From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordInterest can mean a share in something, a concern that affects one, or an advantage pursued.
- In TraherneThe word exposes the ambiguity of self-concern.
- In this editionRead interest locally as share or advantage.
- A place to beginExclusive private interests participate in the disorder of invented wants.
Meaning
Interest can mean a share in something, a concern that affects one, or an advantage pursued. It need not imply payment for a loan.
Use in the book
The word exposes the ambiguity of self-concern. Particular and feeble interests divide people when each treats private advantage as an exclusive good. Yet an interest in other people’s praises can unite the observer with their happiness and with the divine benefits they celebrate. Having a share need not diminish anyone else’s share.
IV.60 gives the problem a sharper ethical form. Heavenly love and advantage coincide, whereas bodily need makes earthly love appear divided against its interest. Sacrificial action is therefore tested here. Traherne does not deny hunger or personal necessity; he asks how love can act through their pressure and discover an interest ultimately enlarged by the good of others.
Places to read
In this edition
Read interest locally as share or advantage. The same word can denote a constricted concern or an enlarged participation without contradiction.