From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe St Gregory cited on angelic service is identified by the 2026 edition as Gregory the Great.
- In TraherneTraherne’s immediate problem is practical: how can the human reader preserve an inward apprehension of divine greatness while carrying out ordinary duties?
- In this editionThe 2026 note relates the passage to Homilies on the Gospels 34 and Moralia in Job II.3, calling Traherne’s wording a free English version.
- A place to beginThe account of angels’ uninterrupted contemplation follows advice to retain divine greatness in understanding and memory.
Meaning
The St Gregory cited on angelic service is identified by the 2026 edition as Gregory the Great. His account concerns how limited spirits can serve outwardly while remaining inwardly attentive to God.
Use in the book
Traherne’s immediate problem is practical: how can the human reader preserve an inward apprehension of divine greatness while carrying out ordinary duties? Angels offer a model because their outward ministry does not interrupt the beatific vision. The explanation turns on God’s unrestricted presence rather than on making the angel’s own substance infinite. Knowledge expands through the divine object beheld. The passage therefore supports integrated contemplation and action, not escape from service. Its context also makes memory important when living apprehension cannot be sustained with equal force. What the reader should retain is the power of the vision within outward activity.
Places to read
- III.98The account of angels’ uninterrupted contemplation follows advice to retain divine greatness in understanding and memory.
In this edition
The 2026 note relates the passage to Homilies on the Gospels 34 and Moralia in Job II.3, calling Traherne’s wording a free English version. Do not identify this Gregory with Nazianzen.
Source note
Primary text: III.98; author and source identifications: 2026 edition note to III.98.