The Imitation of Christ
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Thomas a Kempis was not a haphazard follower of Jesus. The depth of his masterpiece mirrors the life of a man who did whatever was necessary to imitate his own Savior. A Kempis lived as intentionally as he wrote. We must turn away from the things of this world, we must live sacrificially, we must be inundated with Christ’s passionate teaching, and we must pray to be removed from distraction.
A classic in every state of the word, The Imitation of Christ places the fruit of one man’s single-minded devotion to God’s calling on his life within the reach of every reader. May we all commit to be this effective in our emulation of Jesus.
Moody Classics
Of all the factors influencing our spiritual growth and development, pivotal books play a key role. Learning from those who have walked the path and fought the fight brings wisdom and strengthens resolve. And hearing the familiar chords of kingdom living sung by voices from other times can penetrate cultural barriers that limit our allegiance to the King. To this end, Moody Publishers is honored to introduce the first six volumes in what is to be an ongoing series of spiritual classics. Selected for their enduring influence and timeless perspective, these new editions promise to shape the lives of spiritual pilgrims for generations to come.
A classic in every state of the word, The Imitation of Christ places the fruit of one man’s single-minded devotion to God’s calling on his life within the reach of every reader. May we all commit to be this effective in our emulation of Jesus.
Moody Classics
Of all the factors influencing our spiritual growth and development, pivotal books play a key role. Learning from those who have walked the path and fought the fight brings wisdom and strengthens resolve. And hearing the familiar chords of kingdom living sung by voices from other times can penetrate cultural barriers that limit our allegiance to the King. To this end, Moody Publishers is honored to introduce the first six volumes in what is to be an ongoing series of spiritual classics. Selected for their enduring influence and timeless perspective, these new editions promise to shape the lives of spiritual pilgrims for generations to come.
Thomas a Kempis was not a haphazard follower of Jesus. The depth of his masterpiece mirrors the life of a man who did whatever was necessary to imitate his own Savior.
A Kempis lived as intentionally as he wrote. We must turn away from the things of this world, we must live sacrificially, we must be inundated with Christ’s passionate teaching, and we must pray to be removed from distraction.
A classic in every state of the word, The Imitation of Christ places the fruit of one man’s single-minded devotion to God’s calling on his life within the reach of every reader. May we all commit to be this effective in our emulation of Jesus.
A Kempis lived as intentionally as he wrote. We must turn away from the things of this world, we must live sacrificially, we must be inundated with Christ’s passionate teaching, and we must pray to be removed from distraction.
A classic in every state of the word, The Imitation of Christ places the fruit of one man’s single-minded devotion to God’s calling on his life within the reach of every reader. May we all commit to be this effective in our emulation of Jesus.
THOMAS A¿KEMPIS (1380-1471) was a Dutch priest, monk, and writer born in Kempen, Germany. He attended a school near Deventer in Holland. Thomas of Kempen, as he was known at school, was so impressed by his teachers that he decided to live his own life according to their ideals. When he was 19, he entered the monastery of Mount St. Agnes and spent the rest of his long life behind the walls of that monastery. Thomas wrote a number of sermons, letters, hymns, and lives of the saints. The most famous of his works, by far, is The Imitation of Christ, a charming instruction on how to love God. The Imitation of Christ has come to be, after the Bible, the most widely translated book in Christian literature.
DR. ROSALIE DE ROSSET is a professor of Literature, English and Homiletics at Moody Bible Institute where she has been for forty-two years. She earned her M.A. in English from Northeastern Illinois University, M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Rhetoric from The University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to teaching, she regularly appears on Moody Broadcasting Network programs as a guest and co-host, and speaks at conferences and seminars. She lives on the northside of Chicago.
DR. ROSALIE DE ROSSET is a professor of Literature, English and Homiletics at Moody Bible Institute where she has been for forty-two years. She earned her M.A. in English from Northeastern Illinois University, M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Rhetoric from The University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to teaching, she regularly appears on Moody Broadcasting Network programs as a guest and co-host, and speaks at conferences and seminars. She lives on the northside of Chicago.
"There is no middle ground; our faith must be passionately focused on Christ, or we become earthbound, caught up with concerns, pleasures, and friends who will inevitably fail us."
Thomas a Kempis was not a haphazard follower of Jesus. The depth of his masterpiece mirrors the life of a man who did whatever was necessary to imitate his own Savior.
A Kempis lived as intentionally as he wrote. We must turn away from the things of this world, we must live sacrificially, we must be inundated with Christ’s passionate teaching, and we must pray to be removed from distraction.
