I want to shorten the sentence "Memories can only ever be created now." I'm debating between
Memories are born of now.
and
Memories are born to now.
The former sounds better, but is there a grammatical difference? E.g., one can say "a child is born to two parents" (literal) or "wisdom is born of pain" (figurative).
Best Answer
You are right 'Memories are born of now' is the correct form of what you are wanting to say. indeed it is a lucid and elegant thought.
'Born' in both its real and its figurative sense, can take 'of' or 'to', and it may take a while to grasp when each is appropriate. Figuratively I could say 'Pele, whose father was a footballer, was born to that life'. But some might say 'ignorance is born of a lack of educational opportunity'. Can you spot the difference in meaning of 'born', in these two sentences?
In its literal use 'born' can take either 'to' or 'of'. 'I was born of a humble family' means almost the same as 'I was born to a humble family'. 'Of' is used more where you are making a general observation about someone. 'To' would tend be used where you are providing specific information. But it is a very finely nuanced distinction and will take a while to grasp.
If you are talking very specifically, using parents names etc, you nearly always use 'to'. 'A boy, Charles Edward, was born to Mike and Melanie Jackson, at 7.15am on 26th October'. Being 'born of' has a much older, almost biblical sense: 'Isaac was born of Abraham and Sarah' .