■. .A 
 
 The Story of the 
 "-. Imitatio Christi 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 mm 
 
 :, '.t,;:^iS^ 
 
 
 L. A. WHEATLEY 
 
 
BV 4829 .W53 
 
 Wheatley, L. 
 
 The story of 
 
 Christi" 
 
 1891 
 
 A. 1835-1895. 
 
 the "Imitatio 
 
The Book Lover's Library. 
 
 Edited by 
 Henry B. Wheatley, F.S.A. 
 
THOMAS A KEMPIS. 
 Photographed from the portrait at Geertriddenberg.) 
 
THE STORY 
 
 "IMITATIO HRISTI 
 
 BY 
 
 LEONARD A. WHEATLEY 
 
 r 
 
 LONDON 
 
 ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW 
 
 1891 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 N the original scheme of the Book- 
 Lover^s Library it was pro- 
 posed to devote certain volumes 
 to the history of books of world-wide 
 fame. After the Bible no book has been 
 so much read or enjoyed so extended a 
 fame, as " The Imitation of Christ " of 
 Thomas a Kempis^ and it therefore seems 
 specially appropriate to commence this 
 branch of the series with an account of 
 this famous work. 
 
 The late Mr. Edward Waterton, who 
 from his great knowledge of the subject 
 was eminently fitted for the task, under- 
 took to write '' The Story of the Imitation J' 
 
vi Preface. 
 
 He had collected some MSS. and numer- 
 ous editions of the work, and had already 
 written a Life of Thomas a Kempis, as 
 well as several letters in defence of this 
 author. He, however, died before he 
 was able to accomplish the task, I was 
 then asked to take up the subject, and 
 as I had already devoted some attention 
 to it,* I gladly agreed to the suggestion. 
 I have endeavoured to write in the same 
 spirit as Mr. Waterton had done, and 
 to aid in the cause he had so much at 
 heart; to show as plainly as I can how 
 the four treatises now known under the 
 name of '^ The Imitation of Christ" had 
 their origin in the '^ Rapiaria" or books 
 of extracts recommended by Gerard Groot 
 to his followers the Brethren of Common 
 Life, and how the forms of expression 
 in this work betray its origin in this 
 
 * Articles in Bibliographer, May 1884, and in 
 Scottish Review, July 1885. 
 
Preface. vii 
 
 community^ and also the land of its birth; 
 and how the majority of the MSS. of 
 the editions and translations confirm this 
 opinion. 
 
 I have also tried to trace the mysticism 
 to be found in ^' The Imitation " from that 
 in the German mystics who preceded 
 Thomas a Kempis^ as also the more 
 practical ideas from the works of his 
 friends and contemporaries. 
 
 I am largely indebted to those who 
 have spent much labour on this subject, 
 especially to Rev. S. Kettlewell, whose 
 valuable works first stirred in me the 
 love of the author, and afforded much 
 help, especially in those chapters relating 
 to the " Brothers of Common Life^^ and 
 to " Thomas a Kempis;^^ to Dr. Cruise, 
 not only for his published work, but for 
 his kind sympathy and friendly help; as 
 also to the works of Canon Santini and 
 Father Becker. 
 
viii Preface. 
 
 I wish to express my great obligations 
 to Rev. Provost Murray of Emmanuel 
 College, Cambridge, for information 
 regarding the MS. in the Library of that 
 College ; to Professor Robertson Smith, 
 for a note on the MS. in the University 
 Library, Cambridge; to F. Madan, Esq., 
 Sub- Librarian of the Bodleian Library, 
 for an account of the various MSS. in 
 Oxford; and also to Dr. Ingram, of 
 Dublin, for various readings in the 
 Dublin and Cambridge MSS. of the 
 first English translation. 
 
 There are several portraits of Thomas 
 a Kempis, which prove that when alive 
 his fame was widely extended. In them 
 he is represented either in his cell or in 
 the open air in the grounds of Mount 
 St. 'Agnes. One of the former has been 
 engraved, but it would not bear reduction 
 to suit this volume. Of the latter there 
 are two oil paintings in Holland, one at 
 
Preface. ix 
 
 Zwolky which is unfortunately much 
 decayed, and another at Gertruidenbergj 
 which is in good preservation. It belongs 
 to Pastor Allard of that town, and is 
 evidently genuine. By the kindness 
 of Dr. Cruise we have been enabled to 
 secure a negative of this portrait, which 
 forms the frontispiece of the volume. 
 
 While this work has been in progress 
 we have had to lament the death of two 
 of the most accomplished defenders of the 
 rights of Thomas, Canon Spitzen and 
 Mons. Ruelens the obliging and accom- 
 plished keeper of the Burgundian Library 
 at Brussels. May their labours not be 
 in vain; and may this little volume be 
 the means of furthering the same cause, 
 and help to settle the claims of Thomas 
 a Kempis to be the true author of '' 77?^ 
 Imitation of Christ^ 
 
BOOKS REFERRED TO. 
 
 on thomas a kemp is and the 
 ''imitation:' 
 
 Hirsche (K.). — Prolegomena zti e. neuen Aiisgabe 
 der Imitatio Christi nach d. Autograph des 
 Thomas von Kempen. Vols. I. and II., 
 8vo. Berlin, 1873-83. 
 
 Ullman. — D. Reformatoren vor d. Reformation. 
 2nd edition. 2 vols. 8vo. Gotha^ 1866. 
 
 Reformers before the Reformation. Trans- 
 lated by R. Menzies. 2 vols. 8vo. 
 
 Edinburgh, 1 85 5-6. 
 
 Bohringer.— Z). Kirche Christi. Vol. II., Part 3 
 
 (17, 18, 19). Royal 8vo. Zurich, 1842-58. 
 
 Kettlewell {^^.).— Thomas a Kempis and the 
 
 Brothers of Common Life. 2 vols. 8vo. 
 
 London, 1882. 
 
 Authorship of the ^^ De Lmitatione Christi.^'' 
 
 2nd edition, i vol. 8vo. London, 1884 
 
 (1st edition, 1877). 
 
 Spitzen (I'Abbe). — Notivelle Defense de Thomas a 
 
 Kempis. 8vo. Utrecht, 1884. 
 
 Les HoUandismes de P Imitation. 8vo. 
 
 Utrecht, 1884. 
 
xii Books Referred to. 
 
 Becker (Victor). — L'Aiiteiir de V Imitation et les 
 Documents Neerlandais. 8vo. La Hay e, 1882. 
 Waterton (Ed.). — Thomas a Kempis and the 
 Imitation of Christ, 8vo. London, 1883. 
 
 Malou (Mgr.). — Recherches Historiqnes et Crit- 
 iques sur PAtitair de I Imitation. 8vo. 
 
 Paris, 1858 (also 1 849). 
 
 Cruise (F. R.). — Thomas a Kempis, Notes of a 
 
 visit to the scenes in which his life was spent, 
 
 with some account of the Examination of his 
 
 Relics. 8vo. London, 1887. 
 
 Santini (L.). — I diritti di Tommaso da Kempis. 
 
 2 vols. 8vo. Rome, 1879. 
 
 Thomas a Kempis. — The Christian's Exercise, 
 
 with Introduction by R. Nelson. 8vo. 
 
 London, 1715. 
 
 (This is of interest in sho%ving the value 
 
 set upon the minor works of Thomas 
 
 a Kempis by this celebrated lay theologian, 
 
 the friend of Tillotson and others.) 
 
 Thomas a Kempis. — Opera et libri vite fratris 
 
 Thome de Ketnpis, ordine canonicorum regu- 
 
 larium. Fol. Nuremberg: per Caspar 
 
 Hochfeder. 1494- 
 
 (This edition is interesting, as it contains 
 
 the Imitation with Pirckheimer's account, 
 
 referred to page 188, in which he says that 
 
 Thomas is the author of it, and not Gerson.) 
 
 Trithemius {].).-^Opera Historica. Folio. 
 
 Frankfurt, 1 601. 
 Zungo. — Vita ThomcE Kempis. 8vo. Venezia,\()(>£^. 
 
Books Referred to, xiii 
 
 ON MYSTICISM, ETC. 
 
 Busken-Huet.— i??^w<^ra«fl'/'i' Heimath iibersetz 
 V. M. Mohr. 2 vols. 8vo. Leipzig, 1886-7. 
 Deutsche Theologie herausg. v. Pfeiffer. l2mo. 
 
 Gilterslow, 1876. 
 
 German Theology translated by S. Winkzvorth. 
 
 8vo. London^ 1854. 
 
 Schmidt. — Les Mystiques du 14® Siecle {Memoires 
 
 de Vinstitut). 4to. Paris, 
 
 Gorres. — D. Christl. Mystik, 4 vols. 8vo. 
 
 Regensburg, 1836-42. 
 
 Vaughan (R. A.).— Hours with the Mystics. 2nd 
 
 edition. London^ i860. 
 
 Tenneroni (An.). Jacopone da Todi Lo '■'• Stabat 
 
 Mater " e " Donna del Paradiso." l2mo. 
 
 Todi, 1887. 
 
 Neale (J. M.). — History of the so-called Jansenist 
 
 Church. 8vo. Oxford, 1858. 
 
 Original Sequences. i6mo. London, 1873. 
 
 Sequentice in DanieVs Thesaurus. 
 
 Duffield {S.\^.).— The Latin Hymn Writers and 
 their Hymns. 8vo. Nezv York, 1889. 
 
 Ribet. — Mystique Divine. 8vo. Paris, 1879. 
 
 Constant-Rebecque (W. de). — Appreciation posi- 
 tive de rimitation dejestis Christ. 8vo. 
 
 La Haye, i860. 
 
 Milman {Yi.Yi.').— History of Latin Christianity. 
 
 Vol. IX., 8vo. London, 1867. 
 
xiv Books Referred to. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 Christie (R. <Z.).— Bibliography of the Works 
 
 written by Dr. John Worthington. 4to. 
 
 Manchester, 1888. 
 Backer (Aug. de). — Essai Bibliographiqtie stir le 
 
 livre de V Imitation. 8vo. Liig^, 1864. 
 
 Bernard. — Catalogi Librorum Manuscriptonan 
 
 A?tglici et Hibernici. Folio. Oxford, i6<^'j. 
 Barbier. — Dissertation sur 60 Traductions Fi'a?i- 
 
 faises de V Imitation. i2mo. Paris, 1872. 
 
 WORKS IN FAVOUR OF CHANCELLOR 
 GERSON. 
 
 Gence. — Nouvelles Consid'erations Historiques et 
 Critiques stir T Imitation. 8vo. Paris, 1832. 
 
 Leroy (J. B. O.). — Corneille et Gerson dans V Imi- 
 tation. 8vo. Paris, 1842. 
 
 Vert. — Etudes Historiques sur t Imitation. i6mo. 
 
 Paris, 1859. 
 
 Darche (J.). — Cle de Vlfuitation de Jesus Christ, 
 Gerson et ses Adversaires. 8vo. Paris, 1875. 
 
 WORK IN FAVOUR OF J. GERSEN. 
 Wolfsgruber (C). — Giovanni Gersen, sein Leben 
 und seiu Werk, 8vo. Augsburg, 1880. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Account of the Book . . . i 
 II. German Mystics . . . -14 
 
 III. Birthplace of the Imitatio and 
 
 ITS Sources . . . .31 
 
 IV. The Brothers of Common Life 44 
 V. Thomas a Kempis . . . .62 
 
 VI. Other Works OF Thomas a Kempis 82 
 VII. Hirsche's Investigations . . loi 
 VIII. The Controversy . . . .112 
 IX. The Manuscripts . . . .141 
 X. Printed Editions and Transla- 
 tions 166 
 
xvi Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XI. Opinicws of Authors on the 
 
 Imitation i8i 
 
 XIL Chrestomathy of Extracts from 
 
 THE Imitation . . . .199 
 XIII. Chrestomathy from the other 
 
 Works of Thomas a Kempis .212 
 
 Index 221 
 
 Portrait Frontispiece 
 
 Page i of Brussels Codex To face page 141 
 
r 
 
 THE STORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 "IMITATIO CHRISTI." 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Account of the Book. 
 
 Man's real progress is in self-denial."' 
 
 Imit. III. 39. 
 
 N the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century four little treatises were 
 composed in a monastery in 
 Holland, which were valued so 
 highly that copy after copy was made, 
 first among the Brothers of the Common 
 Life, then among the monasteries in 
 fellowship with them, and lastly over the 
 whole Continent. 
 
 What was there in these little treatises 
 — to which were given the names of The 
 Imitation of Christy Musica Eccksiastica, or 
 
2 TJie Story of 
 
 Book of Internal Consolation — that should 
 have made them spread so rapidly, and 
 meet with so many readers from that day 
 until now ? 
 
 There must have been something that 
 appealed at once to the hearts of all sorts 
 and conditions of men ; for though these 
 treatises were primarily written for the 
 monastery, they have been also a solace 
 to those in the world. The first thing 
 that strikes one in them is the great 
 simplicity of thought and of style, called 
 by Lamennais celestial: "the union 
 of pregnant brevity with the purest 
 sentiment" has obtained for the author, 
 according to Dibdin, the title of the 
 Tacitus of Monasticism, And the second 
 is shown when he adds, " One peculiarity 
 is the minute and severe scrutiny of the 
 human heart." This last idea is also 
 expressed by the author of the German 
 Theology thus : " The fundamental prin- 
 ciple of the work is the annihilation of 
 selfishness (the sin of Adam) through 
 Christ, bringing therewith peace, heaven, 
 and blessedness." Herein is contained 
 the essence of Christianity, for, as Wesley 
 says, "The whole treatise is a complete 
 and finished work, comprehending all that 
 relates to Christian perfection and the 
 principles of that internal worship with 
 
the " Imitatio Christi." 3 
 
 which we alone worship God in spirit and 
 in truth." The work seems to take it for 
 granted that we know the right way, and 
 gently admonishes us to walk in it. It 
 dwells on the spirit, and not on the mere 
 letter of the commandment. 
 
 Though generally known as The Imitation 
 of Christy there is in the book no account of 
 that life ; but there is the spirit that moved 
 that life, there are the words given and 
 the precepts enjoined that should pervade 
 the life of the Christian. It appeals to 
 all to make their will submissive to the 
 Divine will, and to seek that love of God 
 in possessing which we attain to that 
 peace which passeth understanding. An- 
 other attraction is the quotation therein 
 of so many passages from Scripture, form- 
 ing, as De Quincey says,* "slender 
 rivulets of truth silently stealing away into 
 light." 
 
 It is as Brother Azarias, in his Culture 
 of the Spiritual Sense^'^ says, the author 
 "has garnered a few of the lessons re- 
 vealed in the Gospels, and bound them 
 together in rich and ripe sheaves of 
 thought." From having written out the 
 Bible, and carefully studied it in his cell, 
 the mind of the author was so pervaded 
 
 * Works, 1862, vol. i., p. vi. 
 
 t Quoted by Dr. Cruise in his Thomas ct Kempis. 
 
4 TJie Story of 
 
 with Scripture, that passages from the Old 
 and New Testaments constantly occur to 
 him as suitable to his purpose, and their 
 appropriateness gives a charm to the 
 work. 
 
 Another attraction the book possesses 
 is its power of raising us above the world 
 and its troubles, and of bringing us into 
 communion with God. George Eliot has 
 well expressed this charm in showing the 
 soothing effect of this work on poor 
 Maggie Tulliver in The Mill on the Floss ; 
 and this charm is felt by learned and un- 
 learned alike. The unlearned find words 
 that soothe their mind; the learned not 
 only find these, but also reminiscences 
 which lead to suggestions and to fresh 
 trains of thought. Both can appreciate 
 that higher mysticism which unites the 
 creature with the Creator that runs 
 through the work, advocating simplicity. 
 It does not depreciate learning, but shows 
 how vain a thing it is without purity of 
 heart and simplicity of mind. 
 
 Canon Liddon, in his preface to the 
 rhythmic translation of the Imitation, 
 speaks of its success as "it takes the moral 
 teaching of our Lord in the Gospels as a 
 rule of thought, feeling, and action." 
 While this is true in a great measure, we 
 cannot help thinking the charm principally 
 
the " Imitatio ChristiP 5 
 
 consists in the manner in which this 
 teaching is expressed. The work abounds 
 in that charity which makes the teaching 
 acceptable to Christians of all denomina- 
 tions, and which causes it to be ap- 
 preciated even by those who do not bear 
 that name ; since no one can fail to per- 
 ceive, from the conviction and sincerity of 
 the author in his own counsels, that he 
 himself has followed them, and been com- 
 forted by them. Brother Accarias well 
 expresses the secret of the magic influence 
 wielded by the hnitation. "Pick it up 
 when and where we may, open it at any 
 page we will, we always find something 
 to suit our frame of mind. ... In every 
 sentence we find condensed the experi- 
 ence of ages. It is humanity finding in 
 this simple man an adequate mouthpiece 
 for the utterance of its spiritual wants and 
 soul yearnings. And his expression is so 
 full and adequate because he regarded 
 things in the white light of God's truth, 
 and saw their nature and their worth 
 clearly and distinctly, as divested of the 
 hues and tints flung around them by 
 passion and illusion." 
 
 The first treatise, the title to which has 
 been applied to the whole four, consists 
 of " Admonitions Useful to a Spiritual 
 Life." It shows us how to despise the 
 
6 TJie Story of 
 
 vanities of the world, how to avoid pride, 
 and how to appreciate the advantages of 
 obedience, of adversity, and of soHtude. 
 Its object is to raise us above the world 
 and lead us to Christ. 
 
 The second, " Admonitions drawing us 
 to the Inner Life," dwells on the life to 
 be led by a Christian, — " Why do ye 
 seek rest since ye are born to labour ? " 
 " Dispose yourself to patience rather than 
 to comforts, and to bear the cross rather 
 than to rejoice," * — and on that inner life 
 by which one is able to attain such a 
 frame of mind that one feels that " no one 
 is richer, more powerful, or freer than he 
 who can renounce all and set himself in 
 the lowest place." f 
 
 The treatise known to us as the fourth 
 book seems to have been intended by 
 Thomas a Kempis to come after the 
 second, it being so placed in his own copy ; 
 for after fitting ourselves, by the study of 
 the first two books, to appreciate the hfe of 
 a Christian, we are able to understand the 
 benefits of the Holy Eucharist, to which 
 subject this book is an exhortation. It 
 commences with the Voice of Christ say- 
 ing, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour 
 and are heavy laden," etc. ; followed by the 
 
 * II. lo. t II. II- 
 
the " Imitatio Christi!' y 
 
 voice of the disciple on the reverence with 
 which Christ is to be received, on the 
 great goodness and love of God shown to 
 man in this Sacrament, on the utility of 
 frequent communion, on the good received 
 by the devout communicant, on the 
 dignity of the sacrament, and on the 
 proper preparation for receiving it. 
 
