From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordLustre is radiance or shining appearance; figuratively it is the manifest excellence that makes something worthy of admiration.
- In TraherneTraherne’s lustre belongs as readily to persons and relations as to bright surfaces.
- In this editionThe metaphor remains visual even when its subject is a soul or an enjoyment.
- A place to beginThe abiding sense of wants gives lustre and sweetness to fulfilled enjoyment.
Meaning
Lustre is radiance or shining appearance; figuratively it is the manifest excellence that makes something worthy of admiration.
Use in the book
Traherne’s lustre belongs as readily to persons and relations as to bright surfaces. Holy souls are discovered by their spiritual radiance, but the observer must become virtuous enough to recognize and approach them. Their light is active: they teach, encourage, honour, and delight those who enter their company.
Even want can put a lustre upon enjoyment. Awareness of what a gift answers prevents its possession from becoming dull through familiarity. The brilliance of the thing is not merely increased by another external ornament; its existing goodness becomes vivid through a rightly sustained relation to need. Lustre thus names excellence as perceived and communicated, not a decorative shine detachable from its source.
Places to read
In this edition
The metaphor remains visual even when its subject is a soul or an enjoyment. It signals manifested worth, rather than simply fashionable polish.