A classic in every state of the word, The Imitation of Christ places the fruit of one man’s single-minded devotion to God’s calling on his life within the reach of every reader. May we all commit to be this effective in our emulation of Jesus.
Thomas a Kempis was not a haphazard follower of Jesus. The depth of his masterpiece mirrors the life of a man who did whatever was necessary to imitate his own Savior.
A Kempis lived as intentionally as he wrote. We must turn away from the things of this world, we must live sacrificially, we must be inundated with Christ’s passionate teaching, and we must pray to be removed from distraction.
A classic in every state of the word, The Imitation of Christ places the fruit of one man’s single-minded devotion to God’s calling on his life within the reach of every reader. May we all commit to be this effective in our emulation of Jesus.
Introduction / 13
THE FIRST BOOK
Admonitions Useful for a Spiritual Life
1. Of the Imitation of Christ, and Contempt of All the Vanities of the World / 25
2. Of Thinking Humbly of Ourselves / 28
3. Of the Doctrine of Truth / 31
4. Of Wisdom and Forethought in Our Actions / 35
5. Of the Reading of Holy Scriptures / 37
6. Of Inordinate Affections / 39
7. Of Fleeing From Vain Hope and Pride / 41
8. That Too Much Familiarity Is to Be Shunned / 43
9. Of Obedience and Subjection / 45
10. Of Avoiding Superfluity in Words / 47
11. Of the Obtaining of Peace, and Zealous Desire for Progress in Grace / 49
12. Of the Profit of Adversity / 52
13. Of Resisting Temptation / 54
14. Of Avoiding Rash Judgment / 58
15. Of Works Done in Charity / 60
16. Of Bearing With the Defects of Others / 62
17. Of a Retired Life / 64
18. Of the Examples of the Holy Fathers / 66
19. Of the Exercises of a Good Religious Person / 69
20. Of the Love of Solitude and Silence / 73
21. Of Compunction of Heart / 78
22. Of the Consideration of Human Misery / 81
23. Of Meditation on Death / 86
24. Of Judgment, and the Punishment of Sinners / 91
25. Of the Zealous Amendment of Our Whole Life / 96
THE SECOND BOOK
Admonitions Tending to Things Internal
1. Of the Inward Life / 105
2. Of Humble Submission / 110
3. Of a Good Peaceable Man / 112
4. Of a Pure Mind, and Simple Intention / 115
5. Of the Consideration of One’s Self / 117
6. Of the Joy of a Good Conscience / 119
7. Of the Love of Jesus Above All Things / 122
8. Of Familiar Converse With Jesus / 124
9. Of the Want of All Comfort / 128
10. Of Gratitude for the Grace of God / 133
11. How Few Are the Lovers of the Cross of Jesus / 136
12. Of the King’s Highway of the Holy Cross / 139
THE THIRD BOOK
Of Internal Consolations
1. Of Christ’s Speaking Inwardly to the Faithful Soul / 149
2. That the Truth Speaketh Inwardly Without Noise
of Words / 151
3. That the Words of God Are to Be Heard With
Humility, and That Many Weigh Them Not / 153
4. That We Ought to Live in Truth and Humility
Before God / 157
5. Of the Wonderful Effect of Divine Love / 160
6. Of the Proof of a True Lover of Christ / 164
7. Of Concealing Grace Under the Guard of Humility / 168
8. Of a Mean Conceit of Ourselves in the Sight of God / 172
9. That All Things Are to Be Referred Unto God,
as Their Last End / 174
10. That to Despise the World and Serve God Is a
Sweet Life / 176
11. That the Longings and Desires of Our Hearts / 180
Are to Be Exam-ined and Moderated
12. Of the Growth of Patience in the Soul, and of
Striving Against Concupiscence / 182
13. Of the Obedience of One in Humble Subjection,
After the Example of Jesus Christ / 185
14. Of the Duty of Considering the Secret Judgments
of God, That So We Be Not Lifted Up for Anything
Good in Us / 187
15. In Everything Which We Desire, How We Ought / 190
to Stand Affected, and What We Ought to Say
16. That True Comfort Is to Be Sought in God Alone / 193
17. That All Our Anxieties Are to Be Placed on God / 195
18. That Temporal Miseries Must Be Borne Patiently,
After the Example of Christ / 197
19. Of the Endurance of Injuries, and of the Proof of
True Patience / 200
20. Of the Confession of Our Own Infirmities,
and of the Miseries of This Life / 203