 The fourth treatise, or, as we generally 
 know it, the third book of the Imitation, is 
 of the nature of a distinct work, and longer 
 than the others. It is entitled " The Book 
 of Inward Consolation," for it treats of that 
 true consolation to be obtained by the 
 believer. We here see the contrast 
 between the natural man and the man 
 influenced by the grace of God, and the 
 effect of true love in the heart, as in the 
 following passage from the fifth chapter : — 
 
 * ' Love is a gi-eat thing, 
 A blessing very good, 
 
 The only thing that makes all burdens light, 
 Rearing evenly what is uneven, 
 Carrying a weight, not feeling it, 
 Turning all bitterness to a sweet savour. 
 The noble love of Jesus drives men on to do 
 
 great deeds, 
 And always rouses them to long for what is 
 
 better. 
 Love would be lifted up, 
 Not held by anything of earth. 
 It would be free. 
 
8 The Story of 
 
 Nothing is sweeter, stronger, broader, higher, 
 
 Fuller, better, or more pleasant in the heaven 
 
 or earth. 
 
 It is the child of God, 
 
 Nor can it rest except in Him 
 
 Above the world created. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Love is swift, sincere, 
 Pious, pleasant, and delightsome, 
 Brave, patient, faithful, 
 Careful, long-suffering, manly. 
 Never seeking its own good ; 
 For where a man looks for himself 
 He falls away from love." * 
 
 The Imitation is one of those books 
 which seem destined never to die ; its 
 popularity increases rather than decreases, 
 and there is every reason for it to be ap- 
 preciated now more than ever before. It 
 is said that we did not learn the lesson of 
 tolerance until the reign of William III., 
 and it is at least certain that never has 
 this great Christian virtue of charity been 
 so universal as it is at the present time. 
 However, its true spirit pervades this work 
 throughout. How beautifully does Thomas 
 speak of it in the passage just quoted, and 
 not only here, but in his other works. In 
 the Garden of Roses (chap, xiii.) he writes : 
 " Charity is a noble virtue, which is above 
 all virtues, all knowledge, and all gifts. 
 
 * This translation is taken from the Imitation 
 in rhythmic sentences published by Elliot Stock. 
 
the '^ Imitatio Christie 9 
 
 It makes just men of sinners, free men 
 of slaves, friends of enemies, citizens of 
 strangers, humble ones of the proud, 
 joyful of the sad, heavenly of the earthly, 
 and wise of the unlearned. ... As fire 
 consumes the wood, so does charity 
 extinguish vices." 
 
 Such was the doctrine Thomas taught, 
 and such doctrine he acted up to in his 
 whole life ; so much so that his name was 
 always held in honour by all the brethren 
 of the various communities who knew 
 him. 
 
 Besides charity he possessed its natural 
 concomitant, unselfishness ; and we cannot 
 understand how Dean Milman and Arch- 
 deacon Farrar, both admirers of the 
 Imitation^ can accuse this work of advo- 
 cating a rehgion of selfishness. If this 
 were the case one might accuse all religion 
 of selfishness, as we must be religious 
 ourselves, before we can impress its 
 benefits on others. While the former 
 simply states his objection to the work as 
 teaching selfishness, the latter says that it 
 is as though it were " without one flower 
 of duty to blossom unscorched beside the 
 path of life." Something to the same 
 effect writes Dr. Sepp, a learned German, 
 author of a Life of Christ and other works, 
 who complains of the book being Budd- 
 
10 The Story of 
 
 histic. These accusations might be true 
 if we were to rely on single passages where 
 we are told of the benefits of religion to 
 ourselves, and in which these benefits are 
 pointed out as reasons for our doing good ; 
 but taken as a whole they are untenable. 
 Do we not find there such passages as, 
 " Be always doing good," " Your works 
 are of no avail without charity," " To do 
 the will of God and the good of our neigh- 
 bour " ? Is that self-absorption ? And we 
 might quote, to prove that it is not so, 
 many similar passages. The book is cer- 
 tainly not infallible, and there are sen- 
 tences which seem to teach that if we 
 suffer in this world we shall be free from 
 suffering in the world to come, while if we 
 do not suffer here we shall have it in 
 abundance hereafter; a doctrine which 
 might have been held by the ascetics in 
 the early Church, but which is certainly 
 not in accordance with the teaching of 
 to-day. There are also passages which are 
 not in conformity with Protestant views, 
 but these passages are so few that they 
 may be considered like spots in the sun, 
 detracting but little from the value of the 
 work. Augustine has said, "The chief 
 end of the Christian religion is to imitate 
 Him whom you worship." St. Bernard 
 says, "You will learn Christ better by 
 
the " Imitatio Ckristi." 1 1 
 
 following Him than by reading of Him " ; 
 and this is the following of Christ as 
 advocated in the Imitation. 
 
 The advice given is often useful in a 
 worldly as well as in a spiritual sense. 
 Such maxims as, " Of two evils choose the 
 least," "Learn to conquer yourself in 
 many things, if you wish to live in peace 
 and concord," are thoroughly practical 
 ones ; and the essential truth contained 
 in such as, " No one rejoices securely 
 unless he bears in himself the witness of a 
 good conscience," or "There is no true 
 liberty nor real joy except in the fear of 
 God with a good conscience," cannot be 
 denied. 
 
 Busken-Huet, in his work on The Land 
 of Rembrandt, speaks of three ways in 
 which Christian mysticism asserted itself 
 in the Middle Ages. One direction, he 
 says, was taken by those who wished to 
 be independent of Church dogma and of 
 the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and this was 
 the way taken by the movements of the 
 Albigenses and of the Waldenses which 
 were crushed by Innocent III. 
 
 A second was solely in pursuit of 
 political objects, and resulted in the move- 
 ments of Wat Tyler, of Jack Cade, and of 
 the Hussites. 
 
 The Imitation is the outcome of the 
 
I 2 The Story of 
 
 third direction, which was at first limited 
 to the cloister and to the individual man, 
 but which is " the fruit of a view of life 
 which in the course of time produced the 
 Jesuits among the Roman Catholics and 
 the Moravian Brethren among the Protes- 
 tants." 
 
 Taken from this point of view, the 
 Imitatio7i may be classed among the works 
 of the mystics ; but what is mysticism ? It 
 may be considered as that philosophy the 
 aim of which is to unite the soul of man to 
 God, and which often reckons the spiritual 
 part of man as a part of the Deity. Thomas 
 a Kempis resembles the other mystics in 
 showing the necessity of the soul dying to 
 the world and to itself, and rising again to 
 God, as he has done in the Ljiitation and 
 in his other works ; but he differs from 
 them by avoiding the feebleness of fancy 
 in Pantheism or Quietism, faults into 
 which many of them have fallen. The 
 contemplation he recommends does not 
 unfit man for work, work being strongly 
 insisted on. 
 
 In Christian mysticism God is con- 
 sidered the type of all perfection and all 
 grace, and must be sought for by love 
 alone, and not by knowledge. In the 
 l7Jiitatio7i we are told to seek God also by 
 love, but we are not taught to despise 
 
the " Imitatio Christie I 3 
 
 knowledge ; we have only to be careful 
 that we are not proud of our knowledge, 
 and that we have it under proper restraint. 
 The great superiority of Thomas is seen 
 by considering who were the principal 
 mystics, and what they accomplished; but 
 this must be left to another chapter. 
 
 We will sum up in a few words what 
 seems to be the great object of the Imitatio, 
 It is to teach us the necessity of self- 
 conquest and of complete submission to 
 the will of God : " If any man will do His 
 will, he shall know of the doctrine " (John 
 vii. 17). After attaining that fear of God 
 which puts one above any other fear, one 
 rises to that love of God and man which 
 brings perfect peace. 
 
 The late Cardinal Newman, in his 
 beautiful hymn, "Lead, kindly Light,'^ 
 brings out one of the lessons of the Imita- 
 tion^ and another lesson it inculcates is 
 thus expressed by Aubrey de Vere : — 
 
 "Count each affliction, whether light or grave, 
 God's messenger sent down to thee ; do thou 
 With courtesy receive him ; rise and bow, 
 And ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave 
 Permission first his heavenly feet to lave." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 German Mystics. 
 
 CHOLASTICISM attained its 
 best period in the thirteenth 
 century, towards the close of 
 which appeared the famous 
 Summa Theologice. of Thomas Aquinas. 
 This work has remained in use and repute 
 until the present day, notwithstanding the 
 attacks on the author and his party by 
 Duns Scotus and his pupil, William of 
 Occam, which led to the battle between 
 the Thomists and Scotists, and which in 
 turn degenerated into disputes between 
 the Franciscans and Dominicans. This 
 contest was renewed over and over again, 
 and certainly did no good to the cause 
 of religion; and the feeling of the un- 
 satisfactoriness of scholasticism led to 
 the appearance of Christian mysticism. 
 This mysticism, taking its rise with the 
 St. Victors, attained its height in France 
 
The ''hnitatio Christie 15 
 
 during the thirteenth century, and was 
 succeeded by the German mystics of the 
 fourteenth, when there arose "a deep 
 desire for the union of man with God, a 
 real longing for God." The richest fruit 
 thus produced is to be seen in the 
 Brothers of Common Life, and in the 
 literary offspring of one of their number, 
 namely, the Imitation. 
 
 Scholasticism was still in full force when 
 Hugo de St. Victor attempted to unite 
 it with mysticism. His writings take a 
 very high position, and it is said that 
 St. Bernard derived much benefit from 
 them. He was born in 1097, but there 
 is a doubt as to his place of birth, some 
 giving the preference to Alsace, others 
 to Saxony. The probability of the latter 
 being correct is testified by the inscription 
 on his tomb; besides, we first hear of 
 him at the convent of Hammersleben, 
 where he lived up to his eighteenth year. 
 At that date he went to Paris with his 
 uncle. Archdeacon Hugo of Halberstadt, 
 when they were both persuaded to enter 
 the monastery of St. Victor, and became 
 Canons Regular of St. Augustine. The 
 monks appreciated their learning, and 
 appointed the younger Hugo Director of 
 the school, which gave him opportunity 
 for study and for literary work. His 
 
1 6 The Story of 
 
 writings, of which there are three volumes 
 in the Abbe Migne's series, are not Hkely 
 to be much read at the present time, 
 though they were very highly esteemed 
 when written. His choice of such sub- 
 jects as "Noah's Moral Ark," "The 
 Mystical Ark," "The Four Wills of Christ," 
 show the poetical tendency of his mysti- 
 cism. He also wrote many commentaries, 
 but they have no exegetical value, being 
 chiefly of a homiletical nature. His prin- 
 cipal pupil was Richard de St. Victor, who 
 was born in Scotland, but who settled as 
 a Canon Regular at the monastery of St. 
 Victor. He uses the arguments of mysticism 
 in favour of Christian doctrine, showing 
 the all-powerfulness of love, and explain- 
 ing its self-manifesting power. He was 
 the means of breaking the power of the 
 tradition of the schoolmen, by showing 
 that contemplation has a higher aim than 
 mere dialectics. He died in 1142. 
 
 Adam of St. Victor, who died in 11 73, 
 wrote a number of sequences, and there 
 were several other writers of the school ; 
 but the principal fruit of their work may 
 be said to have been shown by St. 
 Bernard and, when modified by German 
 thought, by Thomas a Kempis. The 
 Abbe Migne quotes the following from 
 the preface of M. S. Ropartz to his edition 
 
the '' Imitatio Ckristi." ly 
 
 of the select works of Thomas, as to what 
 is the definition of the principles and the 
 aim of practical mysticism as developed 
 from this school : — 
 
 " In its admirable principles, in its 
 theory, so true and so simple, this is what 
 is Christian mysticism. The only and 
 the supreme aim of hfe is the conformity 
 or union of man with God in such a way 
 that all thoughts, and human affections, 
 are seen by their conformity with the view 
 of the Divine love with which God sees 
 and loves everything ; but since the Fall 
 sin is always present to interpose a thick 
 veil, an immense wall, or fatal barrier 
 between man and God; we must first 
 begin by tearing down the veil, knocking 
 down the wall, and getting over the 
 barrier. The grace of God and the effort 
 of the human will must agree always and 
 necessarily, as in all the material acts of 
 life, and the rock of the mystic was always 
 the exaggeration of grace, as the error of 
 philosophy was the exaggeration of liberty. 
 The first thought that the destruction of 
 sin was to be obtained by the practice of 
 the contrary virtue. Follow the Master, 
 and He will lead you into the tabernacles 
 of mysteries, the three great virtues which 
 are the bases of a devout life — renuncia- 
 tion, humility and obedience, which will give 
 
1 8 The Story of 
 
 you the means of conquering evils. When 
 aided by grace vice is swept away, and the 
 mind becomes a splendid mirror wherein 
 is reflected Divine truth. It contemplates 
 itself in the supreme truth ; it meditates 
 on it, and applies to it all its intelligent 
 faculties. Such is the rehabilitation of 
 the Spirit, such is the illuminative life." 
 
 Charlier de Gerson was the last of the 
 French school of his age, and strove, 
 as others did, to unite theological science 
 and scholasticism wdth mysticism. His 
 style was rather diffuse, as may be seen 
 in his Meditation of the Heart. He was 
 opposed to all absolutism in religion, and 
 had great zeal for reform; yet, notwith- 
 standing this, he feared the tendency of 
 German mysticism, which was then domi- 
 nant, thinking it too speculative, and in 
 danger of being too free. He even attacked 
 Ruysbroek for what he considered pan- 
 theism, although he was an admirer of 
 his works. There was a greater freedom 
 of thought and expression in the German 
 mysticism of the fourteenth century, which 
 was the successor of the French of the 
 thirteenth, and this freedom drew down 
 on many of its exponents the charge of 
 heresy. It, however, had a great influence 
 upon the German people, and was a means 
 of keeping up the feeling of religion, which 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 1 9 
 
 suffered considerably from abuses in the 
 hierarchy and in the monasteries. 
 
 The desire for hoHness of Hfe led to the 
 rise of such communities as those of the 
 Beguines and Beghards, whose religion 
 was essentially practical, as they went about 
 doing good. It also led to the formation 
 of the Brethren of the Free Spirit, who 
 were no workers, but mere mystics, but 
 whose higher doctrines were followed by 
 Meister Eckhardt, the first great writer of 
 this school. The Brethren of the Free 
 Spirit soon degenerated into licence, 
 and paid no honour or obedience to any 
 authority. Meister Eckhardt avoided their 
 excesses, but he was looked upon with 
 suspicion, and his writings condemned 
 and destroyed. His ideas were, however, 
 promulgated by Henry Suso and Tauler, 
 each according to their natures; Suso 
 being the exponent of poetic, Tauler of 
 sentimental mysticism. 
 
 Meister Eckhardt was probably born 
 at Strassburg, where he became a Domi- 
 nican monk, and was so esteemed that he 
 was appointed Provincial of the Order of 
 Preachers in Saxony, and afterwards Vicar- 
 General of Bohemia, where he showed 
 great zeal for reform. In 1320 he became 
 prior of a monastery at Frankfurt, and it 
 was then that he was accused of spreading 
 
20 The Story of 
 
 heretical doctrines, and brought before 
 the judgment of the Inquisition, who con- 
 demned him ; but his condemnation, which 
 was confirmed by a Papal Bull, was not 
 issued until 1329, a short time after his 
 death. He was accused of " wanting to 
 know more than he ought." He was strong 
 in expressing his adhesion to Church doc- 
 trines, but it was his manner of interpreting 
 them that brought on him the charges of 
 heresy. For he treated them as allegories, 
 and spoke of nature as a manifestation of 
 the supernatural, and much of his preaching 
 might be understood as pantheistic (though 
 he tried to guard it from being so con- 
 sidered), because he spoke of God as being 
 everything as well as being in everything. 
 His chief idea is that speculation must lead 
 man to the conscience of his unity with 
 God, showing that he valued knowledge 
 above love; which was not the doctrine 
 held by the other mystics. Richard de 
 St. Victor and others of his school desired 
 to " found their mysticism on internal 
 experience clearly defined," while Eck- 
 hardt's jis "a broad manifestation of the 
 energy of the human will." With him 
 the presence of God makes heaven, and 
 his idea of hell is the complete separation 
 from God, the torments of absence from 
 Him being the anguish felt by the sinner. 
 
the '^ Imitatio Christi" 21 
 
 as his punishment is this absence and " the 
 negation of the happiness enjoyed by the 
 good in the presence of God."* The 
 doctrine which he took from the Brethren 
 of the Free Spirit was, according to his 
 interpretation, that Justice is the true and 
 supreme state of Liberty, for the just alone 
 can be truly independent, as nothing can 
 affect them. Eckhardt's sermons were 
 very popular, as he spoke with earnestness 
 to the people in their own language. 
 
 The chief exponent of Eckhardt's teach- 
 ing was John Tauler, who was born at 
 Strassburg in 1290, of a noble family. 
 He entered the order of the Dominicans 
 in 1308, and went to Paris to study theo- 
 logy. Duns Scotus had just left, but he 
 had no sympathy with scholasticism, and 
 followed Eckhardt to Strassburg, and 
 attended his lectures there. 
 
 The pope had a quarrel with Louis of 
 Bavaria, who was then the German em- 
 peror ', and as the town of Strassburg 
 remained loyal to the emperor, the pope 
 put it under an interdict, which led to 
 most of the clergy leaving the town. 
 Tauler, however, and some other Domini- 
 cans stayed on, and preached to the people, 
 and comforted them. While there he 
 
 * Schmidt, Les Mystiques. 
 
