Thesis (Th. M.)--Calvin Theological Seminary, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-99).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Calvin Theological Seminary, 2001. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-99).

Thesis (M.A.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1992. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-49).

This presented paper is a parallel reading of two works which both connect a philosophical perception of time and memory with an actual narration. The first is one of the earliest spiritual autobiographies of late antiquity - Confessions - and the second is a modern novel - In Search of Lost Time. A distinctive (originally Neoplatonic) understanding of eternity as simultaneity opens a line of questioning which both Confessions and In Search of Lost Time have in common: What is the relation between time and eternity (extra-temporality in Proust's case) and is it possible at all for a time being to have a relation to something what is eternal? In both works, the mediating role between time succession and timeless simultaneity is played by narration and memory. Part I of the paper (Chapter 1) deals with Augustine's understanding of time which can be found not only in Book XI of Confessions but also throughout the whole work including its narrative passages; it also partly takes into consideration Book VI of De musica. It tries to answer a more general question, i.e. whether Augustine in his autobiography concentrates only on subjective time or whether he is interested in time as such (in contrast to eternity). The answer is intended to be found through the analysis of questions the author of...