The Imitation of Christ: A Timeless Classic for Contemporary Readers

"Creasy has done the Body of Christ a great service in giving us this translation. Through it, may The Imitation continue to nourish, refresh, challenge, and cajole Christians of all ages and anyone—believers and non-believers alike—seriously considering embarking on the spiritual journey. It would be difficult to find a more faithful, accessible, and easy-to-read contemporary English rendering of the text."

From the foreword by Rev. Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R.

John Cardinal Krol Chair of Moral Theology

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

The unchallenged masterpiece of devotional literature for half a millennium. Christians worldwide have been immensely enriched by this simple book.

Richard J. Foster

Christian theologian

"William Creasy’s version of The Imitation of Christ is more than a new translation of a timeless work. It is a re-creation of a 560-year-old classic that infuses it with life and meaning for contemporary readers."

Renovaré

Englewood, Colorado

"For a long time I had nourished my spiritual life with the ‘fine flour’ contained in The Imitation of Christ. It was the only book which did me good, for I had not yet found the treasures hidden in the Holy Gospels. I always had it with me, to the amusement of my people at home."

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

"The Imitation of Christ is a book that followed me through my days. Again and again I came across copies of it and the reading of it brought me comfort. I felt in the background of my life a waiting force that would lift me up eventually."

Dorothy Day

Founder of the Catholic Worker Movement

The text of The Imitation of Christ is taken from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis: A New Reading of the 1441 Autograph by William C. Creasy, copyright © 1989, 2015, and is published here by arrangement with Mercer University Press.

Foreword and appendix © 2005, 2015 by Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R.

© 1989, 2004, 2017 by Ave Maria Press, Inc.

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Paperback: ISBN-13 978-0-87061-231-2

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Contents

Foreword by Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R.