2 2 The Story of 
 
 founded a society called the Friends of 
 God. Nicolas of Basle, though a layman, 
 had great influence over Tauler, and per- 
 suaded him to leave off preaching for a 
 time, so that he might gain more spiri- 
 tuality. Tauler then tried to reform the 
 clergy, which made for him many enemies. 
 His sermons had a powerful effect on the 
 people, and for some time he was in favour 
 with the Bishop of Strassburg, until the 
 death of Louis of Bavaria and the suc- 
 cession of another German emperor, when 
 the bishop, having made his peace with 
 Rome, turned against Tauler because he 
 preferred to remain faithful to the town. 
 Soon after that Strassburg was visited 
 by a severe plague, but though many left 
 Tauler still stayed, and tried to comfort 
 the people by saying that " an unjust ex- 
 communication is changed into a blessing." 
 On peace being restored to the town he 
 retired to the Charter House near Strass- 
 burg, and after a time went to Cologne, 
 where he attacked pantheistic tendencies ; 
 he did not stay long, but returned to 
 Strassburg, where he died in 1361, after 
 a life full of labours and of noble endea- 
 vours. Tauler considered poverty of 
 great importance to the spiritual life, and 
 in his Imitation of the Poor Life of 
 Christ he advocates the abnegation of 
 
tJte " Itititatio Ckristi" 23 
 
 everything : " To imitate Christ is to lead 
 us to God." But with him this imitation 
 consists chiefly in meditating on the Passion 
 of Christ, not in imitating His whole life, 
 for even in Tauler's sermons Httle is said 
 of the life of Christ, mostly of His death. 
 He felt the importance of grace, but says 
 that as " soon as man desires God, grace 
 comes to his aid ; " that " grace is the 
 medium between the natural man and the 
 perfect one." Neither was Tauler an 
 ascetic, for though he considered that 
 fasting might be useful, he says, " Kill 
 the sin, not the flesh," and he further 
 recommends us not to set too high an 
 opinion on works. Less logical than 
 Eckhardt, and less poetical than Suso, he 
 was more practical, appealed more to the 
 feehngs, and was more popular than 
 either. It is interesting to contrast the 
 exaggerated sentimentalism of Suso with 
 the " sweet reasonableness " of Thomas a 
 Kempis. Suso writes : " Lord, one little 
 hour without Thee is a whole year ; to be 
 estranged one day from Thee is as much 
 as a thousand years to a loving heart." 
 Thomas teaches us love to our neighbour, 
 while Suso writes of the wickedness of 
 those who "indulge in temporal love." " It 
 is as impossible," he says of those who will 
 not give up " perishable love," to be saved 
 
24 The Story of 
 
 " as to compress the heavens together and 
 enclose them in a nutshell." He adds, 
 " Neither true love, nor entire joy, nor 
 constant peace of mind, was ever obtained 
 by any heart from its fellow-creatures." He 
 acknowledges that the highest duty is to do 
 the will of God ; but how differently is it 
 expressed in his works from the short, 
 telling sentences of the Imitation ! 
 
 Suso also differed from Tauler in being 
 more ascetical, and in thinking suffering 
 more necessary. He considered that the 
 imitation of Christ consisted in renewing 
 oneself in the suffering of Christ, and imi- 
 tating that, saying that " the imitation of 
 the Passion of Christ would change the 
 most simple man into a perfect master of 
 wisdom." He was born in 1300, and 
 became a pupil of Eckhardt while he was 
 at Cologne. He had become a Dominican 
 novice at Constance, and on the death of 
 his mother, when he was only eighteen, 
 he returned there, and began a life of 
 humiUation and self-denial, submitting to 
 the most painful abstinence and chastise- 
 ments until he was forty, when he became 
 a preacher, and preached the doctrines 
 he had practised. He wrote the Book of 
 Everlasting Wisdom^ in which he taught 
 that the pious man should follow the 
 sufferings of Christ. He was fanatical 
 
tJie ^'- Imitatio Christz." 25 
 
 and fantastic in his writings, which he 
 gathered together before his death, illus- 
 trating them with wonderful mystical 
 pictures. 
 
 The most practical outcome of the 
 philosophy of Eckhardt is that exempHfied 
 in the writings of Ruysbroek. We shall 
 speak later of his influence with Gerard 
 Groot in the foundation of the Brothers of 
 Common Life; we can only speak here 
 of the practical mysticism that comes to 
 light again in the writings of Thomas a 
 Kempis, who seems to have highly appre- 
 ciated the works of Ruysbroek, and trans- 
 lated one of them into Latin; for this 
 author, though acquainted with Latin 
 sufficiently for reading the works of others, 
 never had enough mastership of it to write 
 himself in that language, but wrote in his 
 own German in such a style as made them 
 masterpieces of the time. Though born 
 in 1293, it was not until 1353 that he 
 entered the Augustinian monastery at 
 Groenendal, which had only just been 
 founded, and of which he was at once 
 requested to be the Prior. The titles of 
 some of his works, such as The Mirror 
 of Everlasting Happiness and the 
 Ornament of the Spiritual Marriage^ 
 give some idea of the nature of his mys- 
 ticism. He always kept to the doctrines 
 
2 6 The Story of 
 
 of the Church, though seeking by con- 
 templation the Divine mysteries. He calls 
 the world vanity, and wishes us to rise 
 above it, because the feeling of having no 
 desires in the world gives us great freedom ; 
 for "he who is the conqueror of himself 
 is lord of the world and inheritor of 
 heaven." He treats the deepest thoughts 
 with precision, expressing noble feelings 
 with great spiritual power ; yet at times he 
 is very obscure, so that although he has 
 attacked pantheism in others, he laid him- 
 self open to the same charge, and there 
 was some justice in Gerson's remark when 
 Schoonhoven defended his friend from 
 the Chancellor's attack, that it was a pity 
 that the obscurity of his language should 
 have led to such a misunderstanding. 
 
 These views were taken up by Gerard 
 Groot and Florentius, and through them 
 by Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 There is a book which appeared in the 
 fourteenth or fifteenth century that con- 
 tains the essence of German mysticism, 
 of which only one MS. is known to exist, 
 dated 1497. It is supposed to have been 
 written soon after the death of Tauler by 
 a priest of Frankfort, who was in sympathy 
 with the Brethren of the Free Spirit. Its 
 nature is summed up in a saying, " Those 
 who would live for God can only become 
 
the " Imitatio Christi." 2 7 
 
 capable of so doing by repentance and 
 self-denial, and then by love." Luther 
 speaks thus of it : " Read this little book, 
 and then say whether theology is old or 
 new with us, for this book is not new. 
 God grant that this book may come more 
 and more to light ; when it will be found 
 that German theologians are without 
 doubt the best." The praise of Luther 
 brought this German Theology into such 
 favour that seventy editions were rapidly 
 exhausted, and it has been in demand 
 ever since. There have been six or seven 
 editions in Germany during this century, 
 as well as thirteen translations into English, 
 two of which appeared in 1854, — one by 
 Mrs. Malcolm and one by Miss Susannah 
 Winkworth. It was a pity that such a 
 title as German Theology was given to it, 
 for a wrong impression of the work may 
 be thus conveyed, and its name, as well as 
 Luther's praise of it, have prevented its 
 being appreciated by Roman • Catholics, 
 though even some of them have spoken 
 well of it. 
 
 The Imitation is much superior to this 
 work, not only in form but in fulness of 
 treatment of all that relates to the life 
 of a Christian. It is also superior to the 
 hnitation of Tauler, for this writer only 
 dwells on the outward life of Christ, which 
 
28 The Story of 
 
 he uses as a symbol for the inner Hfe, 
 while Thomas a Kempis teaches us the 
 necessity of Christ being born in us. It 
 resembles the writings of Ruysbroek in 
 speaking of the necessity of receiving 
 God in our hearts, so that we may thus 
 be raised to Him. There is in it the 
 same "feeling of heavenly peace" that, 
 as Bohringer says, " lies over the whole 
 landscape," the same phases of thought 
 of the purest religion. 
 
 In common with other mystics Thomas 
 considers the world as nothing but vanity, 
 and, like them, he seeks for himself ab- 
 straction, both theoretical and practical, 
 from the world \ he also considers the 
 union with God as the highest good. 
 He, however, differs from them in this, 
 that, while they have a mere speculative 
 contemplation in their hunger after God, 
 and will have this satisfied immediately in 
 heart and mind by knowing and loving 
 Him, he, while possessing the same hunger 
 after God, is content to find Him in love, 
 and testify by his life to this love, and 
 strive to nourish it. His aim is practical 
 while theirs is speculative j they speculate 
 on God as the Trinity, while he says 
 {Imitation, I. i) : " What will it avail thee 
 to dispute sublimely of the Trinity if thou 
 be void of humility?" If narrower in 
 
tJie " Intitatio Christie 29 
 
 his views, he is not only more practical 
 in his aims, but there is a greater indi- 
 viduality shown in his relations to the 
 community in which he was brought up. 
 We cannot help feeling that what he asks 
 us to do can to be done. When we 
 read his rules for monastic life we cannot 
 help seeing not only that they are suitable, 
 but that they are taken from life, and 
 from his own experience of life. This 
 love of the practical as well as the poetical 
 is shown also in the other works of 
 Thomas, especially in the manner in which 
 he treats of the characters of Martha 
 and Mary. 
 
 It is to Bonaventura that we must give 
 the credit of first taking the characters of 
 Martha and Mary as types of the con- 
 templative and of the active life. Thomas 
 a Kempis has more fully carried out the 
 idea, and dwelt on the great importance 
 of the life devoted to good works as 
 exemplified in the action of Martha, as 
 well as of such a life as that of Mary, 
 given up to hearing and contemplating 
 the Divine word. He says : " Although 
 Mary's part is the more to be chosen and 
 pleasanter, yet the laborious part of her 
 sister Martha is praiseworthy, and accepted 
 by God ; " that " the sisters should not 
 be separated ; " that Mary should " re- 
 
30 TJie ^^ Imitatio Christi." 
 
 member that she could not so freely rest 
 unless Martha had been willing to work 
 for her." " Martha, great shall be thy re- 
 ward in heaven, as thou art so faithful in 
 ministering." " Thy service is needed by 
 the servants of Christ, and without thy 
 care they are not free to serve God." 
 The late Dr. Charles Beard, in his Life of 
 Luther, says that "mysticism does not 
 argue, it cannot appeal to any external 
 authority ; it broods, it meditates, it listens 
 for the Divine voice. When that voice is 
 heard, all others are necessarily silent." 
 Such mysticism is in the Lmitation ; but 
 there is more, for there is the incentive to 
 action, and there is the recommendation 
 to work like Martha as well as to pray 
 like Mary. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Birthplace of the Imitatio and its 
 Sources. 
 
 '* Seek for a secret place for thyself, Love to 
 dwell alone with thyself." — Imit. III. 53. 
 
 I HERE are some books which 
 seem made for all countries 
 and for all times, although on 
 a close examination we find 
 that they could have been produced only 
 at a certain period and in a certain country. 
 This apphes to the Imitatio^ for that it is 
 appropriate to all countries is evident 
 from the appreciation it has received from 
 all, from the GalHc and Latin races as 
 well as from the Teutonic; and yet by 
 studying its language we find that it could 
 only have proceeded from a Teutonic 
 country. In the same way as regards the 
 period, though at first sight any time in 
 which monasteries were in existence would 
 
32 The Story of 
 
 seem suitable for its origin, yet from certain 
 passages we perceive that it must have 
 been written in the first half of the 
 fifteenth century, for at that time the Car- 
 thusians and Cistercians were on friendly 
 relations with the Augustinians, and it is 
 to them that the author refers. If it had 
 been written in the thirteenth century by 
 a Benedictine, as some wish to assert, the 
 Benedictines would have been mentioned, 
 or if not, it is probable that the Domini- 
 cans or Franciscans would have been 
 quoted, as these orders were then the 
 most important. The time of its pro- 
 duction is also fixed by a passage in which 
 the author speaks of the rapidity with 
 which the monks fall away from their first 
 enthusiasm : " How quickly do we decline 
 from our pristine fervour." Such a re- 
 mark can only apply to an order recently 
 founded, and when Thomas k Kempis 
 wrote, the order to which he belonged, 
 the Brothers of Common Life, had been 
 in existence but a few years ; it is also 
 worthy of notice that a similar remark is 
 to be found in the same writer's Life of 
 Florentius. Further, there are passages 
 referring to the quarrels of the mendicant 
 orders and to pilgrimages. Now in the 
 early times the Dominicans and Francis- 
 cans united in preaching, and not until the 
 
the " Imitatio Christi." 3 3 
 
 fifteenth century did quarrels arise, and it 
 was about the same time that pilgrimages 
 took place. 
 
 Many have thought with Mons. Renan 
 that Italy must have been the country of 
 the book's birth, on account of the calm 
 pervading it. However, a calm spirit could 
 be maintained in a monastery in Holland as 
 well as in one in Italy. Besides, the many 
 Flemicisms in the work point to Holland 
 as its birthplace. That many of these 
 Flemicisms do not exist in some MSS. is 
 no proof that they do not belong to the 
 original, for it is probable that a scribe in 
 Italy or France coming upon such a word 
 as exterius would either omit it or sub- 
 stitute some other word for it ; while it 
 would be next to impossible that a scribe 
 would think of altering an ordinary Latin 
 word for an extraordinary one which is 
 used only in the country to which he be- 
 longed. The Abbe Spitzen and Father 
 Becker have pointed out numbers of such 
 words : proving, without a doubt, that 
 Holland is the birthplace of the hnitation. 
 It will be needless to quote all the words 
 they mention ; we will simply take one or 
 two as specimens, in order to show the 
 force of these peculiar words. 
 
 Scire exterius would naturally be a 
 stumbling-block to Italians and French, 
 
34 The Story of 
 
 and therefore in many MSS. exterius is 
 changed into memoriter^ a commoner 
 word. The author was evidently thinking 
 in Dutch when the words van buiten oc- 
 curred to him, and he translated them 
 into an equivalent Latin word. The 
 meaning is well expressed by our English 
 term out and out ; and the term van buiten 
 is still used to express the sense of 
 thoroughness. In Book I., chap, xxv., 
 occurs the phrase deberes pigritari. The 
 natural translation, " you ought to be idle," 
 would hardly do. The word debere is a 
 translation of the Dutch word zouldt, the 
 auxiliary, and in French must be trans- 
 lated into the conditional mood, though in 
 English our auxiliary would is suitable to 
 the passage. In Book II., chap, vii., we 
 read deberet libenter tecu7n habitare applied 
 to Jesus. The usual force of the verb is 
 inappropriate to Him, and such a form 
 could not have proceeded from a French or 
 Italian source, though it is easily rendered 
 into English as " would willingly live with 
 thee." The Latin word habere is used as 
 an equivalent for the Dutch word hebben, 
 to have, in places such as I. i6, libenter 
 habemus, where the French could not use 
 such a word, but must say as an equivalent 
 sommes bien aise, while the Italians render 
 it amia??io. Frcevidere is used for providere ; 
 
the *^ Imitatio Christi." 35 
 
 satisesse for safisfacere, etc. The word 
 exterius has been a great stumbling-block 
 to the Gersenists, who assert that it is not 
 in the original ; which is a very questionable 
 statement, as it exists in two hundred MSS.y 
 while it is replaced by another word in 
 only five MSS., three different words being 
 used in three of them. This word is 
 found in Busch's Chronicle, and also in a 
 letter of Florentius. 
 
 There are several other expressions 
 which, though not Flemicisms, are used 
 in a sense peculiar to the fraternity to 
 which Thomas belonged. Prcelatus is used 
 in the I??iitatto, as well as in other works 
 of Thomas, where it occurs seventy-two 
 times, as equivalent to a superiour. Devott 
 is a word much used; it was originally 
 used by Gerard Groot to designate the 
 Brothers of Common Life, and Busch uses 
 it for the same purpose in his Chronicle, 
 and this is the sense in which it is used 
 in the hiiitation, that work being primarily 
 written for the Brethren. In chapter xiv. 
 of the first book the author says that 
 "diversities of judgments cause dissen- 
 sions " between the religiosi and the devoti. 
 Here the ^(??:;^// is used in the more restricted 
 sense of the canons, in distinction to the 
 religiosi or ordinary brethren. A passage 
 in the first chapter of the fourth book 
 
36 The Story of 
 
 seems to fix the date and the place, for 
 we read, " Many run to various places to 
 visit the relics of the saints," as it was 
 common for crowds to come from all parts 
 of Holland, Belgium, and North Germany, 
 in the fifteenth century, to see the relics 
 which were exposed to public view, with 
 great solemnity, every seven years. At 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1440, at one of these 
 festivals, the roofs of some houses fell in, 
 from the large concourse of pilgrims that 
 mounted on them to see the relics. 
 
 There is another passage that seems to 
 point to Holland or Belgium as the home 
 of the Imitatio. It is in the fifth chapter 
 of the fourth book, where it says that the 
 priest has the cross both before and 
 behind him. There are still some ancient 
 chasubles in Belgium, and we presume in 
 Holland also, on which the cross is worked 
 both in front and at the back. We do 
 not know of any such being in France, 
 where the cross was generally placed 
 behind ; nor in Italy, where it was in 
 front. 
 
 The following description of the country 
 which was the cradle of the Imitatio is 
 taken from the work of De Amicis on 
 Holland : — " Near Zwolle are fine roads, 
 bordered by trees which refresh the eye ; 
 on every side the brambly waste recedes, 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christie 37 
 
 giving place to patches of verdure ; fields 
 and meadows and new plantations rise, 
 herds of cattle are seen, and new canals 
 run from the peat swamps to a great one 
 called the Dedemswaart, the main artery 
 of the Over Yssel, which has transformed 
 the desolate country into a flourishing 
 province."* Of Zwolle Dr. Cruise writes : t 
 — " It is a model Dutch city, and one of 
 the prettiest in Holland, with its numerous 
 canals, drawbridges, and handsome build- 
 ings. All around we see the exquisitely 
 neat villas of the wealthier inhabitants, 
 with their trim gardens and pleasure 
 grounds reaching to the water's edge ; " 
 and of Mount St. Agnes, that " it is a 
 slightly elevated plateau from which the 
 surrounding country is well seen." 
 
 Some writers think that such a peaceful 
 work as the Imitation must have been 
 issued in the thirteenth century, as there 
 was then comparative peace, while it could 
 not have been written in such a stormy 
 period as the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century, when there were wars and rumours 
 of wars, pestilence and famine, excom- 
 munications launched on all parties in 
 turn, contests of popes against popes ; and 
 yet we have only to read the life of Thomas 
 
 * English translation, p. 406. f Page 291. 
 
38 The Story of 
 
 a Kempis to see how little effect this 
 stormy period had on his life — he writes 
 Chronicles without mentioning a word 
 about the storms that were raging around 
 him ; and if no mention of political affairs 
 is to be found in such historical works, 
 we can still less expect them in such a 
 work as the Imitation; besides, there is 
 the same calm in all his other works. 
 How Httle attention he must have paid to 
 the events happening around him is shown 
 by his speaking of the prosperous times 
 of Frederick of Blankenheim, Bishop of 
 Utrecht, and yet this good bishop thought 
 nothing of putting numbers to death by 
 fire and sword. 
 
