From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Contemplation
θεωρία
theōriaTheōria is contemplation or attentive consideration.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordTheōria is contemplation or attentive consideration.
- In StobaeusThe account of intellect begins from the claim that thinking belongs to its being: deprived of thinking, intellect would cease to be what it is.
- In this edition“Contemplation” is appropriate when its cognitive meaning is clear; it does not necessarily imply withdrawal from all activity.
- A place to beginInquiry into contemplation proceeds from thinking’s constitutive role in intellect.
- English renderings
- contemplation; cognitive consideration
Meaning
Theōria is contemplation or attentive consideration. In a philosophical argument it may describe an act of knowing rather than passive looking.
Use in the book
The account of intellect begins from the claim that thinking belongs to its being: deprived of thinking, intellect would cease to be what it is. It then examines cognition to determine how intellect contemplates its objects. The activity differs from ordinary sensory observation even though the language retains an image of viewing.
Places to read
- I.48.5.2Inquiry into contemplation proceeds from thinking’s constitutive role in intellect.
Translation in this edition
“Contemplation” is appropriate when its cognitive meaning is clear; it does not necessarily imply withdrawal from all activity.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 313. The statement expresses the account being defended in this excerpt, not a premise shared by all the anthology’s sources.
From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Contemplation
contemplation; contemplate; contemplative happiness
Contemplation is sustained intellectual beholding of an object in its truth and value.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordContemplation is sustained intellectual beholding of an object in its truth and value.
- In TraherneThe understanding can be present with distant ages and events because its sight is a mode of presence.
- In this edition“Contemplative” is not a synonym for inactive.
- A place to beginContemplating eternity establishes intellectual presence across biblical history.
Meaning
Contemplation is sustained intellectual beholding of an object in its truth and value. It can include memory, inquiry, admiration, and love, rather than denoting a blank or objectless mental state.
Use in the book
The understanding can be present with distant ages and events because its sight is a mode of presence. Contemplation thus enlarges a locally situated life. The Cross provides its concentrated object, while the choice of common goods gives it an accessible starting point. The practice is neither unlimited wandering nor the passive receipt of impressions: the student needs a rule for selecting fruitful objects and a disciplined manner of examining them.
Traherne also resists a simple opposition of contemplation and action. The many philosophical accounts of happiness are reconciled through a life that both acts and beholds, and the Fourth Century expressly adds active principles that improve contemplation itself. Love toward people tests what has been seen. The soul's freedom to pass from infinity to wisdom, goodness, and other objects then exhibits its spiritual strength rather than its inability to stay anywhere. Right contemplation is expansive but answerable to the specific excellence before it.
Places to read
- I.55Contemplating eternity establishes intellectual presence across biblical history.
- II.99Action and contemplation are included in a comprehensive account of felicity.
- III.52The student seeks a rule for choosing fruitful objects of contemplation.
- IV.1Active happiness is added as necessary to practice and beneficial to contemplation.
- IV.98The mind’s freedom to pass among divine objects demonstrates spiritual strength.
In this edition
“Contemplative” is not a synonym for inactive. The book's own introduction to the Fourth Century makes the two modes mutually helpful.
Source note
Primary text: I.55, II.99, III.52, IV.1, IV.98. The selected places follow contemplation from historical presence through practical complementarity to the soul’s range.