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The Imitation of Christ

A devotional classic emphasizing interior life and Eucharist.

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It is divided into four books of spiritual instructions emphasizing the interior life and withdrawal from worldly concerns.[1][2] Composed in Medieval Latin as De Imitatione Christi, this Christian devotional work was created by Thomas à Kempis during the period 1418–1427.[1] After the Bible, this devotional text is considered the most frequently read Christian spiritual work.[3][4]

Making and release

Thomas à Kempis was born at Kempen in the Diocese of Cologne in 1379 or 1380 and died 25 July 1471.[5] In 1441 Thomas completed and signed his name to a codex still extant at the Royal Library in Brussels, containing the four books of the Imitation and nine minor treatises.[5] The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the Imitation comprises about one-tenth of the works of à Kempis.[5] A facsimile from the 1441 codex was published in London in 1879.[5]

The text was initially composed without an author's name, in Latin, within the Netherlands, during the years around 1418 to 1427.[6] A version with scholarly corrections and notes was released in 1982.[7]

What the cited sources add

The Catholic Encyclopedia states that the purpose of the Imitation is to instruct the soul in Christian perfection with Christ as the Divine Model.[8] The same source notes that with the exception of the Bible, it is perhaps the most widely read spiritual book in the world.[8] The Catholic Encyclopedia also reports that contemporary witnesses of unimpeachable authority, including members of his own order, name Thomas as the author.[5] The encyclopedia adds that internal evidence is wholly favorable to à Kempis's authorship, including identity of style and the work's impregnation with Scripture and the Fathers.[5]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "The Imitation of Christ" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: An introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious studies, by Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff 2007 , p. 609.; . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "The Imitation of Christ" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: An introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious studies, by Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff 2007 , p. 609.; An introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious studies, by Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff 2007 , p. 609. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "The Imitation of Christ" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Van Engen, "Devotio Moderna", Paulist Press, 1988, p. 7–12; .; "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Imitation of Christ", www.newadvent.org; . (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "The Imitation of Christ" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: .; A Journey Through Christian Theology by William P Anderson and Richard L. Diesslin 2000 , p. 98. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Thomas a Kempis", www.newadvent.org. facts only, no text reused. newadvent.org
  6. Wikipedia, "The Imitation of Christ" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: An introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious studies, by Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff 2007 , p. 609.; .; . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "The Imitation of Christ" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: De Imitatione Christi, Edizione critica a cura di Tiburzio Lupo, S.D.B, 1982, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, . Latin text with apparatus and fr (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Imitation of Christ", www.newadvent.org. facts only, no text reused. newadvent.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Imitation of Christ (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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