From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordNazianzen is Gregory of Nazianzus, the theologian identified by the 2026 edition as the author of the cited oration.
- In TraherneTraherne appeals to him when explaining why divine goodness is eternally communicative.
- In this editionThe 2026 note identifies Oration 38.9 and places the end of Gregory’s words at “the first splendour.”
- A place to beginA rendering of Oration 38 introduces angelic creation as the diffusion of goodness.
Meaning
Nazianzen is Gregory of Nazianzus, the theologian identified by the 2026 edition as the author of the cited oration. He is distinct from the St Gregory cited later in the Third Century.
Use in the book
Traherne appeals to him when explaining why divine goodness is eternally communicative. Goodness does not remain enclosed in self-contemplation but pours itself out so that others may receive its benefit. The first created recipients are angelic powers, described as second splendours serving the first. This borrowed account strengthens Traherne’s connection between love, activity, and the gift of existence. It also lets him move toward his own claim that all motions and created histories are present in God eternally. The reader needs to notice the transition from cited authority to Traherne’s extension of the argument. The entire meditation should not be assigned indiscriminately to Gregory.
Places to read
- III.65A rendering of Oration 38 introduces angelic creation as the diffusion of goodness.
In this edition
The 2026 note identifies Oration 38.9 and places the end of Gregory’s words at “the first splendour.” The subsequent account of eternal presence is Traherne’s continuation. “Virtues” within the quotation means angelic powers.
Source note
Primary text: III.65; author identification, source, and quotation boundary: 2026 edition note to III.65.