Hourglass of Life

The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.

Jean Paul

The Library of Congress has an article about “How does an hourglass measure time? ”. The obvious factors are the amount of sand and how wide the neck in the middle is. “Most important is the ratio of the neck (the hole, or tube) width to the diameter of the sand particles.” The quality of the sand is important, too, since coarse sand can wear away the glass which would throw off the accuracy.

About the author

Jean Paul (German: [ʒɑ̃ paʊl]; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.