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 172 of 454
The Second Century · Meditation II.58
Centuries of Meditations
p. 17258
Love is so vastly delightful to Him that is Beloved, because it is the fountain of all affections, services, and endeavours; a spring of honour and liberality, and a secure pledge of future benefits. It is the sole title by which we reign in another’s bosom, and the only throne by which we are exalted, The body and soul of him that loves is his that is beloved, What then can Love deny? All greatness, power and dominion, befalleth him that is beloved, in the Soul that loveth him. So that while all the glorious creatures in all worlds love you, you reign in all Souls, are the image of God, and exalted like God in every bosom.
Socrates
Reading Centuries of Meditations · The Second Century · Meditation II.58
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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.