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 305 of 454
The Third Century · Meditation III.91
Centuries of Meditations
p. 30591
Among the Gods there is none like unto Thee. Neither are there any works like unto Thy works. All nations whom Thou hast made, shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord, and shall glorify Thy name. For Thou art great, and doest wondrous things. Thou art God alone. This is a glorious meditation, wherein the psalmist gives himself liberty to examine the excellency of God’s works, and finding them infinitely great and above all that can be besides, rejoiceth and admireth the goodness of God, and resteth satisfied with complacency in them. That they were all his, he knew well, being the gifts of God made unto him, and that he was to have communion with God in the enjoyment of them. But their excellency was a thing unsearchable and their incomparableness above all imagination, which he found by much study to his infinite delectation.
Socrates
Reading Centuries of Meditations · The Third Century · Meditation III.91
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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.