Ian Steenhoff Parelius : Plotinus's influence on Augustine's notions of Time

What, then, is time?

The following paper inquires into the nature of time according to St. Augustine and its implications for the human condition. It is fair to assume that most people know how to use ‘time’ in everyday speech. We ask each other what time it is, comment on how slow or fast the week has gone, or regret how little time we have to do all th e things that must be done in our hectic lives. However, when asked about the nature of time, the question may stifle us in perplexity, or perhaps, annoyance. Is time real or substantial; or is time merely a figment of imagination, useful in measuring change and motion (the before - and - after)? How might one begin an investigation of time itself?