THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE The eternal Creator and the
Creation in time. Augustine ties together his memory of his past
life, his present experience, and his ardent desire to
comprehend the mystery of creation. This leads him to the
questions of the mode and time of creation. He ponders the mode
of creation and shows that it was de nihilo and involved no
alteration in the being of God. He then considers the question
of the beginning of the world and time and shows that time and
creation are cotemporal. But what is time? To this Augustine
devotes a brilliant analysis of the subjectivity of time and the
relation of all temporal process to the abiding eternity of God.
From this, he prepares to turn to a detailed interpretation of
Gen. 1:1, 2. 1. Is it possible, O Lord, that, since thou art in
eternity, thou art ignorant of what I am saying to thee? Or,
dost thou see in time an event at the time it occurs? If not,
then why am I recounting such a tale of things to thee?
Certainly not in order to acquaint the