 Some of those who are opposed to the 
 claims of Thomas k Kempis, and cham- 
 pion Italy as the birthplace of the Imitatio^ 
 point to the existence in it of several 
 Italian forms of the Latin words. This 
 cannot, and need not, be denied, being 
 easily explained, as these words are often 
 quotations from writers such as Bona- 
 ventura or St. Bernard, and are used by 
 Gerard Groot, Florentius, and others of 
 the Windesheim circle, with whom the 
 latter saint was a great favourite. Dr. 
 Cruise has taken much trouble in com- 
 paring the works of St. Bernard with the 
 J??iitatio, and he finds a great similarity 
 
the *^ Imitatio Christir 39 
 
 between them. In the first chapter of 
 the Imitatiofi he shows resemblances to 
 thirty passages of St. Bernard. The work 
 is really so full of quotations, that one 
 cannot help agreeing with Brother Azarias 
 in his Culture of the Spiritual Sense, 
 where he says : " You can scarcely read a 
 sentence that does not recall some passage 
 now in the Old, now in the New Testa- 
 ment." It reflects their pure rays like an 
 unbroken mirror, and one cannot help 
 seeing that the Bible is the chief source 
 from which the author draws. Next to 
 that he draws his inspiration from St. 
 Bernard, whose writings were much used, 
 as we have just shown. Other sources 
 are Gregory the Great, St. Francis of 
 Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, 
 and the Missal. We even find quota- 
 tions from Aristotle, from Ovid, and from 
 Seneca. This is exactly what might have 
 been expected; for, in accordance with 
 the advice of Gerard Groot, his followers 
 made collections of sentences, taken from 
 various authors, in books called Rapiaria. 
 We hear of selections from St. Bernard 
 being made both by John Heusden and by 
 John k Kempis. It is supposed by Zungo 
 that Thomas began from his early novitiate 
 to collect materials about the year 1406. 
 These would take a concrete form in the 
 
40 The Story of 
 
 first treatise about 14 13, or even 1410 
 according to Kettlewell. Msgr. Malou 
 thinks that it would have been completed 
 about 14 14, and the other three treatises 
 soon after, the four being issued together 
 about 1424, as the Kirchheim MS. is sup- 
 posed to be written in 1425. It is not 
 necessary to imagine that Thomas read 
 all the books from which he quoted, as 
 the rapiaria made by the different Breth- 
 ren, and for the benefit of all^ gave 
 him materials ready to his hand. A 
 remarkable instance of this is shown by 
 Father Becker in the case of a letter of 
 Schoonhoven, a predecessor well known 
 to Thomas, who mentions his writings in 
 his Chronicle. In this letter are quota- 
 tions from St. Bernard, St. Jerome, St. 
 Gregory, and Seneca, and these quotations 
 are all to be found in the first book of 
 the Imitation. The Abbe Spitzen also 
 points out three passages, quoted both 
 by Schoonhoven and Thomas a Kempis, 
 "from a certain saint," who is shown to 
 be John of Tambach, to whom the author- 
 ship of the hnitation has been ascribed. 
 He w^as a Dominican of great learning, 
 having been in 1348 Rector of the Uni- 
 versity of Paris, after which he went to 
 Rome, and was appointed by Urban V., 
 in 1356, Master of the Sacred Palace. 
 
the '' Imitatio Christi." 41 
 
 He was often sent to inquire into the 
 conduct of the monks, and to consider 
 what could be done for the reformation 
 of the monasteries. He is chiefly famous 
 for his Consolatorhun Theologiciim, a MS. 
 of which, dated 1493, is in the University 
 Library of Paris. The first printed edition 
 of it was published at Menz in 1470, 
 under the title of Consolacio TheologiccE. 
 The work of Bonaventura from which 
 Thomas derived many passages and 
 thoughts was his Thoughts on the Life oj 
 Christy which was one of the works used 
 among the Brethren. Henry Maude was 
 a courtier at the Court of Holland, but 
 the fame of Gerard Groot attracted him, 
 and he became one of the Brethren. He 
 had not learnt Latin, but was highly 
 valued for his great sense and fine feel- 
 ings. He wrote several treatises in Dutch, 
 one of which was translated by Thomas 
 into Latin, and several quotations from it 
 are to be found in the Imitation. 
 
 Some of the most fruitful sources of the 
 Imitation are to be found in the writings 
 of John Ruysbroek, according to Herr 
 Busken-Huet the most remarkable writer 
 in Holland in the fifteenth century. Born 
 at Ruysbroek, a village in Brabant, in 
 1293, for some time he was curate of 
 St. Gudule, at Brussels, but when sixty 
 
42 The Story of 
 
 years of age he entered the newly-ap- 
 pointed monastery of the Augustinians 
 at Groenendal, near Brussels, and was 
 elected the first Prior. His education was 
 not very deep, since even as a child he 
 meditated more than he learnt. He 
 never was able to write in Latin, as we 
 observed before, though he knew it well 
 enough to read the principal mystic 
 writers, as well as Aristotle and many 
 classical authors. He was much given 
 to meditation, and took walks in the 
 wood, where he saw visions, for which 
 he received the title of " Doctor Ecs- 
 taticus." His mysticism was clear of 
 pantheism, or of any departure from 
 Church doctrines. His works were all 
 written in Dutch, and are highly valued, 
 and he is supposed to have fixed the 
 Dutch language much as Luther did the 
 German rather later. The works of 
 Ruysbroek were translated into German, 
 French, and Latin. He was a friend of 
 Gerard Groot, who learnt much from 
 him, and was highly esteemed by all the 
 Windesheim circle, which accounts for 
 the presence of quotations of him in the 
 Imitation. He was very strict in his own 
 living, but always gentle and kind to the 
 poor, though severe upon the vices of the 
 rich. Busken-Huet wTites : "As a thinker, 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 43 
 
 Ruysbroek is much superior to Thomas. 
 It is to him that the Netherlands is in- 
 debted for the planting in it of the Italian 
 mysticism much more than to Thomas. 
 Books have their fates : the greater genius 
 lives only in middle-age Church history 
 and in Dutch literature ; the book of the 
 lesser has become the common property 
 of Christianity. The success of the Imita- 
 tion was brilliant and lasting as it came at 
 the right time and comprised the religious 
 views of centuries and then handed them 
 down to posterity."* Besides the sources 
 above mentioned, Thomas drew exten- 
 sively from the writings of his own com- 
 munity ; and the sayings of Gerard Groot 
 and of Florentius, which he quotes in their 
 lives, are to be found also in the Imitation. 
 Msgr. Malou, Bishop of Bruges, in his 
 Recherches Historiques^ has pointed out the 
 strong resemblance of passages in that 
 work to those of Florentius. 
 
 We have tried in this chapter to show 
 that Holland was the birthplace of the 
 Imitation^ and that the sources from which 
 it was drawn are to be found in the works 
 of the Brethren of Common Life, or in 
 works that were used by them. 
 
 * Busken-Huet (C), Het Land van Rembrand^ 
 2nd ed., vol. i. Haarlem, 1886. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Brothers of Common Life. 
 
 " He therefore that intends to attain to the 
 more inward and spiritual things must with Jesus 
 withdraw himself from the multitude." 
 
 — Imit. I. 20. 
 
 " Never be wholly idle. 
 But read or write, or pray or muse, 
 Or do some useful work for all." 
 
 — Imit. I. 19. 
 
 ^HE Imitation was primarily 
 written for the monasteries o 
 the Brothers of Common Life, 
 and probably owed its birth to 
 the recommendation of their founder to 
 make Rapiaria, or books of extracts. 
 Rapiarium is defined in Ducange's Glos- 
 sary as a collection in which sentences 
 taken elsewhere are brought together ; 
 and to do this was the custom of the 
 community whose founders were Gerard 
 Groot and Florentius Radewyn. 
 
 Gerardus Magnus, or Gerard Groot, 
 the son of Werner Groot, sheriff and 
 
The ^^ Imitatio Christir 45 
 
 burgomaster of Deventer, was born 
 October 1340, and received his early 
 education at the Grammar School of his 
 native town. At the age of fifteen he 
 went to the University of Paris, where 
 for three years he studied philosophy 
 and theology, and took his degree of 
 Master of Arts. From there, after spend- 
 ing a short time at his home, he started 
 for Cologne, where he became a Pro- 
 fessor. He was now on the high road to 
 success, having been given the canonries 
 of Utrecht and of Aix, besides several 
 prebends. He was, however, intended 
 for higher things, and having been warned 
 by Henry Kalkar, a Carthusian, whose 
 friendship he had made while in Paris, 
 of the vanity of earthly things, he gave 
 up all his offices, and retired for three 
 years to the Carthusian monastery of 
 Monch in Gueldres, where he spent his 
 time in reflection, in the study of the 
 Scriptures, and in prayer. His great 
 abihties were appreciated by the Car- 
 thusian Brethren, who pressed on him 
 the duty of taking orders. He did not 
 consider himself worthy of the office of 
 priest, but consented to become a deacon, 
 as that would enable him to preach. 
 He then obtained a license from the 
 Bishop of Utrecht, and commenced to 
 
46 TJte Story of 
 
 travel through the towns and villages of 
 the Low Countries, preaching to the people 
 and calling them to repentance. As the 
 sermons preached to the people were 
 in their own dialect, the effect produced 
 was marvellous, and since the churches 
 were unable to hold the crowds who 
 flocked to hear him, he preached in the 
 open air. Gerard was, however, not 
 permitted to do this for any length of 
 time, for by attacking the vices of the 
 clergy he made enemies, who persuaded 
 the Bishop of Utrecht to stop his licence. 
 
 Gerard was forced to submit, but he 
 was not the man to be inactive, and at 
 once looked out for some field of labour 
 in which to employ his energies. Such 
 a field was suggested to him by a visit 
 which he made to John Ruysbroek, the 
 famous mystic, at the monastery of Gron- 
 thal, for when he saw the happy life led 
 by the canons, and the loving spirit 
 prevailing amongst them, he at once 
 determined to found such a community. 
 
 Gerard then started for Paris, where 
 he purchased a number of books that 
 would be useful for the instruction of 
 the young, and returned with them to 
 Deventer, where he was joined by 
 Florentius Radewyn. 
 
 This Florentius had been at one time 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christie 47 
 
 a wealthy canon of the Cathedral of 
 Utrecht, but having listened to the 
 preaching of Gerard Groot, he was so 
 carried away by this preacher's eloquence 
 and earnestness that he gave up his 
 canonry, and when Gerard arrived at 
 Deventer he followed him there, and 
 assisted him in knitting together a little 
 band of men who were willing to live a 
 life of care for the benefit of their fellow- 
 men, by helping them in their studies, and 
 by employing them in making copies of 
 the Bible, and of various devotional works. 
 As a writer in the Saturday Review^^ 
 says : " Boys whose handwriting gave 
 promise as regards the mechanical part 
 of the work, and whose literary capacity 
 enabled them to undertake it, found in 
 the occupation of scribes an opening for 
 maintaining themselves ; and as their 
 numbers increased, the system of board- 
 ing-houses or hostelries was established 
 (as we shall see later), like the Halls at 
 Oxford." It was natural that there should 
 be now some bond of union, and that they 
 should form one community, the origin 
 of which was as follows : — Florentius 
 came to Gerard, and said, " Dear master, 
 how would it do if I and these clerks who 
 
 * May 19th, 1883. 
 
48 The Story of 
 
 are here were to put our earnings into a 
 common fund, and live together ? " " Live 
 together ! " repHed Gerard ; " the Mendi- 
 cants would never allow it ; they would 
 do their worst to prevent it." " But 
 what is to prevent our trying ? " said 
 Florentius ; " perhaps God will give us 
 success." To which Gerard replied, 
 " Well, then, in God's name commence. 
 I will be your advocate, and faithfully 
 defend you against all who rise up against 
 you." This was the commencement of 
 the institution of the " Brethren of the 
 Common Life, of Good Will," or " Devoti 
 Clerici." Thomas a Kempis himself, in 
 his Life of Florentius, has given us a good 
 idea of what kind of men belonged to 
 this community, and the kind of life they 
 led, for, as he says, he " had the oppor- 
 tunity of daily watching and attending to 
 their devout ways and conversation, and 
 was greatly rejoiced in beholding their 
 good lives, and listening to the gracious 
 words that proceeded from the mouths of 
 these humble men of God." He further 
 describes them as living in the world 
 "without a spark of worldliness about 
 them. Abiding quietly at home, they 
 busied themselves in copying books, 
 especially the sacred Scriptures ; engaging 
 in devout meditations, they obtained com- 
 
tJie ^^Imitatio Christie 49 
 
 fort and refreshment in the midst of their 
 labours by having recourse to ejaculatory 
 prayers or short aspirations of the soul. 
 Early in the morning they went to church, 
 and said the office of matins." While 
 thus writing of them, Thomas seems to be 
 giving a living example of the precepts he 
 has written in the Imitation^ for he writes 
 that, " Holding obedience to be the 
 highest rule of life, they endeavoured with 
 all their might to conquer self, to subdue 
 their evil passions, and to break the 
 motions of their own natural will." And 
 as he continues, " Great grace and true 
 devotion were among them, and they 
 edified many, both by their word and 
 example; and by patiently bearing the 
 derisions of those who were in bondage 
 to the world, they won many over to a 
 contempt of worldly things, so that those 
 who before had despised them, now 
 counting their past lives to be without 
 honour and as foolishness, afterwards 
 turned to God, and experienced in them- 
 selves the grace of devotion ; and having 
 first purged their consciences, they openly 
 confessed themselves to be true servants 
 of God, and their real friends."* 
 
 As to the work of these Brethren, we 
 
 * Quoted by,Kettlewell, Thomas^ etc., i., 116, 117 
 
 4 
 
50 The Story of 
 
 find that they were employed not only 
 in writing out the Scriptures, which was 
 to them a great means of support (for by 
 the advice of Florentius they were now 
 living together and could act together), 
 but the lay Brethren occupied themselves 
 in tilling the ground, and in other manual 
 labours, for some made shoes, others 
 worked at the loom, or made baskets, 
 etc., while the clerical Brothers preached 
 and conducted the various services. 
 
 The term Devoti is applied not only 
 to the scribes but to all the members of 
 the community. The special ordination 
 of canons took place later, and Gerard, 
 though able to assist the little community 
 by his pen and by his instruction, did 
 not live long enough to found a convent, 
 for while attending one of his friends he 
 caught the plague and died, leaving the 
 task to Florentius, whom he commended 
 to the Brethren as his successor. The 
 chief glory of the foundation was due to 
 Gerard, as he prepared the way for it. 
 He ordered the reading of the Gospels, 
 then of biographies and sayings of the 
 Fathers, to show the spirit he wished to 
 prevail in the community ; he himself even 
 set the example which he wished to be 
 followed by drawing up collections of 
 pieces taken from the Epistles of St. Paul, 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 5 I 
 
 from the Acts of the Apostles, and from 
 the devotional works of St. Bernard, of 
 St. Anselm, St. Augustine, and of other 
 Fathers, which selections may be con- 
 sidered as precursors of the Ljiitation, 
 where are to be found many passages 
 which are reflections of Gerard's sayings. 
 Florentius, whom Thomas a Kempis 
 describes as " of noble manners, modest, 
 cheerful, affable, and generous, of a pleas- 
 ant cut of features, moderate in stature, and 
 a handsome figure," was able to carry out 
 his friend's wishes, and founded in 1386 
 the monastery of Windesheim, which was 
 the parent house from which sprang so 
 many similar ones, one of which was on 
 Mount St. Agnes, near Zwolle, rendered 
 famous by being the dwelling-place for 
 so many years of Thomas k Kempis. 
 Some Brethren, partly priests and partly 
 laymen, were still left at Deventer, where 
 Florentius stayed. It was here that 
 Thomas first arrived when he came to 
 look for his brother and to join the 
 Brethren, of whom there were then about 
 twenty, with four ordained priests. Some 
 Brethren came from other monasteries, 
 as six of the Devoti who went to live 
 at Windesheim had come from the con- 
 vent of Emsteyn, near Utrecht, where 
 they had been taking their vows, and this 
 
52 The Story of 
 
 convent was adopted as a new daughter 
 house in 1398, under the authority of the 
 canons of Windesheim, an example which 
 was followed a few years later by that of 
 Groenendalj and then by those of many 
 others, so that thirty years after the founda- 
 tion of Windesheim there were forty-five 
 convents connected with it. Thirty-seven 
 of these were for men and eight for women. 
 This connection with Windesheim and 
 Deventer, the clerical and the lay Brothers 
 being considered as completing one an- 
 other, which was in accordance with the 
 design of their founder, enables us to 
 understand the rapidity of the circula- 
 tion of the Imitation^ as it is generally 
 acknowledged that the best MSS. emanated 
 from those monasteries connected with 
 the circle of Windesheim, by whom it was 
 spread to those monasteries kindred in 
 spirit, such as the Carthusians, who were 
 among the first to appreciate the work 
 and copy it. That it originated from the 
 Brothers of Common Life is evident from 
 the use of certain words, such as Devoti, 
 a word used specially by them, as also 
 from the spirit of the work being in accord- 
 ance with the spirit of the Brethren, of 
 whom even Luther testified that " such 
 monasteries and brother houses please 
 me beyond measure. Would to God that 
 
the " Imitatio CkristH' 5 3 
 
 all monastic institutions were like them ! 
 Clergymen, cities, and countries would 
 then be better served and be more 
 prosperous." 
 
 Among the most important of the Breth- 
 ren to be considered is John a Kempis, 
 the brother of Thomas, whose senior he 
 was by fifteen years. He was one of the 
 first to join the community, and being a 
 man of energy and of organising power he 
 was of great use in founding various of 
 the religious houses, the first of which was 
 Windesheim, where he was for some time 
 Prior; and the last, Bethany, where he 
 died, nursed in his latter days by his 
 brother Thomas. John was of a more 
 active disposition than his brother, yet 
 he was by no means deficient in learning, 
 while he was also skilled in copying and 
 collating MSS. He is said to have made 
 a selection of extracts from the works of 
 St. Bernard. His friend Vos of Heusden 
 also made a similar selection ; he was the 
 second Prior of Windesheim, and wrote 
 an epistle on the life and passion of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, which was used as a 
 spiritual manual by the Brethren. Vos of 
 Heusden attracted many to the convent 
 by his persuasiveness and devotion, and 
 under his guidance the monastery flou- 
 rished ; as the chronicler Buschius says, 
 
54 The Story of 
 
 " They flocked thither in great numbers, 
 for the salvation of their souls." 
 