21. That We Are to Rest in God Above All Things
Which Are Good, and Above All His Own Gifts / 206
22. Of the Remembrance of God’s Manifold Benefits / 210
23. Of Four Things That Bring Much Inward Peace / 213
24. Of Avoiding Curious Inquiry Into Other Men’s
Lives / 217
25. Wherein Firm Peace of Heart and True Spiritual
Progress Consisteth / 219
26. Of the Excellence of a Free Mind, Which Is Sooner
Gained by Humble Prayer Than by Reading / 222
27. That It Is Self-Love Which Most Hindereth
From the Chiefest Good / 224
28. Against the Tongues of Slanderers / 227
29. How We Ought to Call Upon God, and to Bless
Him, When Tribulation Is Upon Us / 228
30. Of Craving the Divine Aid, and Confidence of
Recovering Grace / 230
31. Of the Contempt of All Creatures, to Find Out the Creator / 234
32. Of Self-Denial, and Renouncing Every Evil Appetite / 237
33. Of Inconstancy of Heart, and of Having Our Final
Intentions Directed Unto God / 239
34. That God Is Sweet Above All Things, and in
All Things, to Him That Loveth Him / 241
35. That There Is No Security From Temptation in
This Life / 244
36. Against the Vain Judgments of Men / 247
37. Of Pure and Entire Resignation of Ourselves,
for the Obtaining Freedom of Heart / 249
38. Of Good Government in Things External,
and of Having Recourse to God in Dangers / 252
39. That a Man Should Not Be Fretful in Matters of Business / 254
40. That Man Hath No Good of Himself,
Nor Anything in Which He Can Glory / 256
41. Of the Contempt of All Temporal Honor / 259
42. That Our Peace Is Not to Be Placed in Men / 260
43. Against Vain and Secular Knowledge / 262
44. Of Not Fetching Trouble to Ourselves From Outward Things / 265
45. That Credit Is Not to Be Given to All, and That Man Is Prone
to Offend in Words / 267
46. Of Putting Our Trust in God When Evil Words Arise / 271
47. That All Grievous Things Are to Be Endured
for the Sake of Eternal Life / 274
48. Of the Day of Eternity and This Life’s Straitnesses / 277
49. Of the Desire of Everlasting Life, and How Great Rewards
Are Promised to Those That Strive Resolutely / 281
50. How a Desolate Person Ought to Offer Himself Into the Hands
of God / 286
51. That a Man Ought to Employ Himself in Works of Humility,
When Strength Is Wanting for Higher Employments / 291
52. That a Man Ought Not to Account Himself as Worthy
of Comfort, but Rather as Deserving of Chastisement / 293
53. That the Grace of God Doth Not Join Itself With Those
Who Cherish Earthly Things / 296
54. Of the Different Motions of Nature and Grace / 299
55. Of the Corruption of Nature, and of the Efficacy of Divine Grace / 304
56. That We Ought to Deny Ourselves and Imitate Christ by the Cross / 308
57. That a Man Should Not Be Too Much Dejected, Even When
He Falleth Into Some Defects / 311
58. That High Matters, and God’s Secret Judgments,
Are Not to Be Narrowly Inquired Into / 314
59. That All Our Hope and Trust Is to Be Fixed in God Alone / 320
THE FOURTH BOOK
Concerning the Sacrament
A Devout Exhortation to the Holy Communion
1. With How Great Reverence Christ Ought to Be Received / 325
2. That the Great Goodness and Love of God Is Exhibited to
Man in This Sacrament / 332
3. That It Is Profitable to Communicate Often / 336
4. That Many Benefits Are Bestowed Upon Them
That Communicate Devoutly / 339
5. Of the Dignity of the Sacrament, and of the Ministerial Function / 343
6. An Inquiry Concerning Spiritual Exercise Before Communion / 346
7. Of Thoroughly Examining Our Own Conscience,
and of Holy Purposes of Amendment / 347
8. Of the Offering of Christ on the Cross, and of Resignation
of Ourselves / 350
9. That We Ought to Offer Up Ourselves, and
All That Is Ours, Unto God, and to Pray for All / 352
10. That the Holy Communion Is Not Lightly to Be Forborne / 355
11. That the Body of Christ and the Holy Scriptures
Are Most Necessary Unto a Faithful Soul / 360
12. That He Who Is About to Communicate With
Christ Ought to Prepare Himself With Great Diligence / 365
13. That the Devout Soul Ought With the Whole A
Heart to Seek Union With Christ in the Sacrament / 368
14. Of the Fervent Desire of Some Devout Persons to Receive
the Body of Christ / 371
