Period: The periodic sentence, characterized by the suspension of the completion of sense until its end. This has been more possible and favored in Greek and Latin, languages already favoring the end position for the verb, but has been approximated in uninflected languages such as English. [This figure may also engender surprise or suspense–consequences of what Kenneth Burke views as ‘appeals’ of information.
We set our lives, inevitably, inconsolably, wickedly, painfully, faithfully by time. Hours and hours, into boredom’s dread. Minute by minute into the throes of anxiety fearful of not “finishing” in time. Seconds pass predictably in countdowns to New Years or birthdays, competitions of all kinds: swimming, racing horses, running, holding one’s breath.
And the seasons pass—timed by their climates’ characteristics: warm, hot, chilly, cold. And to each season measures must be taken to adapt; to fit: with the right clothing (and more). Buried in the seasons broadly understood, like seasoning, is the idea of what is appropriate or fitting: the right time for . . . . This is the Kairos—celebrated and elucidated in Ecclesiastes.
Kairos is the most important time. It bears the weight of the quality of your life’s episodes, for better and for worse. It gives your life meaning. It gives your life purpose. Always know what time it is. Whether Chronos or Kairos, time is time.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text inserted by Gorgias.
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