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August 12, 2008
The Art of Days
Tricky fellow, Johnny time. A slippery customer. Always has been. Many think it’s just a construct invented by us to ensure people go to the dentist regularly. But it’s out there and amongst us no matter which way you look at it. All we did was invent the means to record it, discuss it and miss trains by it.
For thousands of years people watched the sun sinking in the sky, then, after an interval [in part of which their nervous system was relatively inactive, their postural muscles were relaxed, consciousness was all but suspended and their eyes were closed] they saw it rise and progress across the sky, lengthening shadows and ripening the corn.
Some people hunted hedgehogs, some people made weapons and some people watched the skies. They noticed that not only did the sun move about a bit, but the other big shiny thing up there did too, and all those little twinkley things weren’t as still as most people thought.
These people quickly rose to favour when they began to predict the movement of heavenly bodies. And so, gradually, time, in all it’s hideous manifestations, was revealed to us.
illustrations from EVERY YOUNG MAN'S COMPANION, 1759, with the exception of the railway timetable, obviously.
Posted by john at August 12, 2008 07:50 AM