15. That the Grace of Devotion Is Obtained by Humility and
Denial of Ourselves / 373
16. That We Ought to Lay Open Our Necessities to Christ
and Crave His Grace / 376
17. Of Fervent Love, and Vehement Desire to Receive Christ / 378
18. That a Man Should Not Be a Curious Searcher
Into the Holy Sacrament, but an Humble Follower
of Christ, Submitting His Sense to Divine Faith / 381
To Think About / 384
THE FIRST BOOK
Admonitions Useful for a Spiritual Life
1. Of the Imitation of Christ, and Contempt of All the Vanities of the World / 25
2. Of Thinking Humbly of Ourselves / 28
3. Of the Doctrine of Truth / 31
4. Of Wisdom and Forethought in Our Actions / 35
5. Of the Reading of Holy Scriptures / 37
6. Of Inordinate Affections / 39
7. Of Fleeing From Vain Hope and Pride / 41
8. That Too Much Familiarity Is to Be Shunned / 43
9. Of Obedience and Subjection / 45
10. Of Avoiding Superfluity in Words / 47
11. Of the Obtaining of Peace, and Zealous Desire for Progress in Grace / 49
12. Of the Profit of Adversity / 52
13. Of Resisting Temptation / 54
14. Of Avoiding Rash Judgment / 58
15. Of Works Done in Charity / 60
16. Of Bearing With the Defects of Others / 62
17. Of a Retired Life / 64
18. Of the Examples of the Holy Fathers / 66
19. Of the Exercises of a Good Religious Person / 69
20. Of the Love of Solitude and Silence / 73
21. Of Compunction of Heart / 78
22. Of the Consideration of Human Misery / 81
23. Of Meditation on Death / 86
24. Of Judgment, and the Punishment of Sinners / 91
25. Of the Zealous Amendment of Our Whole Life / 96
THE SECOND BOOK
Admonitions Tending to Things Internal
1. Of the Inward Life / 105
2. Of Humble Submission / 110
3. Of a Good Peaceable Man / 112
4. Of a Pure Mind, and Simple Intention / 115
5. Of the Consideration of One’s Self / 117
6. Of the Joy of a Good Conscience / 119
7. Of the Love of Jesus Above All Things / 122
8. Of Familiar Converse With Jesus / 124
9. Of the Want of All Comfort / 128
10. Of Gratitude for the Grace of God / 133
11. How Few Are the Lovers of the Cross of Jesus / 136
12. Of the King’s Highway of the Holy Cross / 139
THE THIRD BOOK
Of Internal Consolations
1. Of Christ’s Speaking Inwardly to the Faithful Soul / 149
2. That the Truth Speaketh Inwardly Without Noise
of Words / 151
3. That the Words of God Are to Be Heard With
Humility, and That Many Weigh Them Not / 153
4. That We Ought to Live in Truth and Humility
Before God / 157
5. Of the Wonderful Effect of Divine Love / 160
6. Of the Proof of a True Lover of Christ / 164
7. Of Concealing Grace Under the Guard of Humility / 168
8. Of a Mean Conceit of Ourselves in the Sight of God / 172
9. That All Things Are to Be Referred Unto God,
as Their Last End / 174
10. That to Despise the World and Serve God Is a
Sweet Life / 176
11. That the Longings and Desires of Our Hearts / 180
Are to Be Exam-ined and Moderated
12. Of the Growth of Patience in the Soul, and of
Striving Against Concupiscence / 182
13. Of the Obedience of One in Humble Subjection,
After the Example of Jesus Christ / 185
14. Of the Duty of Considering the Secret Judgments
of God, That So We Be Not Lifted Up for Anything
Good in Us / 187
15. In Everything Which We Desire, How We Ought / 190
to Stand Affected, and What We Ought to Say
16. That True Comfort Is to Be Sought in God Alone / 193
17. That All Our Anxieties Are to Be Placed on God / 195
18. That Temporal Miseries Must Be Borne Patiently,
After the Example of Christ / 197
19. Of the Endurance of Injuries, and of the Proof of
True Patience / 200
20. Of the Confession of Our Own Infirmities,
and of the Miseries of This Life / 203
21. That We Are to Rest in God Above All Things
Which Are Good, and Above All His Own Gifts / 206
22. Of the Remembrance of God’s Manifold Benefits / 210
23. Of Four Things That Bring Much Inward Peace / 213
24. Of Avoiding Curious Inquiry Into Other Men’s
Lives / 217
25. Wherein Firm Peace of Heart and True Spiritual
Progress Consisteth / 219
26. Of the Excellence of a Free Mind, Which Is Sooner
Gained by Humble Prayer Than by Reading / 222
27. That It Is Self-Love Which Most Hindereth
From the Chiefest Good / 224
