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 240 of 454
The Third Century · Meditation III.26
Centuries of Meditations
p. 24026
ON NEWS1News from a foreign country came, As if my treasure and my wealth lay there: So much it did my heart enflame ’Twas wont to call my soul into mine ear! Which thither went, to meet The approaching sweet: And on the threshold stood, To entertain the unknown good. It hovered there, As if twould leave mine ear, And was so eager to embrace The joyful tidings as they came, ’Twould almost leave its dwelling place, To entertain the same.2As if the tidings were the things, My very joys themselves, my foreign treasure, Or else did bear them on their wings; With so much joy they came, with so much pleasure. My soul stood at the gate To recreate Itself with bliss: and to Be pleased with speed. A fuller view It fain would take Yet journeys back would make Unto my heart: as if twould fain Go out to meet, yet stay within To fit a place, to entertain, And bring the tidings in.3What sacred instinct did inspire My soul in childhood with a hope so strong? What secret force moved my desire, To expect my joys beyond the seas, so young? Felicity I knew Was out of view And being here alone, I saw that happiness was gone From me! For this I thirsted absent bliss, And thought that sure beyond the seas, Or else in something near at hand I knew not yet, (since nought did please I knew,) my bliss did stand.4But little did the Infant dream That all the treasures of the World were by: And that himself was so the cream And crown of all, which round about did lie: Yet thus it was. The gem, The diadem, The ring enclosing all That stood upon this earthy ball; The heavenly eye, Much wider than the sky, Wherein they all included were The glorious soul that was the king Made to possess them, did appear A small and little thing!Socrates
Reading Centuries of Meditations · The Third Century · Meditation III.26
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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.