48. Of The Day Of Eternity And Of The Straitnesses Of This Life
Chapter 49. Of The Desire After Eternal Life, And How Great Blessings Are Promised To Those Who Strive
Chapter 50. How A Desolate Man Ought To Commit Himself Into The Hands Of God
Chapter 51. That We Must Give Ourselves To Humble Works When We Are Unequal To Those That Are Lofty
Chapter 52. That A Man Ought Not To Reckon Himself Worthy Of Consolation, But More Worthy Of Chastisement
Chapter 53. That The Grace Of God Doth Not Join Itself To Those Who Mind Earthly Things
Chapter 54. Of The Diverse Motions Of Nature And Of Grace
Chapter 55. Of The Corruption Of Nature And The Efficacy Of Divine Grace
Chapter 56. That We Ought To Deny Ourselves, And To Imitate Christ By Means Of The Cross
Chapter 57. That A Man Must Not Be Too Much Cast Down When He Falleth Into Some Faults
Chapter 58. Of Deeper Matters, And God's Hidden Judgments Which Are Not To Be Inquired Into
Chapter 59. That All Hope And Trust Is To Be Fixed In God Alone
THE FOURTH BOOK. OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR
A Devout Exhortation To The Holy Communion
Chapter 1. With How Great Reverence Christ Must Be Received
Chapter 2. That The Greatness And Charity Of God Is Shown To Men In The Sacrament
Chapter 3. That It Is Profitable To Communicate Often
Chapter 4. That Many Good Gifts Are Bestowed Upon Those Who Communicate Devoutly
Chapter 5. Of The Dignity Of This Sacrament, And Of The Office Of The Priest
Chapter 6. An Inquiry Concerning Preparation For Communion
Chapter 7. Of The Examination Of Conscience, And Purpose Of Amendment
Chapter 8. Of The Oblation Of Christ Upon The Cross, And Of Resignation Of Self
Chapter 9. That We Ought To Offer Ourselves And All That Is Ours To God, And To Pray For All
Chapter 10. That Holy Communion Is Not Lightly To Be Omitted
Chapter 11. That The Body And Blood Of Christ And The Holy Scriptures Are Most Necessary To A Faithful Soul
Chapter 12. That He Who Is About To Communicate With Christ Ought To Prepare Himself With Great Diligence
Chapter 13. That The Devout Soul Ought With The Whole Heart To Yearn After Union With Christ In The Sacrament
Chapter 14. Of The Fervent Desire Of Certain Devout Persons To Receive The Body And Blood Of Christ
Chapter 15. That The Grace Of Devotion Is Acquired By Humility And Self-Denial
Chapter 16. That We Ought To Lay Open Our Necessities To Christ And To Require His Grace
Chapter 17. Of Fervent Love And Vehement Desire Of Receiving Christ
Chapter 18. That A Man Should Not Be A Curious Searcher Of The Sacrament, But A Humble Imitator Of Christ, Submitting His Sense To Holy Faith
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The treatise "Of the Imitation of Christ" appears to have been originally written in Latin early in the fifteenth century. Its exact date and its authorship are still a matter of debate. Manuscripts of the Latin version survive in considerable numbers all over Western Europe, and they, with the vast list of translations and of printed editions, testify to its almost unparalleled popularity. One scribe attributes it to St. Bernard of Clairvaux; but the fact that it contains a quotation from St. Francis of Assisi, who was born thirty years after the death of St. Bernard, disposes of this theory. In England there exist many manuscripts of the first three books, called "Musica Ecclesiastica," frequently ascribed to the English mystic Walter Hilton. But Hilton seems to have died in 1395, and there is no evidence of the existence of the work before 1400. Many manuscripts scattered throughout Europe ascribe the book to Jean le Charlier de Gerson, the great Chancellor of the University of Paris, who was a leading figure in the Church in the earlier part of the fifteenth century.
The most probable author, however, especially when the internal evidence is considered, is Thomas Haemmerlein, known also as Thomas a Kempis, from his native town of Kempen, near the Rhine, about forty miles north of Cologne. Haemmerlein, who was born in 1379 or 1380, was a member of the order of the Brothers of Common Life, and spent the last seventy years of his life at Mount St. Agnes, a monastery of Augustinian canons in the diocese of Utrecht. Here he died on July 26, 1471, after an uneventful life spent in copying manuscripts, reading, and composing, and in the peaceful routine of monastic piety.
With the exception of the Bible, no Christian writing has had so wide a vogue or so sustained a popularity as this. And yet, in one sense, it is hardly an original work at all. Its structure it owes largely to the writings of the medieval mystics, and its ideas and phrases are a mosaic from the Bible and the Fathers of the early Church. But these elements are interwoven with such delicate skill and a religious feeling at once so ardent and so sound, that it promises to remain, what it has been for five hundred years, the supreme call and guide to spiritual aspiration.
THE FIRST BOOK. ADMONITIONS PROFITABLE FOR THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
CHAPTER 1. OF THE IMITATION OF CHRIST, AND OF CONTEMPT OF THE WORLD AND ALL ITS VANITIES
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ; and they teach us how far we must imitate His life and character, if we seek true illumination, and deliverance from all blindness of heart. Let it be our most earnest study, therefore, to dwell upon the life of Jesus Christ.
2. His teaching surpasseth all teaching of holy men, and such as have His Spirit find therein the hidden manna. But there are many who, though they frequently hear the Gospel, yet feel but little longing after it, because they have not the mind of Christ. He, therefore, that will fully and with true wisdom understand the words of Christ, let him strive to conform his whole life to that mind of Christ.
3. What doth it profit thee to enter into deep discussion concerning the Holy Trinity, if thou lack humility, and be thus displeasing to the Trinity? For verily it is not deep words that make a man holy and upright; it is a good life which maketh a man dear to God. I had rather feel contrition than be skilful in the definition thereof. If thou knewest the whole Bible, and the sayings of all the philosophers, what should all this profit thee without the love and grace of God? Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, save to love God, and Him only to serve. That is the highest wisdom, to cast the world behind us, and to reach forward to the heavenly kingdom.
4. It is vanity then to seek after, and to trust in, the riches that shall perish. It is vanity, too, to covet honours, and to lift up ourselves on high. It is vanity to follow the desires of the flesh and be led by them, for this shall bring misery at the last. It is vanity to desire a long life, and to have little care for a good life. It is vanity to take thought only for the life which now is, and not to look forward to the things which shall be hereafter. It is vanity to love that which quickly passeth away, and not to hasten where eternal joy abideth.
5. Be ofttimes mindful of the saying, The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. Strive, therefore, to turn away thy heart from the love of the things that are seen, and to set it upon the things that are not seen. For they who follow after their own fleshly lusts, defile the conscience, and destroy the grace of God.
CHAPTER 2. OF THINKING HUMBLY OF ONESELF
There is naturally in every man a desire to know, but what profiteth knowledge without the fear of God? Better of a surety is a lowly peasant who serveth God, than a proud philosopher who watcheth the stars and neglecteth the knowledge of himself. He who knoweth himself well is vile in his own sight; neither regardeth he the praises of men. If I knew all the things that are in the world, and were not in charity, what should