From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe Macedonian conqueror enters as a proverbial figure of ambition that has exhausted one world and desires others.
- In TraherneAlexander closes the meditation on Pyrrhus and Cineas.
- In this editionThe 2026 note distinguishes the proverb from Plutarch’s report of tears at not having conquered even one world.
- A place to beginAlexander’s supposed tears for more worlds follow Pyrrhus’s futile plan to conquer before resting.
Meaning
The Macedonian conqueror enters as a proverbial figure of ambition that has exhausted one world and desires others. Traherne expressly presents the story of his tears as an ingenious fiction.
Use in the book
Alexander closes the meditation on Pyrrhus and Cineas. The accumulation of land and income cannot satisfy a soul whose desire exceeds finite quantities. The image of conquered worlds dwindling to tennis-balls makes even imperial acquisition look small beside spiritual capacity. Alexander therefore illustrates both a mistake and a truth: conquest misdirects desire, but the desire’s vastness reveals the soul’s nobility. Traherne is not proposing that contentment requires simply shrinking the soul. The larger argument will supply it with a different kind of whole to enjoy.
Places to read
- I.22Alexander’s supposed tears for more worlds follow Pyrrhus’s futile plan to conquer before resting.
In this edition
The 2026 note distinguishes the proverb from Plutarch’s report of tears at not having conquered even one world. Do not repeat the familiar tale as established biography.
Source note
Primary text: I.22; source-history caution: 2026 edition note to I.22.