in passing but shortest as remembered; the hour of pleasure is shortest in passing but longestJn rnemoryj etc. And this relativity is true even on a much greater scale. If a gnat's wing executes fift...