From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe bosom is the breast understood as a place of embrace, intimacy, and guarded inward thought.
- In TraherneTo be the darling of God's bosom is to be pleasing to the giver of happiness.
- In this editionThe figure need not be sexual or anatomically literal.
- A place to beginThe gift of enjoyment makes the recipient pleasing to God as the darling of His bosom.
Meaning
The bosom is the breast understood as a place of embrace, intimacy, and guarded inward thought. Figuratively it is the seat in which another person is tenderly held or valued.
Use in the book
To be the darling of God's bosom is to be pleasing to the giver of happiness. The image then expands into human relations: love enthrones its beloved in another's bosom, giving that person a place within the lover's life. This is dominion by affection rather than physical occupation. The prayer for communion in the bosoms of angels and people expressly glosses the image as inward room in their hearts. At the scale of infinity, the divine bosom names encompassing security. The same bodily word thus gathers nearness without confinement, belonging without exclusion, and an inwardness that can accommodate innumerable beloved persons.
Places to read
- I.11The gift of enjoyment makes the recipient pleasing to God as the darling of His bosom.
- I.96The bosoms of angels and people are explained as their dearest affection and inward room.
- II.58Love grants a throne and title within the lover’s bosom.
- V.3Infinite divine extent is called the bosom and security of every creature.
In this edition
The figure need not be sexual or anatomically literal. “Reigning” in a bosom describes the power of being loved, not coercive control of the lover.
Source note
Primary text: I.11, I.96, II.58, V.3. I.96 gives the text’s own inward-affection gloss on the bosom image.