Present

Present

The present (or now) is the time that is associated with the events perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is a period of time between the past and the future, and can vary in meaning from being an instant to a day or longer. In radiocarbon dating, the "present" is defined as AD 1950.

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Famous quotes containing the word present:

    “What if this present were the world’s last night?
    Mark in my heart, O Soul, where thou dost dwell,
    The picture of Christ crucified, and tell
    Whether that countenance can thee affright,”
    —John Donne (1572–1631)

    “In the present state we are in, we find such a strong sympathy and union between our souls and bodies, that the one cannot be touched or sensibly affected, without producing some corresponding emotion in the other.... We are not angels, but men cloathed with bodies, and, in some measure governed by our imaginations.”
    —Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)

    “Before anything else, we need a new age of Enlightenment. Our present political systems must relinquish their claims on truth, justice and freedom and have to replace them with the search for truth, justice, freedom and reason.”
    —Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)