From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordCopula is a bond or link.
- In TraherneThe terms occur in Traherne’s rendering of Pico’s account of human dignity.
- In this editionThe 2026 note identifies the Latin senses and distinguishes Traherne’s additions.
- A place to beginHumanity is named the world’s bond before the account moves toward freedom and self-formation.
Meaning
Copula is a bond or link. Hymenaeus names marriage or its god and song. Together these Latin and mythological terms figure humanity as a joining principle within the world.
Use in the book
The terms occur in Traherne’s rendering of Pico’s account of human dignity. Humanity mediates between lower and higher creatures through sensation, reason, and intelligence, and stands between time and eternity. Traherne strengthens the relational image with the golden link and the marriage of Creator and creatures. Yet these praises are a starting point that Pico’s argument seeks to exceed: the subsequent account emphasizes humanity’s power of self-formation. The reader should retain both the mediating role and the movement beyond a merely fixed middle position.
Places to read
- IV.74Humanity is named the world’s bond before the account moves toward freedom and self-formation.
In this edition
The 2026 note identifies the Latin senses and distinguishes Traherne’s additions. Here “copula” does not principally name a grammatical linking verb.
Source note
Primary text: IV.74; gloss and translation comparison: 2026 edition note to IV.74.