Centuries of Meditations

For more than 200 years, Thomas Traherne's Centuries of Meditations was undiscovered and unpublished. The manuscript passed through many hands before finally being compiled into a book by bookseller and scholar BERTRAM DOBELL (1842-1914) in 1908. Centuries is a collection of poems written to express the rapture of life lived in accordance with God. Yet Dobell is careful to state that even though Traherne was a clergyman, there is plenty of beauty to be found in his poetry that does not require specific belief in Christianity or in God. Readers of many ages and persuasions will be touched by Traherne's passages on love and belonging. English author THOMAS TRAHERNE (1636-1674) received a master's degree in arts and divinity from Brasenose College, Oxford. He worked as a parish priest in Credenhill and wrote a handful of books, including Christian Ethicks (1675) and Roman Forgeries (1673).