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The Imitation of Christ (1418)

by Thomas von Kempen

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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10,06581721 (4.1)76
First published anonymously in 1418, Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ is a classic Christian devotional work that has been read through the ages by such notable figures as Sir Thomas More, John Wesley, and Pope John Paul I. A meditation on spiritual life, it offers instructions for renouncing worldly vanity and discovering eternal truths with the goal of living out the teachings of Jesus by taking inspiration from his life. More widely read and more influential than any spiritual work except the Bible, The Imitation of Christ has offered guidance and solace to people of all faiths since its publication and retains its power today. This edition is the translation by the Reverend William Benham.… (more)
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» See also 76 mentions

English (59)  Catalan (6)  Portuguese (Brazil) (5)  Dutch (4)  Spanish (3)  Portuguese (Portugal) (1)  Italian (1)  French (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (81)
Showing 1-5 of 59 (next | show all)
Early 15th Century devotional work that given its ethos is most curiously widely read, second only to the Bible among Christian texts, per a Wikipedia claim. Its author holds an attitude of deep distrust of human nature and society. The book recommends avoiding human interaction as much as possible; for even when we do something apparently good like acts of charity out of love for our brothers and sisters, it argues, our true motives are usually suspect and blameworthy. Isolation and silence are to be sought always, because our real task is to work on ourselves, and given our terrible natures this is a job that will take some doing.

Though this doesn’t sound much like an imitation of Christ to me, not the Christ I understand, the book, or at least the first two of the four “books” that make it up anyway, is interesting and not without useful advice that would move the reader closer to a Christ like attitude, or one could also say to a Buddhist like one, given that there are some strong similarities.

It strongly emphasizes being humble, never thinking yourself better than even someone you despise. You may be acting well now, but that’s not likely to always be true. “No harm, if you think of all the world as your betters; what does do a great deal of harm is to compare yourself favorably to a single living soul. To be humble is to enjoy undisturbed peace of mind, while the proud heart is swept by gusts of envy and resentment.” His advice on critiquing others: “Yes, you do well to cultivate patience with the shortcomings, the various disabilities of other people; only think how much they have to put up with in you! We like to have everybody around us quite perfect, but our own faults - we never seem to correct them.”

We cling much too much to our possessions, our wealth, when these things cannot make us happy and indeed cause us anxiety as we fear their loss. Plenty of people have “weak, flabby natures, that are always complaining, ‘Look at So-and-so; what a good time he has! How rich, how important he is; what influence and rank he enjoys!’ But in reality, if you take one look at the prizes of heaven, you will see that all these earthly ones count for nothing; if anything, it is a weight on our minds, the precarious possession of them, a constant source of anxiety and alarm. Man’s happiness doesn’t consist in having more earthly possessions than he knows what to do with... The higher a man’s spiritual aims, the more distasteful does our present life appear to him.”

How’s this for a practice: “Morning is the time for making resolutions; when evening comes, analyse your past behavior - what sort of person have you been today? What have you said, or done; what have been your thoughts? In any of these ways, you may have offended God and your neighbor oftener than you knew.”

And so on. Good advice in the context of an overall too misanthropic and isolationist a worldview. The second two books are a shift in style, taking the form of a sort of dialogue between God and the soul. Very flowery prose, much wordier, more decorative, often liturgical styling. Didn’t find these terribly interesting. ( )
  lelandleslie | Feb 24, 2024 |
Preventing the Worldliness of the Church: "Imitação de Cristo" by Tomás de Kempis (transl. and annotated by Monsignor Manuel Martinho)

Imitação de Cristo" by Tomás de Kempis (transl. and annotated by Monsignor Manuel Martinho)

Thomas de Kempis found a fertile field to write the "The Imitation of Christ" providing practical guidelines for the life of the believer. The book is divided into independent chapters, that is, each has a beginning, middle and end, so it can be read autonomously. This justifies the traditional custom of saying a prayer and opening the book at random. Its characteristic is to put the believer in contact with Christ, helping him in his conversion process, which requires a break up with the world of mundane affairs.

