Augustine argues in Confessions that time is not reducible to the movement of the celestial bodies. Aristotle agreed; but, as Ricoeur points out, the arguments that Augustine used departed radically from Aristotle.
First, if the sun and stars stopped moving, and yet a potter’s wheel continued to move, time would continue. As Ricoeur says, by this argument “the stars are thus reduced to the level of other things in motion.”
Second, Augustine hypothesizes about days of greater or lesser length. If the sun moves faster than it does, then our “day” of 24 hours would not be measured by the sun’s movements. Time is thus separable from the movement of heavenly bodies. Ricoeur again: “Neither Aristotle nor Plotinus, who do, however, distinguish between time and motion, ever used this argument. For Augustine, since God is the master of creation, he can change the speed of the stars, just as the potter can change that of his wheel, or the speaker the flow of his syllables.”
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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