Image, Sign, and Vestige in the Augustinian Theory of Time

The relationship between time and eternity is a central theme in Augustine’s thought and has often been interpreted, under Neoplatonic influence, through the paradigm of image and model. This article contributes to recent reassessments of Augustine’s doctrine of time by arguing that interpreting time as image does not adequately reflect his conceptual distinctions and his original thought. It proposes instead that time should be understood primarily as a sign, and more specifically as a vestige of eternity because time exhibits the defining features of a vestige, directing the soul from the temporal order toward the eternal and highlighting the salvific dimension of time within Augustine’s eschatology.