It is precisely at this point that the work is criticized, because the separation from the world that it suggests makes it labeled individualistic, that is, with a disincarnated spirituality, outside the real world. Far from the truth! It is possible to overcome this obstacle, this side effect of such an excellent remedy, remembering that the book was written for monks, that is, people who already lived apart from the world. To do so, just adapt it on day-to-day basis. In spite of this, it is still a book of extraordinary importance, since in these current times when many in the Church itself embrace the worldly mentality, "The Imitation of Christ" puts things in a Christocentric perspective. The centrality in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the break with the world and with sin, in a spirituality that engages the person through the heart and makes him live for what really matters: Heaven.

The book is divided into four major sections, the first two introducing the reader to spiritual life. The third part is a dialogue between Christ and the soul. It is a devotional, and meditative part (my favourite). The fourth part refers to the Eucharist, teaching how to receive it, adore it and how to approach it properly.

"Imitation of Christ" should be on every Catholic's bedside. It is a valid stance, especially at a time when the Church, instead of being a missionary and evangelizing the world, is just being "evangelized" by it. "The Imitation of Christ" can undoubtedly help to prevent the worldliness of the Church and of each one of us.


NB: I own the 18th edition (1947) in Portuguese (vide photo above), translated and annotated by Monsignor Manuel Martinho (from Latin into Portuguese). ( )
  antao | Sep 14, 2022 |
The prose is beautiful, but the content of this book? That is another matter altogether, particularly in the third section, when much of the content purports to be from the mouth of Christ. As a Christian within the Reformed tradition and confessionally holding to the Three Forms of Unity it was at this point the book went out-of-bound theologically. Do you want to imitate Christ as you live by faith? Then read the Bible and read the Puritans, for their writings contain many of the same general ideas but they do so with frequent scripture references and they never claim to be putting words into the mouth of our Savior that were not placed by His Spirit into the Bible. ( )
  BradKautz | May 12, 2022 |
I rated this solely on my personal reaction to the reading experience. Had I rated it in the context of historical importance or Catholic literary history, I would've given it 5 stars. Had I rated it in light of my own religious philosophies, I would've given it 1 star. ( )
  chrisvia | Apr 29, 2021 |
The text is divided into four books, which provide detailed spiritual instructions: "Helpful Counsels of the Spiritual Life", "Directives for the Interior Life", "On Interior Consolation" and "On the Blessed Sacrament". The approach taken in the Imitation is characterized by its emphasis on the interior life and withdrawal from the world, as opposed to an active imitation of Christ by other friars.[1] The book places a high level of emphasis on the devotion to the Eucharist as key element of spiritual life
  StFrancisofAssisi | Nov 21, 2020 |
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» Add other authors (432 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Thomas von Kempenprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Beeching, H. C.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bigg, CharlesTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bouman, RutgerusPrefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Challoner, RichardTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Chalmers, ThomasIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Croft, AloysiusTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Delaisse, L. M. J.Forewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gardiner, Harold C.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gonnelieu, R.P. deContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gorp, Joseph vanContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hallez, L.Illustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hoskins, AnthonyTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kepler, Thomas S.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Klein, Edward J.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Knox, Ronald ArbuthnottTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lamennais, F. deTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lelen, J. M.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Little, W. J. Knoxsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Maine, George F.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Malcolm, HowardEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Merkx, P.A.H.J.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mulder, Lucas BernardusForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Oakley, Michaelsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pavert, R. A. van deIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Payne, JohnTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sherley-Price, LeoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ullman, C.Prefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Whitford, RichardTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Zolla, ElemireIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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First published anonymously in 1418, Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ is a classic Christian devotional work that has been read through the ages by such notable figures as Sir Thomas More, John Wesley, and Pope John Paul I. A meditation on spiritual life, it offers instructions for renouncing worldly vanity and discovering eternal truths with the goal of living out the teachings of Jesus by taking inspiration from his life. More widely read and more influential than any spiritual work except the Bible, The Imitation of Christ has offered guidance and solace to people of all faiths since its publication and retains its power today. This edition is the translation by the Reverend William Benham.

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