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 312 of 454
The Third Century · Meditation III.98
Centuries of Meditations
p. 31298
This greatness both of God towards us, and of ourselves towards Him, we ought always as much as possible to retain in our understanding. And when we cannot effectually keep it alive in our senses, to cherish the memory of it in the centre of our hearts, and do all things in the power of it. For the Angels when they come to us, so fulfill their outward ministry, that within they nevertheless maintain the beatific vision ministering before the Throne of God, and among the sons of men at the same time. The reason whereof St. Gregory saith is this: Tho’ the Spirit of an Angel be limited and circumscribed in itself, yet the Supreme Spirit, which is God, is uncircumscribed. He is everywhere and wholly everywhere: which makes their knowledge to be dilated everywhere. For being wholly everywhere, they are immediately present with His omnipresence in everyplace and wholly. It filleth them for ever.
Socrates
Reading Centuries of Meditations · The Third Century · Meditation III.98
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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.