Imitatio Christi

[Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471)].
Imitatio Christi.
Paris: Philippe Pigouchet, 15 July 1492. (06377)

The Imitatio Christi (“Imitation of Christ”) is the most widely read Christian text after the Bible, and the most popular fifteenth-century text read today. Written by Thomas à Kempis c. 1418, the original Latin text has been translated into hundreds of languages and printed in more than ten thousand editions. It consists of four sections: the first two provide the reader advice regarding the spiritual life; the third deals with the inward consolation of the soul; and the fourth concerns the virtues of communion. Its spirit of personal devotion patterned on the life of Christ profoundly influenced such diverse figures as Thomas More, St. Ignatius Loyola, and John Wesley.