From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordA Christian is a person related to Christ in faith and life.
- In TraherneThe Fourth Century joins Christian, philosopher, and divine in one ideal of cultivated humanity.
- In this edition“Perfect Christian” denotes an ideal and degree of maturity within the argument.
- A place to beginThe Christian world is criticized for its corrupt scale of possessions and value.
Meaning
A Christian is a person related to Christ in faith and life. Traherne examines the term through degrees of maturity, treating its perfection as a love of wisdom rather than a merely nominal status.
Use in the book
The Fourth Century joins Christian, philosopher, and divine in one ideal of cultivated humanity. A mature Christian cannot be content with ignorance because loving Christ entails loving wisdom. Traherne allows imperfection and inexperience while insisting that defects do not constitute the positive character of Christian life. He also challenges the deferral of all happiness to another life. Communion with God is offered now, and the desire for its completion should stimulate present inquiry and practice. The polemic is directed inward as well as outward: the supposedly civilized Christian world can be judged more barbarous than societies it despises when it mistakes invented wealth for true riches.
Places to read
- III.12The Christian world is criticized for its corrupt scale of possessions and value.
- IV.3Christian, philosopher, and divine are joined in the ideal of developed humanity.
- IV.5Christian maturity is defined through the pursuit of wisdom rather than complacent ignorance.
- IV.9Deferring felicity is challenged as inconsistent with present love and desire.
In this edition
“Perfect Christian” denotes an ideal and degree of maturity within the argument. It should not be mistaken for a report that every professing Christian already possesses such wisdom.
Source note
Primary text: III.12, IV.3, IV.5, IV.9. The entry follows the attested personal noun; “Christianity” is an access alias rather than a separately attested abstract headword.