Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · English Edition
Centuries of Meditations
Annotated Edition · With an Introduction, Notes and an Outline.
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English Edition · Branch 354 of 454
The Fourth Century · Meditation IV.40
Centuries of Meditations
p. 35440
He had one maxim of notable concernment, and that was, That God, having reserved all other things in his own disposal, had left his heart to him. Those things that were in God’s care he would commit to God, those things that were committed to his, he would take care about. He said therefore, that he had but one thing to do, and that was to order and keep his heart which alone being well guided, would order all other things blessedly and successfully. The things about him were innumerable and out of his power, but they were in God’s power. And if he pleased God in that which was committed to him, God would be sure to please him in things without committed unto God. For He was faithful that had promised; in all that belonged unto Him God was perfect; all the danger being lest we should be imperfect in ours, and unfaithful in those things that pertain unto us.
Socrates
Reading Centuries of Meditations · The Fourth Century · Meditation IV.40
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Thomas Traherne’s Centuries explore felicity, childhood vision, love, and the soul’s capacity to enjoy the world. This annotated English edition presents all 410 meditations across five Centuries, with an introduction, explanatory notes, an outline, and textual apparatus.
Historical Text
The Centuries survive in Traherne’s manuscript and were first published by Bertram Dobell in London in 1908. The supplied edition follows the corrected Dobell text, with manuscript readings documented in its Note on the Text and Textual Notes. The four complete Centuries contain one hundred meditations each; the unfinished Fifth contains ten.
About This Edition
Diotimos Editions prepared the introduction, explanatory notes, glossary, reading guide, outline, and textual apparatus for this English original. Century and meditation numbers preserve the work’s structure, while verse line breaks, italics, and struck-through manuscript cancellations remain visible. Notes accompany their passages in the reader and Book Mode.
Rights
Thomas Traherne’s historical text and Bertram Dobell’s 1908 printing are in the public domain. The introduction, notes, and apparatus are © 2026 Diotimos Editions. Historical printing and transcription links identify the edition’s copy-text; manuscript corrections and unresolved readings are documented in the supplied editorial apparatus.