 John of Schoonhoven was a disciple of 
 Ruysbroek and sub-prior of Groenendal. 
 He was not one of the Brethren, but had 
 great sympathy with them, and his letter 
 to his nephew is looked upon as one of 
 their classics. Of this letter we speak 
 elsewhere (p. 40). John Gronde was a 
 most eloquent preacher, who came from 
 Amsterdam at the request of Gerard 
 Groot to Deventer, where he lived with 
 Florentius. 
 
 John Brinckerinck, who succeeded 
 Gronde as Director of the Sisters, was 
 also very eloquent ; he was an ascetic, as 
 he slept seven hours, seldom ate more 
 than once daily, never accepted invita- 
 tions, but often himself invited poor 
 deserving citizens to his table. 
 
 Lubert Berner was one of the friends 
 of Thomas a Kempis, and had great powers 
 in enkindling piety in other people. 
 
 Henry Brume was a great friend of 
 Lubert, and a devoted Christian. He was 
 content to do menial work as well as his 
 priestly duties, and died of the plague 
 caught from attending to others, as he 
 never spared himself. 
 
 ^milius van Buren was the successor 
 of Florentius, but he only held the posi- 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christi" 55 
 
 tion for four years. He was of a loving 
 disposition, and his last advice to the 
 Brethren was "to love one another." 
 
 James of Viana possessed in a high 
 degree the virtue of humility,though he was 
 refined in manner ; he wished to remain 
 a mere clerk, but Florentius, who knew 
 his value, insisted on his being ordained a 
 priest. 
 
 Arnold of Schoonhoven was one of 
 the earliest friends of Thomas k Kempis, 
 and Thomas dwells particularly on his 
 great piety, as he was from his childhood 
 devoted to the service of God, and wished 
 to become a pupil of Florentius, who after 
 trying him for some time, and seeing his 
 desire to learn and labour, granted him a 
 lodging in his own house ; and as Thomas 
 was admitted to this house at the same 
 time they became companions, and 
 occupied one bedroom. He showed great 
 fervour in his devotions, and used every 
 opportunity for prayer. His converse 
 was not of the nature of a learned disser- 
 tation, but of true conversion to God and 
 amendment of life. He was always ready 
 to help others, and studied spiritual things 
 more than learning. 
 
 Not the least interesting of the brothers 
 was John Cacabus (Kettel or Kessel), who 
 was the cook at Deventer ; several anec- 
 
$6 The Story of 
 
 dotes are told of his simple nature, and 
 of his self-denial and compassion for the 
 poor. He had been wealthy and of a 
 good family, but was yet willing to take a 
 mean position. He had been attracted 
 by the fame of Father Florentius, and 
 went to Deventer and attended the public 
 school, when he was so affected by the 
 lives of the Brethren there that he gave up 
 his interest in worldly things. He had 
 previously purchased beautiful ornaments 
 and grand robes, to be ready when he 
 should enter the ministry, but he sold 
 them all and gave the money for charit- 
 able purposes. Though in so lowly a 
 position, he was highly valued for his con- 
 versation, and was often the means of 
 giving good advice to the Brethren. 
 
 Another man who had some influence 
 upon the life of Thomas a Kempis was 
 Gerard of Zutphen, the Scriptuarius or 
 Librarian who took charge of the manu- 
 scripts and books, and directed the labours 
 of the scribes. Thomas speaks of him as 
 " remarkable for his diligence in the study 
 of the Holy Scriptures, drawing forth also 
 from deep and recondite sentences of the 
 Fathers various species of aromatic learn- 
 ing against the distempers of vice, etc."*" 
 
 * Kettlewell, Thomas ^ etc., i., 291. 
 
tJie *^ Imitatio Christie 57 
 
 He wrote several books, and had a great 
 desire for learning. Though often absent- 
 minded, he was able to give good advice, 
 and was much consulted by Florentius, as 
 well as by the other Brethren. But above 
 all other learning he prized the study of the 
 Scriptures, and recommended their use, 
 saying that " these books preach to you, 
 and teach you more than we can possibly 
 tell you." 
 
 He had a great respect for books, and 
 treated them with great care. His death 
 was much felt by the Brethren, and he 
 was buried with honour by the Prior and 
 the Brethren in the passage before the door 
 of the church. 
 
 Thomas speaks with much affection of 
 Everard de Eza, who cured him of an 
 illness which he had. Everard was at 
 one time a mocker of such as led a 
 religious life, but being moved by the 
 preaching of Gerard, whom he went to 
 hear out of curiosity, he was converted, 
 and induced by Gerard to become a com- 
 panion and helper ; Gerard dying soon 
 after, he went to Florentius, stayed with 
 him, and studied theology. He then 
 visited the poor in their sickness without 
 any fees, for he had been much esteemed 
 as a physician. After this he founded one 
 of the monasteries of the Canons Regular, 
 
$8 The Story of 
 
 called "The Blessed Virgin Mary in the 
 Wood " (a.d. 1394), and then devoted him- 
 self to preaching; and when he died in 
 1404 he was buried in his own church at 
 St. Almelo. 
 
 All these men seemed filled with the 
 spirit of the founders of the community, 
 and helped to carry out their great desire, 
 which was to have laymen and monks 
 living in unity. Gerard had no hostility to 
 monasticism, but he wished it pure ; there- 
 fore he was friendly to the Carthusians, 
 who were the purest order at the time. 
 He did not, however, wish the community 
 he founded to be so strict as the Car- 
 thusians were, so he chose the Augustinian 
 Rule as the one to be observed. 
 
 The Augustinian Canons Regular claim 
 a great antiquity, even as old as the Apos- 
 tolic Church. The other monks oppose 
 this by saying that monks existed before 
 canons, but they claim to be monks as 
 well as canons. It is, however, more 
 probable that they were founded by St. 
 Augustine, whose name they bear and 
 whose rule they follow, and in whose time 
 the name canon was applied to any one 
 holding office in the Church. The first 
 notice we find of them is in a charter of 
 Rheims^ issued in 1061 by Bishop Gervais, 
 to re-establish the Abbey of St. Denis, 
 
the " Imitatio Ckristiy 5 9 
 
 when there were appointed to be settled 
 there canons who preferred the rule and 
 order of St. Augustine, which rule was 
 taken from his 109th Epistle. Innocent II. 
 at the Lateran Council had ordered all the 
 Canons Regular to follow this rule, so 
 that they then took the name and title of 
 Canons Regular of the order of St. Au- 
 gustine. From that time these canons 
 flourished exceedingly, and among the 
 monasteries then founded was the famous 
 one of St. Victor near Paris. They 
 claimed precedence over other monks, in 
 virtue of a bull of Pope Pius IV., but as 
 this bull was only to the congregation of 
 St. John Lateran, the monks of Monte 
 Casino opposed it, and hence the Bene- 
 dictines were allowed the precedence in 
 some places, the Augustinians in others. 
 They claim to have had 2777 cardinals 
 and 20,135 archbishops of their order, 
 and more than 100,000 abbeys. 
 
 Besides houses for men there were 
 houses for women, who were not bound 
 by any vow, and much resembled the Be- 
 guines, who had been founded previously, 
 an idea of whose manner of life can be 
 had from the Beguinages still existing at 
 Bruges and at Ghent. The Belgians 
 having a great love of liberty, it was 
 thought they could be led by persuasion 
 
6o The Story of 
 
 better than be bound by vows. The 
 whole spirit exhibited in the hves of these 
 brothers and sisters is the same as is to 
 be found in the Imitation^ and the high 
 esteem in which the author of this work 
 was held is marked by the fact that he 
 was chosen to write the lives of so many 
 of the Brethren ; and whenever one thinks 
 of the Brothers of Common Life one calls 
 to mind not only Gerard and Florentius, 
 their founders, but also Thomas a Kempis, 
 their historian. 
 
 Little need be added as to what took 
 place after the death of Thomas. The 
 mission of the Brethren was accomplished. 
 As Kettlewell says, "The lights of such men 
 as these were lights in dark places, reflect- 
 ing in very truth the Light of Life." The 
 country was in need of such a band of 
 heroes, since it was then "distracted by 
 factions, ruined by protracted feuds, and 
 desolated by repeated visitations of pesti- 
 lence." 
 
 The invention of printing put an end to 
 one of their principal employments ; but 
 to meet the wants of the time they pro- 
 cured some type, and learnt the art from 
 Arnold Terhoernen, one of their country- 
 men then living at Cologne, and set up a 
 printing-press at Marienthal in 1474, when 
 they printed several editions of a Breviary. 
 
the '^ Imitatio ChrisUr 6i 
 
 In 1476 they set up another printing-press 
 in Brussels, and printed the Gnotosolitus of 
 Arnoldus de Gheilhoven in folio. In 1480 
 they printed an edition of St. Laurence's 
 Postillce. Evangeliorum^ and in 148 1 St. 
 Bernard's Sermons. These were all printed 
 from the same Gothic type, which was 
 smaller than that which had previously 
 been used in the Netherlands. There 
 were printing-presses at ZwoUe and at 
 Deventer, but they belonged to private 
 individuals. 
 
 They were, however, unable to compete 
 with others, and as their scholars became 
 dispersed owing to schools arising superior 
 to theirs, their monasteries were gradually 
 closed. In quiet times the via media is 
 the safest, but in troublous times it is apt 
 to lead to trouble. The growth of the 
 Jesuits was hardly favourable to the liberty 
 enjoyed in their Brother Houses, and how- 
 ever much Luther strove to help them, the 
 spirit of Protestantism was against them ; 
 they had served their day and generation, 
 and must be content to pass quietly away, 
 though not the least glory they have is 
 that of having produced such a man as 
 Thomas a Kempis, and such a book as 
 the Imitation. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 " Blessed are the simple-hearted, for they shall 
 enjoy much peace." — Imit. I. ii. 
 
 " Happy is he who has lived well and died 
 happily." — Imit. I. 17. 
 ' ' Great is his work whose love is great, 
 Great is his work whose work is truly done." 
 —Imit. I. 15. 
 
 HEN we love a book we naturally 
 have a desire to become ac- 
 quainted with its author. Some- 
 times such acquaintance brings 
 disappointment, but more often we are 
 rewarded, as when we find the life of an 
 author in agreement with the spirit and 
 tone of his work ; and such is the case 
 with the author of the Lnitation^ for we 
 see in Thomas k Kempis a man of the 
 highest piety, and one living a life of 
 devotion and charity similar to that which 
 is taught in his works. 
 
 Matthew Arnold says that " solitude is 
 
TJie " Imitatio Christie 63 
 
 the audience chamber of God," and no 
 one can have found it more so than he 
 who writes that " he sought for rest in 
 many things, but found it not except 
 in Httle corners and in Httle books," and 
 of whom it is reported that he often felt 
 called away from the conversation of the 
 Brethren, by a voice telling him to retire 
 to his cell. Notwithstanding that, the 
 value of the little which he spoke was 
 great, for it is said that " Divine things 
 streamed from him as from a spring." 
 Ullman says that " he was the best master 
 of practical wisdom the Brethren ever 
 reared," and that the devotional and 
 practical mysticism of Gerard Groot found 
 " its most finished product in the wisdom 
 of life and love of Thomas \ Kempis." 
 
 In the year 1380 there were living at 
 Kempen, a small town in the diocese of 
 Cologne, a worthy couple, John Hamaerc- 
 ken and his wife Gertrude. John was a 
 good workman, diligent, simple, and honest, 
 his name, " little hammer," being given 
 him, it is supposed, from his working in 
 metal. Gertrude, his wife, was of a 
 deeply religious nature, and is said to have 
 kept a school for children. In this year 
 was born their second son, Thomas, 
 known to us as k Kempis, from the town 
 in which he was born, Kempen. Up to 
 
64 The Story of 
 
 the age of thirteen he lived with his 
 parents, whom he helped when not study- 
 ing at the grammar school of his native 
 town. His father and mother had already 
 given up their elder son to the service of 
 God, and were now prepared to give up 
 their second son also. He accordingly 
 started on his journey to De venter, where 
 he expected to find his brother John, who 
 had joined the circle of the Brothers of 
 Common Life ; but on his arrival he was 
 disappointed to find his brother away. 
 Hearing, however, that he was at Winde- 
 sheim, he started at once for that town, 
 notwithstanding that it was twenty miles 
 distant. His brother was glad to see him, 
 but knowing how great would be the 
 benefit if Thomas were brought up under 
 the guidance of Florentius, he recom- 
 mended him to return to Deventer. This 
 he did, and was kindly received by 
 Florentius, who treated him as a son, 
 and at once won his affection; and that 
 the love was reciprocal is shown in 
 the biography written subsequently by 
 Thomas. We have already seen the 
 mutual love which pervaded the com- 
 munity, and this made Thomas warmly 
 attached to the brothers, and he was soon 
 able to take an active part in their de- 
 votions. He shared his room with Arnold 
 
the ^* Imitatio Christie 65 
 
 of Schoonhoven, whose life he wrote, giving 
 details of great interest, as showing the 
 manner of life passed by the Brethren. 
 We cannot help seeing the simplicity and 
 ingenuousness of his youth from the quiet 
 way in which he speaks of things that 
 affected him, as when Florentius looked 
 over his book in the service, and leant 
 on his shoulder. When describing his 
 companionship with Arnold, he writes : 
 " We both contented ourselves with a little 
 room and with one bed ; " again, what he 
 writes of his friend shows the deep reli- 
 giousness of his own nature : "Every morn- 
 ing about four, when the bell gave the 
 sign, Arnold stood immediately awake, 
 knelt at the bed and prayed for a short 
 time, then he dressed himself quickly and 
 hastened to the early mass. He loved 
 quiet concealed places, so as not to be 
 disturbed while at prayers, and the more 
 earnestly he prayed the more quiet he 
 was. Sometimes, when I could observe 
 him closer, I was moved by his earnest- 
 ness to pray myself." The lovable 
 nature of Thomas is shown in his life 
 of Florentius, especially when he says in 
 his deep gratitude : " If all should be 
 silent, I could not be silent, but would 
 sing of the kindnesses of Florentius for 
 ever, for in fact for seven whole years 
 
66 TJie Story of 
 
 have I experienced the greatness of his 
 kindnesses in my own knowledge and 
 feelings." 
 
 Thomas has himself given an account 
 of his arrival at Deventer ; he says : 
 " When I came to Deventer for the sake 
 of prosecuting my studies in the years of 
 my youth, I inquired the way I should 
 take to the Canons Regular at Windes- 
 heim. And having there found my 
 brother living with the said canons, I 
 was induced by his counsel and encourage- 
 ment to apply to that most reverend of 
 men. Master Florentius, a vicar of the 
 church of Deventer, and a devout priest, 
 the sweet fragrance of whose fame had 
 already reached the upper provinces, and 
 already inspired me with a reverential 
 love of him ; since I frequently heard a 
 great number of students speak well of 
 him, and of the excellency of his instruc- 
 tions in Divine things. . . . When I came, 
 therefore, into the presence of this 
 reverend father, he, being at once moved 
 with pity towards me, kept me for some 
 little time with him in his own house, and 
 there prepared and instructed me for the 
 schools, giving me moreover such books 
 as he thought I might stand in need of. 
 Afterwards he obtained a hospitable 
 reception for me into the house of a 
 
the ''^ Imitatio Christie 6y 
 
 certain honourable and devout matron, 
 who showed much kindness both to me 
 and to several other clerks."* 
 
 The name of the lady is not mentioned 
 by Thomas, but it is supposed by Delprat 
 to be Zwerdera. Thomas went to the 
 public school at Deventer, where John 
 Bohme was the rector. The latter, a 
 rigid disciplinarian, was a great friend of 
 Florentius, for whose sake he remitted 
 the school fees due by Thomas. He was 
 also a vicar of the principal church at 
 Deventer, and directed the choir, in which 
 Florentius took great interest. Thomas 
 sang in this choir. We have unfortunately 
 Httle account of the school, but we can 
 get some idea of it from the description 
 Busch gives of the neighbouring school 
 at Zwolle, of which John Cele was the 
 rector, and who was also a great friend 
 of both Gerard and Florentius. There 
 were there from eight hundred to a thou- 
 sand scholars, divided into eight classes, 
 with only two assistant masters, while 
 grammar, logic, ethics, and philosophy 
 were taught. Cele conducted the singing 
 of the choir, and on Sundays and Saints' 
 days expounded the Epistle for the day, 
 and the Gospel. After afternoon service 
 
 * Life of Florentms, quoted by Ketdewell, i., io6. 
 
6S The Story of 
 
 he gave a lecture, and dictated to his 
 scholars passages out of the writings of 
 the Fathers. When Thomas subsequently 
 went to Mount St. Agnes, he became a 
 friend of this John Cele, and in his 
 Chronich he speaks very highly of him. 
 
 Seven years Thomas passed quietly in 
 study and devotion at Deventer, when 
 Florentius, who saw that notwithstanding 
 his modesty and humility he was fitted 
 for higher things, recommended him to 
 take orders, and become a Canon Regular 
 according to the rule of St. Augustine. 
 This he could not refuse, and he prepared 
 to accept the recommendation ; but, being 
 too modest to enter the chief house at 
 Windesheim, which had then been founded 
 for fourteen years, he started for Mount 
 St. Agnes, of which his brother was then 
 Prior, with a letter from Florentius de- 
 siring the Brethren to waive their rule 
 that two brothers should not live in the 
 same monastery ; and at this convent, 
 which was pleasantly situated near the 
 town of Zwolle, he applied to be admitted 
 as a donatus, and there spent five years of 
 a novitiate, assuming the monastic dress 
 on the sixth, though he did not then take 
 the vows, from a sense of unworthiness 
 and from modesty. He passed another 
 year in meditation, in work, and in prayer. 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 6g 
 
 and in the seventh year was ordained a 
 priest, when he devoted himself chiefly 
 to preaching and to the duties of the 
 ■confessional.* He also employed his 
 time in transcribing and in composing 
 various treatises, among which are the 
 four eventually known as the Imitation 
 of Christ. 
 
 He has himself given us a full descrip- 
 tion of cloister life, and from his Life of 
 Flore7itius we can obtain a fair picture of 
 how he passed his time, how he thought, 
 and how he acted. In his directions to 
 the novices he recommends them "never 
 to be altogether idle, but to be either 
 reading or writing, or praying or medi- 
 tating, or labouring on something for the 
 good of the community." And this advice 
 was in accordance with his own practice, 
 for he was always diligent, and accom- 
 
 * Concerning the matter of the novitiate, Father 
 Becker says that he was only received as a donatus, 
 and that later on he resolved to be a monk. As 
 he relates himself, he took the habit in 1406, a 
 short time after the dispensation of the General 
 Chapter that same year. Then began his year of 
 probation, or his novitiate, and the following year 
 he made his solemn profession. 
 