Preface by William C. Creasy

Introduction

Book 1: Useful Reminders for the Spiritual Life

1. Of the Imitation of Christ

2. Of Having a Humble Opinion about Yourself

3. Of the Teaching of Truth

4. Of Thinking before You Act

5. Of Reading Holy Writings

6. Of Confused Feelings

7. Of Avoiding Empty Hope and Self-Praise

8. Of Avoiding Inappropriate Intimacy

9. Of Obedience for Those under Religious Vows

10. Of Avoiding Unnecessary Talk

11. Of Finding Peace and Making Spiritual Progress

12. Of Putting Troubles to Use

13. Of Resisting Temptations

14. Of Avoiding Hasty Judgments

15. Of Works Done Out of Love

16. Of Putting Up with Others’ Faults

17. Of the Monastic Life

18. Of the Examples of the Holy Fathers

19. Of the Training of a Good Religious Person

20. Of the Love of Solitude and Silence

21. Of Heartfelt Remorse

22. Of Human Misery

23. Of Thinking about Death

24. Of Judgment and Punishment

25. Of Improving Our Lives

Book 2: Suggestions Drawing One Toward the Inner Life

1. Of God Speaking within You

2. Of Placing Your Life in God’s Hands

3. Of the Good and Peaceful Person

4. Of Pure Feelings and Simple Intentions

5. Of Paying Attention to One’s Self

6. Of the Joy of a Good Conscience

7. Of Loving Jesus above All Else

8. Of Intimate Friendship with Jesus

9. Of Emptiness

10. Of Gratitude for God’s Grace

11. Of the Few Who Love Jesus’ Cross

12. Of the Royal Road of the Holy Cross

Book 3: Of Inner Comfort

1. Of Christ Speaking in Your Own Heart

2. That Truth Speaks Quietly to the Heart

3. That We Should Listen to God’s Words with Deep Humility and Serious Intent

4. That We Should Live in God’s Presence in Truth and Humility

5. Of the Wonderful Effects of God’s Love

6. Of the Proof of a True Lover

7. Of Protecting Grace with Humility

8. Of Humility before God

9. That All Things Come from God and Must Return to God

10. Of How Good It Is to Serve God

11. That Feelings May Not Always Be What They Seem

12. Of Patience

13. Of Obedience and Humility

14. Of Seeing Ourselves through God’s Eyes

15. Of What We Are to Do and Say about All Our Desires

16. That We Are to Seek True Comfort in God Alone

17. That We Should Take All Our Cares to God

18. That We Should Bear Our Hardships Patiently after Christ’s Example

19. Of Bearing Injuries and the Proof of True Patience

20. Of Admitting Our Own Weaknesses

21. That We Should Rest in God above All Else

22. Of Remembering God’s Many Blessings

23. Of Four Things That Bring Great Peace

24. Of Avoiding Curiosity about Other People’s Lives

25. Of True Peace of Heart

26. That True Freedom Comes More from Humble Prayer Than from Much Reading

27. That Self-Love Blocks Us from Attaining the Highest Good

28. Of Those Who Speak against Us

29. Of How We Should Bless God in Times of Trial

30. Of Asking for God’s Help

31. Of Setting Aside All Created Things That We May Find the Creator

32. Of Growing beyond Self

33. Of Our Changing Hearts and of Focusing Our Sight on God

34. That the Person Who Loves God Enjoys Him above All and in All

35. That There Is No Freedom from Temptation in This Life

36. That You Should Not Worry about What Other People May Say about You

37. Of Gaining a Free Heart through Total Self-Surrender

38. Of Controlling Our Behavior and of Running to God in Time of Danger

39. That a Person Must Not Be Overly Eager in His Affairs

40. That All a Person’s Goodness Comes from God, Not from Himself

41. Of Seeing All Worldly Honor as Nothing

42. That Peace Does Not Depend on Other People

43. Against Arrogant Learning

44. Of Minding Our Own Business

45. That We Should Not Believe Everything We Hear and of How Easy It Is to Speak Ill of Others

46. Of Having Confidence in God When Sharp Words Attack Us

47. That All Burdens Are to Be Endured for the Sake of Eternal Life

48. Of Life and of Eternity

49. Of Longing for Eternal Life and of the Promise It Holds

50. How a Lonely Person Should Place Himself in God’s Hands

51. That We Must Perform Humble Works When We Are Unable to Perform Higher Ones

52. That We Should Not Think Ourselves Worthy of Comfort but Deserving of Correction

53. That God’s Grace Does Not Mix with the Wisdom of the World

54. Of the Differing Movements of Nature and Grace

55. Of Fallen Nature and of the Effect of Divine Grace

56. That We Should Turn from Ourselves and Imitate Christ by Way of the Cross

57. That We Should Not Be Too Dejected When We Fail

58. Of Not Prying into Things That Are beyond Our Understanding

59. That All Hope and Trust Should Be Fixed on God Alone

Book 4: The Book on the Sacrament

1. With What Great Reverence Christ Should Be Received

2. What Great Goodness and Love God Shows to Us in This Sacrament

3. How It Is Helpful to Receive Communion Often

4. That Many Good Things Are Given to Those Who Devoutly Receive Communion

5. Of the Dignity of the Sacrament and of the Priesthood

6. The Question of Preparing before Communion

7. Of Examining One’s Conscience and of Planning to Change for the Better

8. Of Christ’s Offering on the Cross and of Our Own Self-Surrender

9. That We Ought to Offer Ourselves and All That Is Ours to God, and That We Ought to Pray for All Others

10. That Holy Communion Is Not to Be Lightly Omitted

11. That the Body of Christ and the Holy Scriptures Are Most Necessary to the Faithful Soul

12. That Receiving Christ in Holy Communion Requires Preparation

13. That a Devout Soul Should Wish Wholeheartedly to Be United with Christ in the Sacrament

14. Of the Ardent Desire of Some Devout People to Receive the Body of Christ

15. That the Grace of Devotion Is Gained by Humility

16. That We Should Make Our Needs Known to Christ and Ask for His Help

17. Of Burning Love and the Strong Desire to Receive Christ

18. That We Should Not Pry into This Sacrament Out of Curiosity

Appendix: How to Read The Imitation of Christ by Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R.

Foreword

Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R.

Along with a select group of other works such as Augustine’s Confessions, the anonymous Cloud of Unknowing, Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle, and Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises (to name a few of the more prominent titles), The Imitation of Christ enjoys the status of a Christian classic. It is a classic because it has captured the Christian imagination and weathered the ideological and cultural storms of time while still managing to confront its readers with the perennial truths of the Gospel message. In some ways, it even stands alone, since (apart from the Bible) it has undergone more editions and translations—and therefore gone out to a wider reading audience—than any other work of Christian literature.

A product of the Devotio Moderna and a work authored most likely by Thomas à Kempis (ca. 1379–1471), a member of the Brothers of the Common Life, The Imitation succeeds because of its ability to draw readers into a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and encourage them to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage along the threefold way of purgation, illumination, and union with God. As a book for spiritual nourishment, it should be read slowly and meditatively, in a way akin to the traditional monastic practice of lectio divina. Although written with an audience of professed religious in mind, it offers profound wisdom and keen spiritual insight to anyone thirsting for holiness and wishing to walk the road of Christian discipleship. Although it is tied to the historical epoch from which it came and must be read with certain precautionary filters to adapt it to present times (see the appendix), its success stems mainly from its focus on the perennial themes of the Christian message that have universal significance for all times and places.

