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Eternity is time by Angelus Silesius (1624 - 1677) Timeline English version by Paul Carus Original Language German Christian : Catholic 17th Century Eternity is time And time eternity, Except when we ourselves. Would make them different be.	Recommended Books The Angelic Verses: From the Book of Angelus Silesius, Translated by Frederick Frank Angelus Silesius, by Jeffrey L. Sammons Angelus Silesius: The Cherubinic Wanderer (Classics of Western Spirituality), by Angelus Silesius / Translated by Maria Shrady Angelus Silesius' Cherubinischer Wandersmann: A Modern Reading With Selected Translations (Renaissance and Baroque Studies and Texts), by Maria M. Bohm The Book of Angelus Silesius, Translated by Frederick Frank More >>
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This couplet (rendered here in four lines) is a delightfully circular statement that lends itself to spinning repetition or chant: "Eternity is time / And time eternity... / Eternity is time / And time eternity..." Round and round.

Although these lines circle around and disappear into each other, they are not without meaning. Angelus Silesius is pointing out an important truth of mystical realization: Eternity is not some future event; it is not beyond time or outside of time. Eternity is discovered to be at the core of the present moment -- wherever that moment exists in time. Eternity is found within time. If you imagine time as a flowing river, the flow of time shimmers and shifts and never stands still, but eternity is the water itself. And the water is always right there, wherever you are along river. You don't have to travel upstream or downstream to discover eternity. You just have to dive in and get completely wet.

We can say they're different, the water and its movement, eternity and time, but that is just a game of words. The water isn't something separate from its own movement. The one is the natural expression of the other. They aren't different from each other, "Except when we ourselves / Would make them different be" through creating artificial separations in the mind.

See if you can feel the touch of eternity. Stop creating mental separations and just jump feet first into the flow of time. But rather than being carried away by the current, notice the gentle, constant embrace that entirely surrounds you...

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2009 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.