I am interested in how man's view of time has changed down through the ages. Does modern man have the same understanding of wasting time as medieval man or ancient man? Does the Protestant work ethic and associated culture skew my perspective on how my time should be used?

Here is a quote I ran into by a Greek monk who lived on Mount Athos:

“Do not waste the precious time that God has given you to spend on good deeds ... Such a waste (of time, I mean) is more serious than that of material things because you will find all the material things you want, but not the time.”

Yes, this may be a little esoteric, but it's something that I have recently pondered.

Is the purpose of a historian to ensure that the significant events of the past will not be forgotten or to explain the present in terms of the past?