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 415 of 454
The Fifth Century · Meditation V.1
Centuries of Meditations
p. 4151
THE objects of Felicity, and the way of enjoying them, are two material themes; wherein to be instructed is infinitely desirable, because as necessary as profitable. Whether of the two, the object or the way be more glorious, it is difficult to determine. God is the object, and God is the way of enjoying. God in all His excellencies, laws, and works, in all His ways and counsels is the sovereign object of all Felicity. Eternity and Time, Heaven and Earth, Kingdoms and Ages, Angels and Men are in Him to be enjoyed. In Him the Fountain, in Him the End, in Him the Light, the Life, the Way, in Him the glory and crown of all. Yet for distinction sake we will speak of several eminent particulars, beginning with His attributes.
Socrates
Reading Centuries of Meditations · The Fifth Century · Meditation V.1
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.