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 294 of 454
The Third Century · Meditation III.80
Centuries of Meditations
p. 29480
As in the former psalms he proposeth true and celestial joys, so in this following he discovereth the vanity of false imaginations. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, or give unto God a ransom for him. For the redemption of their soul is precious and it ceaseth forever. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish; and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They call their lands after their own names. This their way is their folly, yet their Posterity approve their sayings. Like sheep they are laid in the grave, death shall feed sweetly on them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. Man that is in honour and understandeth not, is like the beast that perisheth.
Socrates
Reading Centuries of Meditations · The Third Century · Meditation III.80
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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.