From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordCherubim and seraphim are angelic names.
- In TraherneIn the childhood vision, aged people appear as immortal cherubim and young women as seraphic forms of life and beauty.
- In this editionTraherne adds an English plural ending in cherubims and uses the Hebrew plural Seraphim as a singular.
- A place to beginAngelic names express the child’s wonder at the beauty and dignity of people.
Meaning
Cherubim and seraphim are angelic names. Seraphic means resembling the seraphim; the supplied note associates their burning imagery with ardent love of God.
Use in the book
In the childhood vision, aged people appear as immortal cherubim and young women as seraphic forms of life and beauty. The names intensify human dignity as it first strikes the beholder. They do not supply a systematic classification of those people. In the meditation on love, becoming an enlarged seraphim describes another possibility: the soul can extend loving attention beyond the body’s confinement. The command follows the image of Christ baptizing with fire. Angelic language therefore links the wonder of seeing others with the active aspiration to become a blessing to them.
Places to read
In this edition
Traherne adds an English plural ending in cherubims and uses the Hebrew plural Seraphim as a singular.
Source note
Primary text: II.51, III.3. Supplied 2026 editorial note 126 at II.51 supplies the seraphim’s burning imagery, biblical association, and singular use of a Hebrew plural.