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Cover of The Imitation of Christ

Spirituality

The Imitation of Christ

by Thomas à Kempis

With William Benham

Translated by William Benham

With H. C. Beeching

Thomas à Kempis provides instructions for a Christian spiritual life.

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First published
1418
Length
63,585 words
Reading time
About 4 hr 25 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

The Imitation of Christ is a Christian devotional book dating to the early 15th century, originally written anonymously but popularly attributed to Thomas à Kempis . A popular piece of religious literature since it was first circulated, the Imitation is divided into four books that instruct the reader to forego worldly goods, to follow Christ, and to receive the sacrament of Communion, all in order to attain spiritual peace. Admired by numerous Christian theologians and mystics throughout the course of centuries, it is today considered to be the most-read Christian devotional work besides the Bible, going through over 745 printings before 1650. The Imitation even found an audience in India with the 19th-century Hindu philosopher-monk Ramakrishna, who cherished it along with the Bhagavad Gita as one of his favorite books.

First published 1418; the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 63,585 words arranged in 122 navigable sections.

The source metadata identifies Annotator: William Benham; Translator: William Benham; Annotator: H. C. Beeching.

About the author

Thomas à Kempis

Thomas à Kempis (1380–1471) is described by Wikidata as German canon regular, with citizenship or national association recorded as Burgundian Netherlands.

Recorded occupations include writer, philosopher, Catholic priest, poet, canon, and mystic. Languages recorded for Thomas à Kempis include Dutch and Latin. Wikidata lists The Imitation of Christ, Meditatio de incarnatione Christi, Sermones de vita et passione Domini, Alphabetum monachi, Van goeden woerden to horen ende die to spreken, and Orationes de passione domini et beata virgine et aliis sanctis among Thomas à Kempis's notable works. Open Library identifies Imitation of Christ as a leading work in its author record. Open Library catalogs 619 works under this author record. The Read4Max catalog currently includes The Imitation of Christ under Thomas à Kempis's authorship.

1380–1471

Contributors

Annotator

William Benham

Translator

William Benham

Annotator

H. C. Beeching

Reading options

  • A complete text with direct section navigation in the browser reader.
  • A downloadable EPUB for phones, tablets, desktop reading apps, and compatible ereaders.
  • Book and contributor metadata are checked against the source edition before indexing.

Themes and ideas

  • Catholic Church
  • Spiritual life
  • Meditations

Table of contents

Open reader
Show all 122 sections
  1. Dedication
  2. Preface
  3. The Imitation of Christ
  4. Book I
  5. I
  6. II
  7. III
  8. IV
  9. V
  10. VI
  11. VII
  12. VIII
  13. IX
  14. X
  15. XI
  16. XII
  17. XIII
  18. XIV
  19. XV
  20. XVI
  21. XVII
  22. XVIII
  23. XIX
  24. XX
  25. XXI
  26. XXII
  27. XXIII
  28. XXIV
  29. XXV
  30. Book II
  31. I
  32. II
  33. III
  34. IV
  35. V
  36. VI
  37. VII
  38. VIII
  39. IX
  40. X
  41. XI
  42. XII
  43. Book III
  44. I
  45. II
  46. III
  47. IV
  48. V
  49. VI
  50. VII
  51. VIII
  52. IX
  53. X
  54. XI
  55. XII
  56. XIII
  57. XIV
  58. XV
  59. XVI
  60. XVII
  61. XVIII
  62. XIX
  63. XX
  64. XXI
  65. XXII
  66. XXIII
  67. XXIV
  68. XXV
  69. XXVI
  70. XXVII
  71. XXVIII
  72. XXIX
  73. XXX
  74. XXXI
  75. XXXII
  76. XXXIII
  77. XXXIV
  78. XXXV
  79. XXXVI
  80. XXXVII
  81. XXXVIII
  82. XXXIX
  83. XL
  84. XLI
  85. XLII
  86. XLIII
  87. XLIV
  88. XLV
  89. XLVI
  90. XLVII
  91. XLVIII
  92. XLIX
  93. L
  94. LI
  95. LII
  96. LIII
  97. LIV
  98. LV
  99. LVI
  100. LVII
  101. LVIII
  102. LIX
  103. Book IV
  104. I
  105. II
  106. III
  107. IV
  108. V
  109. VI
  110. VII
  111. VIII
  112. IX
  113. X
  114. XI
  115. XII
  116. XIII
  117. XIV
  118. XV
  119. XVI
  120. XVII
  121. XVIII
  122. Endnotes
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