 The fact of the Fathers of Mount St. Agnes 
 agreeing to ask the dispensation of a rule shows 
 that they wished to retain Thomas at their convent, 
 and may be taken as a mark of their esteem. 
 
70 The Story of 
 
 plished much work in composing and in 
 transcribing. Some of the sermons which 
 he preached to the novices are to be found 
 among his works, and in the hiiitation 
 we find four chapters of the first book 
 addressed to monks. Having a quick 
 eye and a skilful hand, he accomplished 
 much in copying, having written out for 
 the use of his own monastery the Bible 
 in four volumes, a mass book, the prin- 
 cipal works of St. Bernard, besides making 
 copies of his own works. We have no 
 record of any illuminating having been 
 done by Thomas, though Mr. Bradley 
 thinks it possible that he might have done 
 some simple work. Illuminating formed, 
 however, one of the employments at the 
 monastery of St. Agnes, and among the 
 illuminators mentioned by Mr. Bradley 
 in his Dictionary of Miniaturists^ etc., is 
 a namesake of Thomas, though not a 
 relation, Thomas himself and his brother 
 John being entered as copyists. Thomas 
 attached great value to the work of the 
 copyists, as the following quotations from 
 his Condones will show : — 
 
 "To transcribe works which Jesus Christ 
 loves, by which the knowledge of Him 
 is diffused. His precepts taught, and the 
 practice of them inculcated, is a most 
 useful employment. If he shall not lose 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christir 71 
 
 his reward who gives a cup of cold water 
 to his thirsty neighbour, what will not be 
 the reward of those who, by putting good 
 works into the hands of those neighbours, 
 open to them the fountains of eternal life? 
 Blessed are the hands of our transcribers ! 
 Which of the writings of our ancestors 
 would now be remembered if there had 
 been no pious care bestowed in tran- 
 scribing them ? " * 
 
 For such work monasteries were neces- 
 sary, as, unless men had retired from the 
 world, the amount of labour done by the 
 transcribers could never have been accom- 
 pKshed. We should be grateful to the 
 monks not only for the preservation of 
 the Scriptures, but for the vast mass of 
 classical literature that might otherwise 
 have been lost. How otherwise could 
 have been saved the works of our own 
 early authors, such as Chaucer? 
 
 We feel that now the need for mona- 
 steries has passed, and naturally think that 
 Thomas's account of them as havens of 
 rest is exaggerated ; but we must remember 
 that in his day they were like oases in 
 the desert, for while all around was strife, 
 in them was calm and peace. He thus 
 writes : — 
 
 * Quoted by Kettlewell, i., 118. 
 
f2 The Story of 
 
 "A well-founded cloister separated from 
 the tumult of the world, adorned with 
 many Brethren and with sacred books, 
 is acceptable to God and to His saints. 
 Such a place, it is piously believed, is 
 pleasing to all that love God, and take 
 a delight in hearing the things of God : 
 because the cloister is the castle of the 
 Supreme King and the palace of the 
 Celestial Emperor prepared for the dwell- 
 ing of religious persons, where they may 
 faithfully serve God. . . . For this is 
 none other — as we read and sing of — than 
 the House of God in which to pray, the 
 Court of God to offer praise; the Choir 
 of God to sing unto Him; the Altar of 
 God wherein to celebrate; the Gate of 
 God whereby to enter Heaven ; the Ladder 
 of God to rise above the clouds. ... As 
 a noble city is preserved with walls and 
 gates and bars, so also is the monastery of 
 the religious with many devout Brethren, 
 with sacred books, and with learned men. 
 It is decorated with gems and precious 
 stones to the praise of God, and to the 
 honour of all His saints, who now rejoice in 
 Heaven with Him, because they followed 
 in the footsteps of His passion on earth." * 
 
 * Doctrinale, VII. 2, as quoted by Kettlewell, 
 i., 424-28. 
 
the " Imitatio Christi." 7 3 
 
 The Augustinians were more favourable 
 to mysticism than any of the other orders 
 of monks, which may be the cause of Gerard 
 choosing the rule of St. Augustine, which 
 is as follows, according to Kettlewell (vol. 
 i., p. 442) :— 
 
 " I. To observe the fundamental law 
 of love ; first towards God, then towards 
 our neighbour, according to its just extent, 
 and to imitate the example of the Mother 
 Church of Jerusalem in union of heart, 
 and sharing with others the goods we 
 possess. 
 
 "2. To learn the lesson of humiHty, 
 according to the most perfect pattern set 
 forth in the life of Christ, and in that of 
 His nearest and most faithful followers; 
 and especially in this, that the greatest 
 among them should be as the youngest, 
 and he that is chief as he that doth serve. 
 
 " 3. To observe carefully the stated or 
 canonical hours and times of prayer ; and 
 to prepare both body and soul for it by 
 due retirement, meditation, and fasting. 
 
 " 4. To take care that the soul and the 
 body be both fed at the same time, by 
 a prudent appointment of some spiritual 
 entertainment at meals, as by reading 
 some sacred book, or by a conference on 
 holy matters, or by singing some devout 
 songs or canticles. 
 
74 The Story of 
 
 "5. To take charge of the sick and 
 infirm wherever they be found, and so 
 far as we are capable, and to do them 
 all the service in our power for their 
 bodily and spiritual welfare. 
 
 "6. To be without any affectation or 
 singularity in dress, and in all other 
 externals of life ; and to regard above all 
 things the acquisition of internal purity, 
 and the fashioning our lives into a con- 
 formity to the will of God. 
 
 " 7. Humbly and affectionately to give 
 and receive fraternal correction and ad- 
 monition from one another, meekly to 
 confess our faults one to another, gladly 
 to submit ourselves to the reproof or 
 chastisement of our superiors, and reso- 
 lutely keep up the true discipline of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 '' 8. To do all we possibly can for the 
 general good and interest of the com- 
 munity ; to be diligent in our duties and 
 callings, never to be idle, or to wander 
 curiously about, and to be content with 
 the distribution of the common funds, 
 though not altogether so favourable to 
 ourselves as might be expected. 
 
 " 9. Not to neglect outward cleanliness 
 and decency, but to look to the due dis- 
 charge of outward things for the sake of 
 the inward, and to take proper care of 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 7 5 
 
 the body for the sake of the soul both in 
 health and sickness. 
 
 "10. To be obedient to our Superior 
 for God's sake, to faithfully and kindly 
 observe our relative duties towards the 
 other members of the Society, to be ready 
 to ask pardon and to forgive offences in 
 the spirit of Christ our Lord, but not so 
 as to weaken authority." 
 
 Such were the rules to which Thomas 
 a Kempis was willing to submit, and such 
 rules seem to breathe the same spirit as 
 the Imitatmi. 
 
 Before taking the vows he had to re- 
 nounce the world ; * he would then sign 
 the deed of his profession, which was as 
 follows : " In the name of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. In the year of His birth 
 T406, and on the day of the Sacrament, 
 I, Thomas of Kempen, do hereby profess 
 my stedfast resolve, and the conversion of 
 my ways, and obedience according to the 
 rule of St. Augustine, before God and the 
 whole heavenly court, in the presence of the 
 Reverend Father John and other Fathers 
 and Brethren of this congregation of 
 Canons Regular, under the aforesaid rule. 
 In surety thereof I have hereunto sub- 
 
 * The beautiful form used will be found in 
 Kettlewell, Thomas h Kempis, etc., vol. ii., p. 19. 
 
y6 TJte Story of 
 
 scribed my own hand with the year and 
 day above written." The mass was said 
 when he received the Sacrament, and 
 after this he had to say three times, " Re- 
 ceive me, O Lord, according to Thy loving 
 kindness; O let me not be disappointed 
 of my expectation." After some more 
 versicles and the Lord's Prayer, he had 
 to say three times the usual oath binding 
 himself to perpetual continence, poverty, 
 and obedience to the Prior and his 
 successors. 
 
 After the conclusion of the service he 
 received the kiss of peace from the Prior 
 and from each of the Brethren in the choir. 
 
 We see by his life and writings that 
 Thomas considered this no mere form of 
 words, and that he meant to abide by 
 them in the letter and in the spirit. He 
 accepted religion in such a happy and 
 cheerful spirit that his asceticism — for he 
 was a real ascetic — seems little to have 
 affected his nature, since he w^as never 
 carried into extremes, as Henry Suso and 
 some others had been. 
 
 His abstinence did not affect his health. 
 He thoroughly beHeved in discipline, for 
 not only does he practise it himself, but 
 he recommends this virtue in his great 
 work, as also in his Life of a Good Monk, 
 where he writes — 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 77 
 
 " Bear violence patiently. 
 Be silent that thou mayst be wise. 
 Govern thy manners, cover thy ears. 
 Every day, every hour, 
 Resign thyself without delay." 
 
 A uniform tranquillity and complete 
 peace of mind seemed natural and habitual 
 to him ; he was by no means narrow- 
 minded, for as in the Imitation we find, 
 a breadth of tolerance, so in one of his 
 Condones he says : " Jesus is not always 
 to be found where we seek Him, but often 
 where we least expect to find Him. Jesus 
 Himself was at one time unknown to the 
 multitude, and few perceived who He was 
 and how great He was." 
 
 In his Valley of Lilies he recommends 
 moderation as one of the most beautiful 
 virtues, and, like mystics in general, he 
 derives " all good from love, and all evil 
 from its absence." He carefully distin- 
 guishes between knowledge and wisdom. 
 The former is useless unless supported by 
 wisdom. He believes, however, that study 
 is necessary to attain this wisdom, for not 
 only does he call for a blessing on those 
 who are the means of spreading knowledge, 
 but he seems to pronounce a curse on 
 those who despise it. He says, " Woe to 
 the priest who is unlearned and without 
 the sacred books ; he is often a cause of 
 
yS The Story of 
 
 error to himself and to others. A priest 
 without holy books is like a soldier with- 
 out arms, a horse without a bridle, a ship 
 without a rudder, a writer without pens, 
 or a bird without wings." * He speaks also 
 of the uselessness of a monastery without 
 books. Though usually calm in his 
 demeanour, he occasionally rose into en- 
 thusiasm, as it is said by one writer that 
 " when he prayed his face was as if full of 
 light ; he stood as if only the points of his 
 feet touched the ground, as if his whole 
 body wished to fly up to heaven, where 
 his desire was centred." 
 
 His outward appearance corresponded 
 with the gentleness of his inner nature. 
 He had a broad forehead and thoughtful 
 face ; his eyes were bright, and in spite of 
 incessant use they retained their acuteness 
 to extreme old age. 
 
 Few facts need mention in a life 
 passed in quietness and peace. He was 
 chosen sub-prior in 1425, an office he held 
 but a short time, for soon after a quarrel 
 took place over the election of the Arch- 
 bishop of Utrecht, which resulted in the 
 country being laid under an interdict, and 
 himself and his companions driven from 
 their monastery. During this exile he 
 
 * Quoted by Bohringer. 
 
tJie " Lnitatio Christie 79 
 
 heard of his brother's illness, and hastened 
 to comfort and nurse him. For fourteen 
 months he was constantly beside John, 
 attending assiduously to his wants until 
 his death, in his sixty-seventh year, a.d. 
 1432. In the meantime the Brethren had 
 returned to their monasteries, the Papal 
 Interdict being removed, and as Thomas 
 was absent they had chosen another sub- 
 prior. When Thomas came back he took 
 his place among them again as a simple 
 monk. Soon after the Procurator died, 
 and Thomas was chosen for this office, 
 but he did not feel himself fit for this 
 bursarship, as it required knowledge of 
 temporal affairs, and with these he was 
 not very conversant, so that he resigned 
 in a very short time. In 1448 the Prior 
 died and the sub-prior was advanced to 
 his office, when Thomas was elected sub- 
 prior a second time, and this post he held 
 until he quietly passed away, a.d. 147 i, in 
 his ninety-first year, surrounded by loving 
 hearts and willing hands, as he had gained 
 the love of all. That he had gained their 
 respect is shown by the way he is spoken 
 of by his contemporaries, and by the fact 
 of his having been asked to write the lives 
 of his friends. In dying he left to the 
 world a legacy in his writings, especially 
 in the Imitation^ which is described by 
 
8o TJie Story of 
 
 Franciscus Tolensis as "those sentences 
 which, having been drawn from the 
 ancients, we have examined and certified 
 as by Thomas." This Franciscus Tolensis 
 who was a Canon Regular, and lived at 
 Mount St. Agnes, wrote the life of 
 Thomas, as he says, "for the love and 
 reverence he had for him, and because 
 through him the monastery had become 
 famous." Hardenberg, in his Life of 
 Wessel, also says that many were drawn 
 to this monastery by the fame of Thomas. 
 In the Munich Library is a MS. {Cod. 
 Monac, 351, A. 163) which is supposed 
 to be written by Hardenberg, in which 
 he says that he was shown by the monks 
 many writings of that most pious man 
 Thomas a Kempis ; there were with many 
 others that golden work De Imitatione 
 Christi. We have seen how he was 
 loved and admired by his contemporaries. 
 Since then he has been loved through 
 and for his work, and he is worthy of all 
 honour, for what he taught that he practised. 
 As Mr. Kettle well writes : * " He shows us 
 how the life of a Christian in ordinary cir- 
 cumstances may be made lovely by the 
 cultivation of the spiritual Hfe; how a 
 lowly life may become sublime and 
 
 * Thomas a Kempis, etc., i., 38. 
 
the " Lnitatio Christie 8i 
 
 heavenly, very near and like unto Christ, 
 and that however humble and retired our 
 lot in the world may be, however insigni- 
 ficant and unnoticed among men we be, 
 we may, if we will, like him rise by the 
 grace of God to a much higher elevation 
 in holiness of life and devotion to Christ 
 than is to be usually found." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 Other Works of Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 "The voice of books is indeed one, but it 
 teacheth not all men alike." — I?nit, III. 43. 
 " Make me ever busy in good work." 
 
 —Iniit. III. 55. 
 
 T is often said that the writings 
 of Thomas a Kempis are weak, 
 and quite unworthy of the hand 
 of the writer of the Imitation. 
 Although there is some truth in such a 
 statement, there are many people who 
 hold that it could hardly be made by any 
 one who had read and studied them ; in 
 fact, that the supposed weakness of these 
 writings is greatly exaggerated. 
 
 The Abbe Migne speaks highly of 
 them. He writes that "in his minor 
 works, Thomas always shows himself as 
 the paternal master of the novices, and 
 this is what gives them such a charm. 
 With the canon of Zwolle, the mystic life 
 is everywhere the aim and the supreme 
 
The ^^ Imitatio Christi" 83 
 
 goal. He will not speak much of action, 
 because he treats all as children ; but as 
 soon as he feels that he is not kept back 
 by the necessity of instruction, he breaks 
 out into hymn more and more ; the poem 
 then becomes as a parable to teach one 
 to live according to the precepts, and to 
 help one to retain it in one's memory; 
 after which it turns to prayer, mounting 
 to God, as in his Soliloquy of the Soul, 
 which he wrote for his own edification." 
 
 Bohringer, the Church historian, after 
 claiming " the De Imitatione as the cul- 
 minating point of all his treatises, for it 
 is the highest, richest, and purest of all," 
 acknowledges that " the other works are 
 inferior in merit and beauty;" but he 
 adds, " nevertheless we find there a multi- 
 tude of parallels and of harmonies that 
 may be called the material — the stones of 
 construction which have been employed to 
 build the grand edifice of the Lnitationr'^^ 
 Of the merit of these writings, the emi- 
 nent religious archaeologist, Father Kraus, 
 thinks so highly, that he commenced an 
 edition of them,t in the preface to which 
 he says : " Since the works of the Vene- 
 
 * Kirche Christi, p. 700. 
 
 f Thomce a Kempis Opera Omnia, Recogn, F. 
 X, Kraus, i. Opuscula, iSmo. Treves, 1868. 
 
84 The Story of 
 
 rable Thomas a Kempis have been for 
 many years a delight to me, a recreation 
 in a wonderful manner among the graver 
 studies and troubles of life, I often grieved 
 that, although the Imitation was in the 
 hands and mouths of almost all Chris- 
 tians, the other works of this author were 
 mostly unknown and neglected." Many 
 other writers have thought the same, and 
 have said that the study of them makes 
 one think more highly of the author, for 
 they often serve as a commentary to his 
 more famous work. It is, however, useless 
 to deny a certain inferiority in them to 
 the magnum opus. At the same time, 
 many are of considerable merits and in 
 them are to be found germs of thought 
 which have a complete expression in the 
 more famous treatise, as may be seen in 
 the following examples : — 
 
 In the Soliloguy the sentence, " Let the 
 fallacious glory of the world fly from me," 
 is better expressed in the Imitation by 
 " Let not the world and its brief glory 
 deceive me." " Teach me to give myself 
 to Thee before all things " in the former, 
 is " Give all to God, without whom man 
 has nothing " in the latter. " This is my 
 whole desire, that my heart may be united 
 to Thee," is not so terse, but has a greater 
 depth than " One thing is necessary, 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Chinstiy 85 
 
 that one thing I seek." The greatness 
 and importance of love is much spoken of 
 in the Imitation. "Bind me to Thyself 
 by the inseparable chain of love," is ren- 
 dered in the Soliloquy^ " Let me be joined 
 to God by the chain of intimate love ; " 
 and " In temptation and tribulation man 
 is proved how much he loves," by " It is 
 necessary that temptation should show- 
 how true is the virtue of love." 
 
 It is interesting to trace the same 
 thought, differently expressed, in several 
 of his works : " Love is sufficient of 
 itself" in the Soliloquy^ "Nothing is better 
 or more salutary than to love and praise 
 God " in the Valley of Lilies ; or " Love 
 unites the will of man with the will of 
 God " in the Sermons to Novices^ becomes, 
 in the Imitation^ " If thou seekest nothing 
 else than the will of God and the good of 
 thy neighbour, thou shalt have internal 
 liberty."* The same idea that is ex- 
 pressed in the Sermons^ " It is not the 
 hood that makes the monk, for that can 
 be worn by an ass," is certainly better 
 rendered in the Imitation as " The wear- 
 ing of a religious habit, and the shaving 
 of the crown, do little profit, but change 
 of manners and perfect mortification of 
 
 * II. 4. 
 
