Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · English Edition
Centuries of Meditations
Annotated Edition · With an Introduction, Notes and an Outline.
Explore the LexiconSwipe or use the arrow keys.
English Edition · Branch 414 of 454
The Fourth Century · Meditation IV.100
Centuries of Meditations
p. 414100
Upon the infinite extent of the understanding and affection of the soul, strange and wonderful things will follow: 1. A manifestation of God’s infinite love. 2. The possession of infinite treasures. 3. A return of infinite thanksgivings. 4. A fulness of joy which no thing can exceed. 5. An infinite beauty and greatness in the soul. 6. An infinite beauty in God’s Kingdom. 7. An infinite union between God and the soul (as well in extent, as fervour). 8. An exact fitness between the powers of the soul, and its objects: neither being desolate, because neither exceedeth the other. 9. An infinite glory in the communion of Saints, every one being a treasure to all the residue and enjoying the residue, and in the residue all the glory of all worlds. 10. A perfect indwelling of the soul in God, and God in the soul. So that as the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth in our Saviour, it shall dwell in us; and the Church shall be the fulness of Him that filleth all in all: God being manifested thereby to be a king infinitely greater, because reigning over infinite subjects. To Whom be all glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Socrates
Reading Centuries of Meditations · The Fourth Century · Meditation IV.100
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.