Another reason for the success of The Imitation is the long, venerable tradition of interpretation it has spawned. The classical understanding of the term hermeneutics (the art of interpretation), which stems from the Greek word hermêneuein, encompasses three basic directions of meaning: to say, to explain, and to translate. When applied to The Imitation, the first, to say, belongs to the author alone, for he has not only immersed himself in prayer and reflection on the mysteries of the faith, but also placed considerable time and effort into creating something that nourishes our hearts and leads to new life in Christ in the heart of his body, the Church. The second, to explain, belongs to those who have produced written commentaries on the treatise—that is to say, those who have read the treatise’s four books, taken their profound spiritual lessons to heart, and shared these lessons with others. The third, to translate, belongs to those who have rendered the treatise’s simple yet attractive Latin into a vernacular tongue to make it accessible to a wider reading audience. William Creasy’s contemporary English translation of this great spiritual classic falls under this fundamental yet all-important third direction of hermeneutics.

The art of translation is arduous and often painstaking, for it is virtually impossible to capture in another tongue every linguistic nuance of someone else’s work, especially when it comes from a distant historical and cultural milieu from that of the translator. If every translation is a betrayal, however, it is equally true that every good translation is a labor of love. In such efforts, nearly every turn of word or phrase conceals deep thought and difficult, painstaking work on the part of the translator to find the closest linguistic fit possible to a difficult expression or, at the very least, to discover its most appropriate dynamic equivalent.

This present volume is not merely a good translation of The Imitation, but a great one. While adhering closely to the Latin original, it seeks to make its meaning more accessible to readers by using language, syntax, and idioms reflective of today’s English. It would be hard to find another translation that both respects the original text and goes to such lengths to take into consideration the literary sensitivities of its modern audience. Since its first appearance in 1987, Creasy’s translation has gone through many reprintings and is now, as its thirtieth anniversary approaches, being issued in a third edition. Its success as a translation is largely due to the ease with which readers can go through the text and focus on its deep spiritual meaning without having to struggle with the surface meaning of the words.

The Imitation of Christ is nearly six hundred years old and was intended to accompany a person throughout his or her spiritual journey through life. Along with the Bible, it has doubtless found itself on many a night table to be read along with a person’s morning and evening devotions, giving spiritual nourishment and care to the soul. As it continues its journey through time, and as it navigates these early years of Christianity’s third millennium, this particular English translation of this great spiritual classic is most adept at meeting the needs of today’s Christians. Creasy has done the Body of Christ a great service in giving us this translation. Through it, may The Imitation continue to nourish, refresh, challenge, and cajole Christians of all ages and anyone—believers and non-believers alike—seriously considering the idea of embarking on their own spiritual journeys. It would be difficult to find a more faithful, accessible, and easy-to-read contemporary English rendering of the text.

Preface

William C. Creasy

During a lifetime of reading we encounter only a few books we keep coming back to, only a few books that offer a new insight or a deeper understanding with each reading. The Imitation of Christ has been such a book for me, as it has been for countless others.

I first read The Imitation of Christ as an undergraduate. I still have the copy, an old Everyman’s Library edition edited by Ernest Rhys, a blue hardback that I paid a couple of dollars for in a second-hand bookstore in Phoenix, Arizona. At the time, I wasn’t the least bit interested in Christianity, except as background for my academic studies; I had no idea that the book would unleash the Hound of Heaven. But books do that sort of thing: George MacDonald’s Phantastes did it for C. S. Lewis; Etienne Gilson’s The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy did it for Thomas Merton.

The Imitation captured my attention again during my doctoral studies. An English major, I was especially interested in fifteenth-century literature and the development of English prose style. And there sat The Imitation. It had appeared in English as early as 1470; it was printed in 1503 in the William Atkinson/Lady Margaret Beaufort translation, going through four editions by 1528; and it was translated by Richard Whitford in 1530, appearing in at least ten editions through 1585. As a vehicle for studying the development of English prose style, The Imitation served perfectly.

The book entered my life once more during an especially difficult period. Like Dante, when I had journeyed half of our life’s way, I found myself in a dark wood, for I had lost the path. The Imitation became a lantern to my feet. I suppose it was inevitable that I one day translate it.