86 The Story of 
 
 the passions make a true religious man."* 
 Ullman considers that the Hortulus 
 Rosarum is very little inferior to the 
 Imitation. We can see the resemblance 
 by these two sentences : " Solitude with 
 silence profits," and "The royal way of 
 coming to Christ is to conquer one's own 
 will," which are taken from it ; while 
 parallel passages from the Imitation are : 
 " In silence and rest the devout mind 
 profits, and learns the hidden things of 
 Scripture; "t and, "There is no other way 
 to Hfe and true internal peace than the 
 way of the holy cross and of daily self- 
 denial." + Some passages appear in the 
 Imitation word for word, as in others of 
 his works. Two of such passages appear 
 in his hymns, from which they must have 
 been quoted, as it is not probable that a 
 quotation from a prose writing could have 
 been inserted in a poem without alteration. 
 There are, in the Royal Library at 
 Brussels, two volumes of Thomas's works, 
 written by himself. The first is the 
 famous MS. of 1441, and contains thir- 
 teen treatises, the first four of which form 
 what we call the Imitation. The fifth opens 
 with a text from Psalm ii. 19, Vulgate 
 version, — "Learn discipline, lest the Lord 
 
 L 17. 1 1- 20. \ II. 12. 
 
the " Imitatio Christi" 87 
 
 be angry," serving as its key-note. In 
 the first chapter, the author shows the 
 necessity of discipHne, in the second its 
 difficulties, in the third that true con- 
 version consists not in the mere change 
 of dress, but in the real turning to God. 
 In chapters four to eight, discipline is 
 shown in its various forms; such as the 
 care of the heart and of inward reflection ; 
 on the care of what one hears, and on 
 labour as a means of improvement; on 
 solitude, and on public prayer. Next, 
 in chapters nine to twelve, are shown the 
 virtues springing from it ; and in chapters 
 thirteen to sixteen the aids to discipline. 
 
 The sixth treatise, which is an epistle 
 to a certain Canon Regular, bears so 
 close a resemblance to the Imitation in 
 its punctuation, rhyme, and rhythm, that 
 Gence — who was one of the strongest 
 of the advocates of the claim of the 
 Chancellor Gerson to the authorship of 
 that work — thinks that it was also written 
 by that statesman, notwithstanding that 
 this letter simply gives advice to a monk 
 concerning his duties. 
 
 The seventh depicts the spiritual life 
 that should accompany life in a cloister. 
 The eighth is a confession of weakness. 
 The ninth recommends humility, not 
 only as a duty but as a blessing. 
 
88 The Story of 
 
 In the tenth the author, after quoting 
 St. Paul, speaks of the necessity of morti- 
 fying the body, and shows from St. John 
 what peace is thereby gained. He con- 
 cludes with a prayer. 
 
 In the eleventh, resignation to the will 
 of God is recommended as the best 
 means of attaining a peaceful life. 
 
 There is a strong mystical feeling in the 
 twelfth, which is a meditation on raising 
 the mind to heavenly things, and thereby 
 attaining the highest good. 
 
 The thirteenth and concluding treatise 
 is a short admonition for spiritual exer- 
 cises, in order to rise from the outward 
 form to the inward feeling; from the 
 lower to the higher, from the bodily to 
 the spiritual nature ; for which purpose 
 three things are necessary to every devout 
 person — prayer, reading, and work. They 
 are to be exercised at first by oneself 
 alone, and then with others, "until the 
 choir becomes as a paradise." 
 
 It will be observed that all the treatises 
 in this volume are of a similar nature, 
 with nothing special in the first four to 
 distinguish them from the others in the 
 volume. There is the same spirit, the 
 same style, also the same rhythm, and 
 although the twelfth is not so practical as 
 the others, there is nothing uncommon in 
 
the " Imitatio Christ H' 89 
 
 the meditations of a mystic becoming a 
 little ecstatic; but there can be little doubt 
 in the mind of the unprejudiced reader that 
 they are all composed by the same writer. 
 In fact, in an ordinary case there could have 
 been no dispute about the matter. The 
 author writes one tract after another, and 
 after concluding the volume makes a list 
 of its contents, mentioning the thirteen 
 treatises one after the other with no other 
 observation ; and then at the end of the 
 little volume he adds, "completed and 
 finished." He did not say he had written 
 and composed them, as ama nesciri was 
 the motto of the author, and every one 
 who then used the work would know who 
 was the author. The style adopted by 
 Thomas a Kempis in his treatises is con- 
 cise, the sentences are written like pro- 
 verbs, and they abound in assonances with 
 occasional rhyme and rhythm, breaking 
 occasionally into prayers and ejaculations. 
 The second volume from the pen of 
 Thomas was completed in 1456. It con- 
 tains thirteen sermons and meditations, 
 many passages of which resemble the 
 l77iitatio7i. We quote two passages to 
 show this resemblance. One : "Thou 
 must study from thy whole heart to con- 
 form thyself to Him," is Hke to one in 
 the first chapter of the Imitation : "He 
 
90 The Story of 
 
 that wishes to fully understand the words 
 of Christ must study to conform his whole 
 life to Him." The other: ''Who is fit to 
 enter the kingdom of heaven ? He who 
 despises the kingdom of the world," is 
 almost identical with " This is the highest 
 wisdom, to strive for the heavenly kingdom 
 by despising the world." Besides these 
 sermons and meditations there are a few 
 small tracts. The style in the sermons 
 differs from that of the treatises in being 
 more rhetorical and full of pictures, among 
 which the author likes to speak of the 
 flowers. Some virtues are likened to the 
 red roses in the garden of Jesus, others 
 to the white Hlies which are " planted in 
 the valley of humility by the Lord Jesus, 
 and are sweetly watered by the dew of His 
 Spirit." The style of the Meditations is 
 considered by Bohringer to be " naive, 
 charming, and thoughtful." A third volume 
 from the pen of Thomas a Kempis is in 
 the University of Louvain. It contains the 
 thirty sermons to Novices and the life of 
 St. Lydewig. This MS. is partly of paper 
 and partly of parchment, and is of great 
 interest, as in several places the author has 
 pasted strips of paper or parchment over 
 the original writing, on which strips he 
 has written alterations of the original, 
 thus showing the design of the author to 
 
the " Imitatio Christi!' 91 
 
 make a new edition, especially as there are 
 leaves inserted in various parts of the MS. 
 For the various other works of Thomas 
 we have not the originals, and must there- 
 fore trust to copies. A copy of the Soli- 
 loquium Am7?ice, a work in twenty-four 
 chapters, very little inferior to the Ifnifa- 
 tion, is in Brussels, and this MS. has all 
 the peculiarities of punctuation, rhyme, 
 etc., which are found in the latter work. 
 The title of the first chapter, " On the 
 Desire of a Soul Seeking God," gives an 
 apt description of the whole work. This 
 work has often been translated, and has 
 been placed sometimes as a fourth book 
 to the Imitation instead of the original 
 fourth (or third in the Brussels MS.), 
 on the Eucharist, which is rather ob- 
 noxious to some extreme Protestants. 
 Next to the Imitation this is the best 
 known of Thomas's works. We give a 
 passage from it to compare with one m 
 the Imitation. " Let him who loves re- 
 joice ; but let him fear who does not 
 love," is rendered in the Imitation : " He 
 that loveth God with all his heart is neither 
 afraid of death, nor of punishment, nor of 
 judgment, nor of hell, for perfect love gives 
 secure access to God " (I. 24). Hirsche 
 gives an account of this work, saying that 
 it forms three divisions, the first of which 
 
92 TJie Story of 
 
 shows the soul seeking God and ponder- 
 ing the unavoidableness of the Divine 
 judgment. The second division points to 
 the sinners who boast of their sins, not 
 considering their latter end. Their pre- 
 sent position and future state are described, 
 on which follows an exhortation to repent- 
 ance. The third returns to the soul seek- 
 ing God again, as the result of pondering 
 the Divine judgment, in an earnest looking 
 on death and a prayer for strength to 
 repent, which is the preparation for a 
 happy death. One of the treatises pre- 
 viously mentioned, On the Elevation of 
 the Mindj resembles it, as does also the 
 tl^ird book of the Imitation. 
 
 We have mentioned the resemblance of 
 passages of the Soliloquy to the Imitation. 
 We now quote three more : — 
 
 ' * Love and prefer the " If it be to Thy 
 
 glory of God in all honour, let it be done." 
 things." Imit., III. 15. 
 
 "Teach me to give *'Give all to God, 
 
 myself to Thee before without whom man has 
 
 all things." nothing." 
 
 Imit., III. 7. 
 "He who has the grace * ' Strengthen me with 
 
 of spiritual strength can heavenly courage, lest 
 
 subjugate more quickly the old man, the miser- 
 
 the sinful movements of able flesh not yet subject 
 
 the flesh." to the spirit, get the 
 
 Soliloquy. upper hand." 
 
 Iniit.. III. 20. 
 
the " Imitatio Christi" 93 
 
 The Garden of Roses and the Valley of 
 Lilies are next in importance. They are 
 inferior to the Soliloquy^ and as they are 
 more especially intended for the monks, 
 they are much less read. They resemble 
 one another, and also the other works 
 which we have previously described. The 
 following passages from the Garden of 
 Roses will show the kind of sentences 
 found there. 
 
 " Reading about God is good, prayer to 
 God is better, but working for God is best." 
 
 " Blessed is he who orders all his words 
 and all his deeds to the praise of God." 
 
 " Where there is peace and concord 
 there is God and all good things. Where 
 there is strife and dissension there is the 
 devil and all evil. Conquer pride and 
 you will find great peace." 
 
 "It is delightful to hear good things, 
 but it is more praiseworthy to labour for 
 them." 
 
 The following is almost identical with 
 one in the Imitation : — 
 
 "Christ has many lovers and compa- 
 nions of His table, but few followers of 
 His abstinence," is as it stands in the 
 Hortulus, VII. 
 
 "Jesus finds many companions of His 
 table, few of His abstinence," in the Imi- 
 tation, II. 
 
94 ^-^^ Story of 
 
 In the Valley of Lilies is a chapter 
 recommending the reading of Scripture : 
 " Read freely the canonical Scriptures : 
 and attend to the expositions of the 
 learned with diligence, and try to under- 
 stand." 
 
 " God attends more to the compunction 
 of heart than to the clamour of a loud 
 voice," is in a chapter on prayer. When 
 speaking of the Divine consolation in 
 tribulation, the author says : " Unless it 
 was useful and healthy for our souls to 
 suffer and to be troubled in the world 
 God would not permit it." 
 
 One of the treatises is in the Three 
 Tabernacles, which are meant to be sym- 
 bols of Poverty, HumiHty, and Patience. 
 It is supposed to be an early production, 
 being in places rather fanciful. This is 
 one of the works which in parts is 
 childish, and gives rise to the idea that 
 the author of such a work could not be 
 the author of the Imitation. We must, 
 however, acknowledge that the author of 
 this last work has no humour, and such 
 men fail often to see the difference 
 between childishness and childlikeness. 
 A modern instance of such a case is 
 exemplified by Victor Hugo, who at one 
 time writes in a tone of true pathos, 
 showing the highest genius ; while his 
 
the " Imitatio Christie g 5 
 
 admirers cannot deny that at other times 
 he sinks into bathos. There are, however, 
 some good passages in the treatise. Here 
 is one : " My peace is in much patience ; " 
 which resembles, "Thy peace will be in 
 much patience," from the Imitation^ III. 25. 
 
 There are several other minor religious 
 works, among which are his Sermons to 
 the Brethren^ in w^hich the author tries to 
 solve the question as to the right way of 
 spending our earthly life as a preparation 
 for the future heavenly one. It is pro- 
 bably an early work. 
 
 His chief historical works are the 
 Chronicle of Mouftt St. Agnes and the 
 eleven lives of brethren, the principal of 
 which are those of Gerard Groot and of 
 Florentius. These lives are of great in- 
 terest, from the passages in which the 
 author relates their sayings, sayings which 
 we find in the Imitation either in the same 
 form or with little variation. Bohringer 
 writes that in these biographies of the 
 great men of the Windesheim circle we 
 see " the ideas current in this circle, and 
 in them is the same spirit of proverbial 
 wisdom. This spirit has found its noblest 
 speaker in Thomas." 
 
 There are also a few poems from his 
 pen, principally hymns ; they are not of 
 a high class of poetry, but of interest from 
 
g6 TIic Story of 
 
 the rhythm having to be found in the 
 accentuation, and not in the quantity. 
 They are also interesting from the fact 
 of Thomas having made a quotation from 
 one of them in the Imitation ; and they 
 also give an idea of the sort of rhythm 
 which he favoured, and which is to be 
 seen from time to time in his longer work. 
 The following opinion of Duffield in his 
 Latin Hyinn Writers is of interest : — 
 
 " Most of his poetry lacks the inspira- 
 tion which characterizes his best prose. 
 He is a poet in prose and a prosy poet, 
 and writes in verse because he has been 
 required to fill up some empty place in 
 the hymn list of his monastery. His 
 acquaintance with the hymn-writer's art 
 is bounded by his daily familiarity with 
 the hymns of his breviary. But in this 
 hymn" (" Adstant angelorum chori") "on 
 the joys of heaven he, for once, struck 
 the right key, although even here he 
 shows some stiffness in his joints, like a 
 monk more used to a seat in the scrip- 
 torium than to the saddle of Pegasus." 
 
 Father Rosweyde, a good scholar, and 
 one of the chief students of the works of 
 a Kempis, says : "As a rose has the per- 
 fume of a rose, so also is the Imitation like 
 the other writings of Thomas a Kempis." 
 In order to show that it is so, and that, 
 
tJie " Imitatio Christie 97 
 
 as Dean Milman says, " these works are 
 absolutely the same in thought, in lan- 
 guage, and in style," we quote a chapter 
 of the Imitation^ and place beside it 
 passages from his other works. We have 
 chosen this chapter (Book I., chap, v.) 
 partly for its brevity, and partly to show 
 a passage from a sermon to the novices 
 which exhibits that weakness which is 
 supposed to pervade the works of Thomas. 
 We have taken these passages from a 
 little work of the late Father Gerlach,* 
 in which, after each chapter of the Imi- 
 tation, he gives considerationes from the 
 other works to illustrate it. 
 
 *'The truth is to be *' Whatever things are 
 sought for in the sacred written in the Old and 
 Scriptures, not in elo- New Covenant are 
 quence. All sacred Scrip- written to teach our 
 ture ought to be read in souls that we may serve 
 the same spirit in which God faithfully by hating 
 it was written. To seek evil, and by cleaving to 
 rather for profit in the God our highest happi- 
 Scriptures than for sub- ness, with a pure heart, 
 tlety of discourse. " whole and perfect here 
 
 and hereafter." 
 
 Valley of Lilies. 
 
 "Thus we ought to "The Word of God 
 read devout and simple and the doctrine of Christ 
 books as willingly as are the light of life, the 
 
 * Thomtz d, Kempis De Imitatione Christi libri 
 quatuor, et considerationes ex ceteris opusculis coll 
 et adj. H. Gerlach : i2mo, Freiburg, 1889. 
 
98 
 
 TJie Story of 
 
 salvation of the world, 
 the gate of heaven, food 
 for the soul, joy to the 
 heart of one loving God 
 above all things." 
 
 Dodrinah. 
 
 ' * The oftener one 
 hears and reads, and 
 attentively considers and 
 ponders on the Gospel 
 words, so much more 
 will one gain in virtues." 
 Sermon to Novices, 
 XXX. 
 
 "The word of man 
 passes away, but the 
 Word of God remains 
 eternal and unchange- 
 able." 
 
 On the Elevation of 
 the Soul. 
 
 "God speaks to us "Truth is not to be 
 in various ways vidthout despised, however simply 
 
 high and profound ones. 
 Let not the authority of 
 the Avriter offend thee, 
 whether he was of small 
 or great learning ; but 
 let the love of pure truth 
 draw thee to read. Do 
 not seek who has said 
 this, but attend to what 
 is said." 
 
 '* Men pass away, but 
 the truth of the Lord 
 endureth for ever (re- 
 mains for eternity)." 
 
 respect of persons. 
 
 "Our own curiosity 
 often hinders us in the 
 reading of the Scrip- 
 tures, when we wish to 
 understand and to dis- 
 cuss where we should 
 simply pass on. If you 
 wish to drink profitably 
 read humbly, simply, and 
 faithfully, nor ever wish 
 for the name of leam- 
 
 it is expressed. " 
 
 Garden of Roses. 
 
 "Study at first to 
 learn humbly, and to 
 perform little things, 
 and God will give thee 
 greater things to under- 
 stand more quickly if 
 it would be useful to 
 thee. He who knows 
 and reads many things, 
 if he does not do what 
 he has known and learnt, 
 
tlie '^ Iinitatio Christie 99 
 
 ing. Ask freely and departs emptyand hungry 
 hear quickly the words from a full table." 
 of the saints ; let not Garden of Roses, 
 
 the parables of the elders 
 displease thee, for they 
 were not produced with- 
 out cause." 
 
 *' A certain woman 
 who loved those things 
 which are God's, used 
 to visit frequently the 
 church, and to hear 
 freely the preaching of 
 the Word of God. Once, 
 when coming out oif 
 church, she was asked 
 what good she had re- 
 tained of the sermon. 
 Answering briefly, she 
 said, * I know not how 
 to tell you much ; but I 
 heard well, and retain 
 this, that I am unwilling 
 to sin.' She answered 
 well and prudently, as 
 she had carried with her 
 the fruit of a good dis- 
 course, that she should 
 sin no more. Hence 
 our Saviour in the Gos- 
 pel says to the devout 
 woman, ' Happy are 
 they who hear the Word 
 of God and keep it.' " 
 Sermon to Novices, 
 XXX. 
 
 It is to Sommalius that we must give 
 
100 Tlie " Imitatio Ckristi" 
 
 the credit of collecting the works together^ 
 and his edition, which first appeared in 
 Antwerp, was reprinted several times. 
 Dr. Hirsche has shown us that he is not 
 correct in all cases as to the genuineness of 
 some of the works, but it is the only edition 
 to which we can refer until Dr. Hirsche 
 publishes his, for which he has issued two 
 volumes of prolegomena. One proof that 
 these works of Thomas a Kempis were 
 highly valued is that the first book printed 
 in Holland was a volume of his Sermons. 
 With regard to translations, a little book, 
 called the Lesser Imitation^ gives a good 
 selection of the minor works ; it, unfortu- 
 nately, gives no reference to the places 
 from which the quotations are taken. The 
 Soliloquy of the Soul is to be had either 
 alone or with the Garden of Roses. 
 According to Dr. Cruise, there have been 
 published in Dublin translations of The 
 Valley of Lilies^ The Three Tabernacles^ 
 and Meditations under the title of The 
 Christian Traveller. The Garden of Roses 
 and the Manuale Paruulorum have also 
 been published, by Burns, Oates, & Co., 
 1888. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 Hirsche's Investigations. 
 
