Thomas Traherne Page
About The Centuries of Meditations
These life-affirming devotional messages were written in the
seventeen century by Thomas Traherne. He was a minister of the Church of
England and a poet who is counted among the metaphysical poets of Britain.
In about the year 1904 these writings, in manuscript form, were found in a
London bookstall by Bertram Dobell who was so impressed with their quality
and value that he proceeded to take steps toward their publication in
1908. I first read them about four years ago, having seen a reference to Traherne
in a book by James Houston of Regent College, Vancouver. Soon after that I found that CCEL (Christian
Classics Ethereal Library) had scanned them and posted them online. I
immediately volunteered to do the cleanup work, getting the text
straightened up and corrected. As well as posting them there I decided to
post them here and make them available to friends. There are four full sets of hundreds (hence, the name Century) and
a fifth, an unfinished set. The full text of the 1908 edition is here.
Introduction—
The First Century—
The Second Century
The Third Century—
The Fourth Century—
The Fifth Century
Here is one of my favorites from the Centuries:
This is a lesson long enough: which you may be all your life in learning, and to all Eternity in
practising. Be sensible ofyour wants, that you maybe sensible of your
treasures. He is most like God that is sensible of everything. Did you not
from all Eternity want some one to give you a Being? Did you not want one to
give you a Glorious Being? Did you not from all Eternity want some one to give
you infinite Treasures? And some one to give you Spectators, Companions,
Enjoyers? Did you not want a Deity to make them sweet and honourable by His
infinite Wisdom? What you wanted from all Eternity, be sensible of to all
Eternity. Let your wants be present from everlasting. Is not this a strange life
to which I call you? Wherein you are to be present with things that were before
the world was made? And at once present even like God with infinite wants and
infinite Treasures: Be present with your want of a Deity, and you shall be
present with the Deity. You shall adore and admire Him, enjoy and prize Him;
believe in Him, and Delight in Him, see him to be the Fountain of all your joys,
and the Head of all your Treasures.
From the First Century, meditation 45.
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