From the book
Centuries of Meditations
Thomas Traherne · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordPlace can be spatial location, the position of a part within a whole, or the inward presence an object has in an understanding.
- In TraherneTraherne does not treat these senses as competitors.
- In this editionProper place can mean fitting relational position, not merely customary location.
- A place to beginThe presence of things in an understanding fulfils the purpose of their outward placement.
Meaning
Place can be spatial location, the position of a part within a whole, or the inward presence an object has in an understanding.
Use in the book
Traherne does not treat these senses as competitors. Goods are most useful in their proper external places, while their known relations give them a place within the soul. III.55 argues that even the sun cannot be valued apart from the eye, sea, fields, and other things it serves. Place therefore includes an order of relations rather than bare coordinates.
II.77 rejects the idea that riches are better when accumulated in one small enclosure. Distributed treasures make the enjoyer at home everywhere. I.100 then gives the inward place its purpose: things present in an understanding awaken pleasure, wisdom, love, and praise. Spatial arrangement reaches its end in the living response it makes possible.
Places to read
In this edition
Proper place can mean fitting relational position, not merely customary location. Objective in-being refers to presence as an object of the soul.