From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordOriginal sin names humanity’s fallen condition as related to Adam, distinguished from actual sins committed in particular acts.
- In TraherneTraherne includes original and actual sin in the subjects belonging to humanity’s estate of misery.
- In this editionThe 2026 note at III.8 places the passage beside Article IX.
- A place to beginCustom and example are emphasized over inward corruption, while their origin is linked to Adam.
Meaning
Original sin names humanity’s fallen condition as related to Adam, distinguished from actual sins committed in particular acts.
Use in the book
Traherne includes original and actual sin in the subjects belonging to humanity’s estate of misery. His autobiographical account nevertheless places much greater explanatory weight on custom, example, and parental lives than on inward corruption or bodily descent. He then explicitly traces the world’s corrupt examples and inclinations back to Adam.
Both statements must remain visible. The narrative of childhood innocence should not be converted into a simple denial of inherited sin, nor should the doctrinal list cancel the unusual emphasis on acquired blindness. The tension gives education a major role in the account of falling away and recovering felicity.
Places to read
In this edition
The 2026 note at III.8 places the passage beside Article IX. That editorial comparison is useful context, not an additional doctrinal declaration by Traherne.
Source note
Primary text: III.8, III.43. The 2026 editorial note at III.8 [179] supplies the comparison with Article IX.