28. Against the Tongues of Slanderers / 227
29. How We Ought to Call Upon God, and to Bless
Him, When Tribulation Is Upon Us / 228
30. Of Craving the Divine Aid, and Confidence of
Recovering Grace / 230
31. Of the Contempt of All Creatures, to Find Out the Creator / 234
32. Of Self-Denial, and Renouncing Every Evil Appetite / 237
33. Of Inconstancy of Heart, and of Having Our Final
Intentions Directed Unto God / 239
34. That God Is Sweet Above All Things, and in
All Things, to Him That Loveth Him / 241
35. That There Is No Security From Temptation in
This Life / 244
36. Against the Vain Judgments of Men / 247
37. Of Pure and Entire Resignation of Ourselves,
for the Obtaining Freedom of Heart / 249
38. Of Good Government in Things External,
and of Having Recourse to God in Dangers / 252
39. That a Man Should Not Be Fretful in Matters of Business / 254
40. That Man Hath No Good of Himself,
Nor Anything in Which He Can Glory / 256
41. Of the Contempt of All Temporal Honor / 259
42. That Our Peace Is Not to Be Placed in Men / 260
43. Against Vain and Secular Knowledge / 262
44. Of Not Fetching Trouble to Ourselves From Outward Things / 265
45. That Credit Is Not to Be Given to All, and That Man Is Prone
to Offend in Words / 267
46. Of Putting Our Trust in God When Evil Words Arise / 271
47. That All Grievous Things Are to Be Endured
for the Sake of Eternal Life / 274
48. Of the Day of Eternity and This Life’s Straitnesses / 277
49. Of the Desire of Everlasting Life, and How Great Rewards
Are Promised to Those That Strive Resolutely / 281
50. How a Desolate Person Ought to Offer Himself Into the Hands
of God / 286
51. That a Man Ought to Employ Himself in Works of Humility,
When Strength Is Wanting for Higher Employments / 291
52. That a Man Ought Not to Account Himself as Worthy
of Comfort, but Rather as Deserving of Chastisement / 293
53. That the Grace of God Doth Not Join Itself With Those
Who Cherish Earthly Things / 296
54. Of the Different Motions of Nature and Grace / 299
55. Of the Corruption of Nature, and of the Efficacy of Divine Grace / 304
56. That We Ought to Deny Ourselves and Imitate Christ by the Cross / 308
57. That a Man Should Not Be Too Much Dejected, Even When
He Falleth Into Some Defects / 311
58. That High Matters, and God’s Secret Judgments,
Are Not to Be Narrowly Inquired Into / 314
59. That All Our Hope and Trust Is to Be Fixed in God Alone / 320
THE FOURTH BOOK
Concerning the Sacrament
A Devout Exhortation to the Holy Communion
1. With How Great Reverence Christ Ought to Be Received / 325
2. That the Great Goodness and Love of God Is Exhibited to
Man in This Sacrament / 332
3. That It Is Profitable to Communicate Often / 336
4. That Many Benefits Are Bestowed Upon Them
That Communicate Devoutly / 339
5. Of the Dignity of the Sacrament, and of the Ministerial Function / 343
6. An Inquiry Concerning Spiritual Exercise Before Communion / 346
7. Of Thoroughly Examining Our Own Conscience,
and of Holy Purposes of Amendment / 347
8. Of the Offering of Christ on the Cross, and of Resignation
of Ourselves / 350
9. That We Ought to Offer Up Ourselves, and
All That Is Ours, Unto God, and to Pray for All / 352
10. That the Holy Communion Is Not Lightly to Be Forborne / 355
11. That the Body of Christ and the Holy Scriptures
Are Most Necessary Unto a Faithful Soul / 360
12. That He Who Is About to Communicate With
Christ Ought to Prepare Himself With Great Diligence / 365
13. That the Devout Soul Ought With the Whole A
Heart to Seek Union With Christ in the Sacrament / 368
14. Of the Fervent Desire of Some Devout Persons to Receive
the Body of Christ / 371
15. That the Grace of Devotion Is Obtained by Humility and
Denial of Ourselves / 373
16. That We Ought to Lay Open Our Necessities to Christ
and Crave His Grace / 376
17. Of Fervent Love, and Vehement Desire to Receive Christ / 378
18. That a Man Should Not Be a Curious Searcher
Into the Holy Sacrament, but an Humble Follower
of Christ, Submitting His Sense to Divine Faith / 381
To Think About / 384
Additional information
| Weight | 1 oz |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 1 × 5 × 7 in |