So I have. In my translation I try to mirror accurately the text that Thomas à Kempis wrote; this is the first task of any translator. But I am also very cautious not to produce a stylistically quaint text or one that is far removed from a modern reader’s theological or spiritual experience. To my mind, Thomas à Kempis offers profound insights into a person’s relationship with God, and those insights only deepen if they accommodate a post–Vatican II understanding of what he has to say.

For the Latin text, I went directly to Thomas à Kempis’s 1441 autograph manuscript. It is owned by the Bibliotheque Royale in Brussels and is catalogued as MS 5855-61; they kindly supplied me with a microfilm copy. I transcribed the manuscript onto computer disk, checking it against L. M. J. Delaisse’s diplomatic edition and M. J. Pohl’s critical edition. I also compared the Latin text to the British Library’s Royal MS 7.B.VIII. This is one of the eighteen extant English manuscripts of the Latin text. It is similar to the text that both Atkinson and Whitford would have used. Although I have compared the autograph text to it, I have translated solely from the autograph itself. Variant readings have deepened my understanding of the text, but they have not affected my transcription of it.

I completed most of the translation at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. It has been my good fortune to be a Huntington reader off and on for a dozen years; it was my particular good fortune to spend six months in residence during the fall and winter of 1986–87. The rich collections, idyllic gardens, and pleasant lunch-hour conversations have taken me as close to paradise as I have come in this world. I would like to thank the Huntington, and especially the staff in Readers’ Services, for their kindness, their courtesy, and their extraordinary knowledge of one of the world’s great research libraries.

With each reading of The Imitation I find the book means ever more to me. In part, this is due to the changing experience I bring to the text, and that experience is due for the most part to the people who share my life. For his warm friendship and kindness I would like to thank Br. Luke Armour, O.C.S.O., of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. Brother Luke spent countless hours and gave scrupulous attention to reading the manuscript for this book; his comments have been both insightful and invaluable. Brother Luke is not only a friend, but a well-loved member of my family and a part of our daily thoughts and prayers. I would also like to thank the community of monks at Our Lady of Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina. From my first visit to Mepkin, I felt a part of the community, a welcomed guest and a brother in Christ. Their continued warmth, kindness, and hospitality have given me a true spiritual home. I would especially like to thank Fr. Christian Carr, O.C.S.O., Abbot of Our Lady of Mepkin, and Fr. Richard McGuire, O.C.S.O., Br. Edward Shivell, O.C.S.O., and Br. John Corrigan, O.C.S.O., all of whom generously offered their thoughts on The Imitation. I would like to thank, too, my dear friend Lisa Smith, whose own following of Christ has taken her from the corporate boardroom to the Church, from designing financial products to caring for the homeless and the poor. Lisa is a model of courage and commitment, one who has heard Christ’s words and has acted on them. And as usual, many thanks must go to John X. Evans, Michael Cohen, O. M. Brack, Robert S. Nordlie, and Fr. Robert Rivers, C.S.P. With their own talents, each has helped me understand The Imitation of Christ a little better, but I thank them most especially for their steadfast friendship. It was John Evans who said that a friend is someone who has known you for twenty years and loves you anyhow; it was Michael who agreed and the others who applauded.

Finally, I wish to thank my wife, Lynette, and my sons, Adam and Jonathan. With me from the start, they have been patient beyond reason, supportive beyond hope, and loving beyond measure. St. Francis de Sales tells us that love is the abridgement of all theology, indeed, is grace itself. In Lynette, Adam, and Jonathan I have been graced beyond all deserving. I dedicate this book to them.

Introduction

For several years now The Imitation of Christ has been an important book to me. As a student of medieval and Renaissance literature, I have studied it as a major work of fifteenth-century devotional literature; as a late twentieth-century Christian, it has played an important role in my own spiritual development. Yet surprisingly, when I mention The Imitation to my academic colleagues, more often than not they have never heard of it; when I mention it to my clerical friends, they usually think back to their seminary days when they read it and then dismiss it out of hand as a hopelessly pre–Vatican II book, full of contempt for the world and self-loathing. If Vatican II opened the windows of the Church to let in some fresh air, the breeze seems to have blown The Imitation into a corner and covered it with dust; if anyone pays attention to it these days, it is the attention paid to a museum piece.

For a book accorded nearly universal praise for more than five hundred years, it is a curious state of affairs. Consider its history. Written in the Netherlands between 1420 and 1427, it made its way through Europe in Latin, French, German, Italian, and Spanish in more than one hundred printed editions by the end of the fifteenth