From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordGospel means the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
- In TraherneThe narrator once searched every report and curiosity for the happiness he hoped it concealed.
- In this edition“Jury” in this passage is the old place-name form for Judaea, not a legal body.
- A place to beginThe thirst for news is interpreted through the Gospel’s arrival from Jerusalem.
Meaning
Gospel means the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. Traherne connects this received religious meaning with the ordinary experience of eagerly awaiting news.
Use in the book
The narrator once searched every report and curiosity for the happiness he hoped it concealed. News from elsewhere seemed to promise access to a hidden treasure. The account then recognises a fulfilment of that expectation: the Gospel came from Jerusalem, and the death of Jesus in Judaea supplies the decisive instance of good arriving from a distant place. This discovery does not close the world; it encourages hope that other countries too contain causes of joy.
Places to read
- III.25The thirst for news is interpreted through the Gospel’s arrival from Jerusalem.
In this edition
“Jury” in this passage is the old place-name form for Judaea, not a legal body. The word “Gospel” here names saving news rather than specifying one of the four Gospel books.
Source note
Primary text: III.25.