 "" We ask how much a man hath done : 
 Was he a good copyist, a good singer, a hard 
 worker?" — Imit. III. 31. 
 
 OMMALIUS was fully fitted to 
 edit a good edition of the works 
 of A Kempis. He was born 
 at Dinant in 1534, and entered 
 the Society of Jesus in 155 1, when he 
 was received by Ignatius Loyola himself. 
 He taught Greek for some time at Cologne, 
 and then helped to found a college at 
 Dinant, becoming its first rector, which 
 office he held until he was asked to go to 
 Douai. He died at Valenciennes in 161 9. 
 He made his edition from MSS. which 
 he procured himself, and it contains all 
 the works except the Chronicon Montis S. 
 Agnetisj which was published subsequently 
 by Rosweyde. Sommalius divided the 
 work into chapters, with headings in 
 
102 The Story of 
 
 accordance with the MSS., but paid no 
 attention to the pecuhar punctuation of 
 the author; and later, about 1600, he 
 divided the chapters into paragraphs as 
 he thought fit. 
 
 Dr. Carl Hirsche, of Hamburg, de- 
 siring to publish a fresh edition of these 
 works, began to study the MSS. for that 
 purpose, when he perceived that Somma- 
 lius had often spoiled the meaning of the 
 chapters by his arbitrary divisions, while 
 he thought he had found out what was the 
 author's own intention by remarking the 
 existence of a system of punctuation which 
 had been unnoticed by previous editors. 
 He has not yet commenced the publication 
 of the works themselves, though, as already 
 stated, he has brought out two volumes 
 of prolegomena,* in which he discusses 
 the merits of the various works and their 
 genuineness. He considered this punctua- 
 tion, which he discovered in all the works, 
 of so much importance that he edited an 
 edition of the Imitation^ arranged and 
 punctuated in accordance with the author's 
 copy of 1 44 1. This system of punctua- 
 tion is thus described by Dr. Ruelens, in 
 his preface to the facsimile edition of the 
 Imitation : — " The full stop followed by a 
 
 * Hirsche, Prolegomena, i., 1873 ; ii., 1883. 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Ckristi." 103 
 
 small capital; the full stop followed by 
 a large capital ; the colon followed by a 
 small letter ; the usual sign of interroga- 
 tion ; and lastly an unusual sign, the dtvis 
 or Jlexa used in the musical notation of 
 the period." It was in studying this that 
 Dr. Hirsche saw the importance of the 
 punctuation for the correct reading, as it 
 shows the proper pauses which should 
 be made ; the punctuation being more for 
 rhetorical than for grammatical use.* He 
 also found that there was thus produced a 
 peculiar rhythm, and in some parts rhyme, 
 which helps us to see a reason for apply- 
 ing to the Imitation the name of Musica 
 Ecdesiastica, by which it is designated in 
 the majority of MSS. in this country, and 
 in a few on the Continent ; a name also 
 given to it by a contemporary chronicler 
 (A. de But). 
 
 Dr. Hirsche thus describes the punc- 
 tuation :; — " In the Thomas Autograph a 
 system of punctuation is brought into use 
 which is especially rare in the Middle 
 Ages, and only used among the Brethren 
 of Common Life, and even among them 
 
 * In speaking of this punctuation, it is not in- 
 tended to say that such punctuation is wanting in 
 other works, for MSS. were often punctuated for 
 reading, as is our version of the Psalms, but not 
 so exactly as this. 
 
I04 TJie Story of 
 
 it is not the usual one, yet it is the only 
 one prevailing in all the undoubted 
 genuine works of Thomas, which are 
 written by himself."* 
 
 Dr. Hirsche discovered this punctuation 
 in several MSS. of the Imitation written 
 by other people, even in copies of single 
 books, as also in the other works of 
 Thomas, and in some works of other 
 writers that have been bound up with 
 them. Among other works with this 
 system of punctuation are two copies of 
 the Vulgate and Busch's Windesheim 
 Chronicle. In the University Library of 
 Ghent there is a MS. of the Soliloquium, 
 in which the last three chapters have this 
 punctuation, while the first twenty-two use 
 a different system. 
 
 That the punctuation is of importance 
 is seen by the fact that by it errors, which 
 were not in the older versions, and which 
 have been made by several translations of 
 modern times, can be corrected. 
 
 Hirsche points out as a specimen the 
 passage in the eleventh chapter of the 
 fourth book — " Here are the two tables 
 set on the one side and on the other ; " 
 a stop now comes, and then, " in the trea- 
 sury." In most translations the passage 
 
 * Vol. i., page 92. 
 
the '' Imitatio Chnsli!' 105 
 
 has no stop, but runs on, which seems 
 natural, but it is not in accordance with 
 the meaning of the author, which was 
 that both tables were in the treasury. 
 
 In the Wolfenbiittel Library there is a 
 MS. which contains, among several reli- 
 gious treatises of Thomas, the medita- 
 tions of a Carthusian called Guigo. In 
 this tract the scribe has followed the 
 system of punctuation which was used 
 in the other treatises, but notwithstand- 
 ing the simplicity of the style he has 
 not been able to avoid making many 
 errors. 
 
 "That the author of the Lnitation 
 wished to rhyme," writes Hirsche, " is 
 shown in the plainest manner in many 
 places by the sequence of the words 
 chosen by him."* Silbert (Vienna, 1828) 
 notices the great preference shown for 
 poetical sounds, a fact perceived by Ull- 
 man, Bohringer, and other German 
 writers. Duffield speaks of the Imitation 
 as a " Christian poem, not only in sub- 
 stance, but in form." Even Mons. Tamizey- 
 Larroque, an opponent of the claims of 
 Thomas, speaks of his mania for writing 
 rhymed prose as an objection to his being 
 the author of the Imitation^ not perceiving 
 
 * Vol. i., page 124. 
 
io6 TJie Story of 
 
 that the same thing occurs in it. This may 
 be plainly seen in the edition by Hirsche, 
 in which the lines are divided, arranged, 
 and punctuated in accordance with the 
 Brussels MS. of 144 1. In the Chronicon 
 Montis St. Agnetis many rhymes are to 
 be found, as also in the works of Bona- 
 ventura, of St. Bernard, and in those of 
 the St. Victors, as well as in some other 
 Middle Age authors, especially in such 
 works as were intended for popular 
 religious edification. 
 
 Amongst such works are to be men- 
 tioned the Sequences, one of which is 
 quoted by Mr. Kettlewell in his Thomas a 
 Kempis, etc., vol. i., page 335, and the 
 most famous of which is the Stabat Mater 
 of Jacobo di Todi, so well known to us 
 by the music of Rossini. The famous 
 Dies IrcB is also one. " All Sequences,'^ 
 says Schulting, in his Bibliotheca Ecclesi- 
 astical " are wanting in the law of metre, 
 and are therefore also called proses. 
 However, they are mostly called Se- 
 quences, as they follow the melody which 
 is in the Alleluiah." The Gradual was a 
 portion of a psalm sung after the Epistle, 
 which was followed by an Alleluiah, the 
 last syllable of which was repeated and 
 lengthened in order to give the priest time 
 to pass from the altar, where he had read 
 
the '' Iinitatio Christie 107 
 
 the Epistle, to the rood-loft, from which in 
 olden times the Gospel was read, as is 
 mentioned in the Sarum Missal ; and it 
 was to give words for the meaningless 
 "ah" that the Sequence was invented. 
 The credit of this invention is generally 
 given to Notker, Abbot of St. Gallen, 
 though he can hardly have been the first 
 to use it, as he mentions finding one him- 
 self in a monastery. These Sequences 
 were in rhythm, but usually had little or 
 no rhyme. There were said to have been 
 between thirty and one hundred in use 
 in Germany before the Council of Trent, 
 though the numbers had been limited, 
 first at the Council of Cologne and then 
 at the Council of Rheims. There are 
 now only five in the Roman Missal, and 
 these are in use only on special occasions, 
 since they are no more needed, as the 
 priest does not now leave the altar to read 
 the Gospel.* 
 
 In the Imitation the rhythm is also of 
 more importance than the rhyme, as — 
 
 *' Nihil dulcius est amore ? 
 Nihil fortius, 
 Nihil altius nihil latius, 
 
 * In the fifth volume of Daniel's Thesaurus is 
 an essay on Sequences by Rev. J. M. Neale, who 
 also published a volume of Sequences, as well as 
 wrote some in English. 
 
io8 The Story of 
 
 Nihil jucundius nihil plenius nee melius 
 
 in caelo et in terra ? 
 Quia amor ex Deo natus est." 
 
 -III. 5. 
 
 And again — 
 
 *' Sterna qucerere, 
 Sterna sapere ; 
 honores fugere, 
 scandale sufferre? 
 omnem spem in me ponere, 
 extra me nil cupere : 
 et super omnia me ardenter amare." 
 
 -HI. 43. 
 
 In the first of these we see the repeti- 
 tion of the word nihil^ a repetition which 
 is a peculiarity of Thomas a Kempis, both 
 in the Liiitation and in his other works. 
 In the twenty-fourth chapter of the first 
 book we have the word Tunc repeated 
 seventeen times, and in the seventh chap- 
 ter of the fourth book Tatti is repeated 
 thirty-seven times. In a chapter of the 
 De laude Bonce congregationis, quoted by 
 Father Becker, to show the rhythm, the 
 word ibi is repeated forty-four times. 
 
 *' Ibi invenit quod timet : 
 ibi habet quod diligit : 
 et sic ex omnibus proficit. 
 Ibi alterius correptio, 
 ejus fit admonitio. 
 Ibi alienum periculum 
 proprium efficitur speculum." 
 
the *^ Imitatio Christi" 109 
 
 Mr. Addis tells us in his Catholic 
 Dictionary that the Carthusians and 
 Cistercians were praised for not using the 
 Sequences in their services; but may 
 they not have used them on other occa- 
 sions? Kettlewell quotes the case of a 
 Sequence being sung at the deathbed of 
 a brother ; may not parts of the Imitation 
 have seemed to them suitable for such 
 times, and have been adopted by them 
 for singing, as it is in MSS. belonging 
 to Carthusian houses that we mostly find 
 the name Musica Ecclesiastica ? They were 
 among the first outside the Windesheim 
 circle to have copies, as friendly relations 
 were maintained between the two orders, 
 since it was to the Carthusians that Gerard 
 Groot owed his conversion, though he 
 thought a simple rule, such as the Augus- 
 tinian, fitted for his followers. As the 
 book was not only anonymous, but also 
 without a title, they would probably be 
 induced by its rhythm and rhyme to give 
 it the name of Church Music ; while others, 
 not heeding the music, would call it by 
 the heading of its first chapter, which has 
 remained the general title ever since. 
 
 Hirsche has studied carefully many 
 MSS., and the result of his examina- 
 tions has been that the best MSS. are 
 those which are most like the Thomas 
 
1 1 o The Story of 
 
 Autograph, and that these are the 
 MSS. which have come from German 
 and Dutch monasteries, and have been 
 written by members of the Brothers of 
 Common Life, or by monks in sympathy 
 with them, and that the MS. itself is 
 invaluable. This codex is written with 
 extraordinary care, as Rosweyde observes 
 that "it would be difficult to find in it 
 a single fault." However, Hirsche dis- 
 covered that there were erasures here and 
 there, and that in many places single words 
 are marked out ; that often the arrange- 
 ment of the words is altered by signs; 
 that words originally omitted are written 
 above or in the margin; yet, notwith- 
 standing all these improvements, which 
 were the result of repeated careful super- 
 vision, the whole MS. is a true model 
 of correctness. There seems to be no 
 doubt that these are the improvements 
 of the original writer, and as this writer 
 was a perfect scribe, and one who had 
 a reputation for his exactness, he must 
 have been the author as well, for Thomas \ 
 Kempis, who was known to be thoroughly 
 modest, was most unlikely to alter the 
 work of another. This MS. also shows 
 many signs of having been much used, 
 which led Hirsche to think that it had 
 been the author^s constant companion. 
 
the " Imitatio Christi" III 
 
 and, therefore, of the highest importance 
 in settHng any question of arrangement, 
 or of correctness of the text. 
 
 Two translations have lately appeared, 
 both anonymous, and both following 
 Hirsche's version ', one issued by the 
 Christian Knowledge Society, which only 
 follows the arrangement into paragraphs ; 
 the other published by Mr. Elliot Stock, 
 which is metrical, thus in accordance with 
 the sentence of Adrian de But, the Qui 
 sequitur in metre. A third translation 
 has also appeared, not only in metre, but 
 in rhyme, by Dean Carrington. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Controversy. 
 
 " Be equipped for the fight if thou wilt have the 
 victory. 
 Without conflict thou canst not attain unto the 
 crown of patience." — Imit. III. 19. 
 
 HE question naturally occurs, 
 Why should any dispute have 
 arisen concerning the author- 
 ship of the Imitation^ considering 
 the strong claims of Thomas a Kempis ? 
 
 Several causes led to it ; but the anony- 
 mity of the majority of the MSS., and 
 the zeal for the honour of their order felt 
 by many monks, were the two principal 
 ones. 
 
 As acknowledged by Mabillon, Thomas 
 was almost universally considered the 
 author until 1604, in which year there 
 appeared a work by Don Pedro Man- 
 riquez, in which it was asserted that in the 
 Condones^ a work of Bonaventura's, there 
 were quotations from the Imitation^ and 
 
TJie " Imitatio Christi" 113 
 
 " a devout little book, De Imitatione^^^ was 
 even mentioned in it by name. Now if 
 this was true, and if the work was really 
 by Bonaventura, the Imitation could not 
 have been written by A Kempis, as he 
 lived more than a hundred years later 
 than the " seraphic doctor." It was, how- 
 ever, subsequently found out that the 
 Condones was not the work of that divine, 
 but of a much later writer, whose writings 
 had been bound up with them. However, 
 doubt as to the authorship had thereby 
 been instilled into the minds of some, 
 and the discovery by Father Rossignoli of 
 the Arona MS., which was undated, and 
 bore the names of the Abbe John Gesen 
 as the author of the first book, of the 
 Abbe John Gessen and John Gersen of 
 the fourth, opened a controversy which 
 is apparently endless. As the College 
 of the Jesuits at Arona, where the MS. 
 was discovered, had previously been 
 a Benedictine abbey, Father Rossignoli 
 jumped to the conclusion that this MS. 
 must have been written by a Benedictine, 
 and that it was a relic from the old Bene- 
 dictine Library, instead of making proper 
 researches, when he would have found 
 that the MS. was presented to the Jesuit 
 Library by Father Maggioli, who brought 
 it from Genoa in 1574. Canon Santini 
 
 8 
 
114 ^/^^ Story of 
 
 observes that if the truth regarding this 
 MS. and regarding the work attributed to 
 Bonaventura could have been made known 
 immediately, no controversy would have 
 arisen ; but the letter of Father Rosweyde, 
 who wrote from Antwerp in 1615, arrived 
 too late, and consequently the myth of a 
 Benedictine Gersen arose, a myth which still 
 has supporters in Italy, though scarcely any- 
 where else. The Lnitation having appeared 
 anonymously, and even without a title, — 
 ania nesciri being the motto of the Augus- 
 tinian canons, — many MSS. had no name 
 attached to them, and some received any 
 name which the copyist fancied, such as 
 that of one of the most famous men known 
 to him ; and as the Chancellor Gerson was 
 then one of the most prominent theolo- 
 gians, his name was consequently put to 
 many MSS. The names of St. Bernard, 
 Bonaventura, Kalkar, Frangois de Sales, 
 Thomas Aquinas, are all affixed to various 
 MSS. ; but, notwithstanding this, the ma- 
 jority of the early MSS. have the name of 
 Thomas \ Kempis. 
 
 Seven MSS. bear the name of St. Ber- 
 nard, who was considered the originator of 
 the mysticism of the Middle Ages ; and 
 between 1480 and 1500 as many as twelve 
 editions were printed as his — which was 
 not unnatural, when we consider how like 
 
tJic " Imitatio Christie 115 
 
 in spirit the hnitatio is to his writings. 
 Two MSS. have the name of Bonaventura, 
 as there was thought to be a resemblance 
 to his works. 
 
 As with the MSS. so with the early 
 printed copies — many printers put a 
 popular name to their edition to make it 
 sell ; but with these also the majority bear 
 the name of A Kempis, and two which 
 have the name of Gerson on the title 
 contain the information at the end of the 
 work that it is not really his, but that of 
 a Canon Regular. 
 
 Dr. Arthur Loth calculates that of the 
 supposed two hundred MSS., three-quarters 
 are German, France possessing only thirty- 
 two, and Italy twenty. If the author was 
 French or Italian, how is it that the 
 majority of MSS. are not in either of these 
 countries? In fact, all the dated MSS. 
 before 1450 are of German or Dutch 
 origin, with the exception of one at Padua, 
 dated 1436 ; and the majority of them 
 can be traced to houses connected with 
 Windesheim. It is not uncommon for 
 disputes to arise about the authorship of 
 other works ; even such a well-known work 
 as the Summa of Thomas Aquinas has 
 been attributed to other writers. 
 
 Zeal is not always united with discretion, 
 and the zeal which Dom Cajetan had for 
 
1 1 6 The Story of 
 
 his order,* the Benedictines, carried him 
 far when he invented the personage of an 
 abbot of VercelH called Gersen, whose 
 portrait he thought he had found in the 
 representation of a monk in the initial 
 letter of an undated MS., which is con- 
 sidered by all experts to be a late one of 
 the fifteenth century. The very existence of 
 such an abbot is mythical (notwithstanding 
 that a statue has been erected in his 
 honour), as he is not mentioned in the 
 List of Abbots of Vercelli, which was 
 drawn up by Mandelli in 1858, nor in the 
 archives of the Abbey of St. Stephen's. 
 And there is really nothing known of him. 
 He is said to have been born about 1180, 
 to have been a soldier for some years, to 
 have entered the order of the Benedictines 
 in 1 2 10, to have become Abbot of St. 
 Stephen's at Vercelli, to have filled a chair 
 of Canon Law, and have died about 1 245 ; 
 but not one of these supposed facts can 
 be proved, as there is no reliable authority 
 for any of them. 
 
 If this Gersen had written this book in 
 the beginning of the thirteenth century, 
 how can we account for the fact that there 
 
 * His zeal went so far as to claim Thomas 
 Aquinas as a Benedictine, and to say that the 
 Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola were only 
 a poor copy of a work by a Spanish Benedictine. 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 117 
 
 is no mention of the work, nor are there 
 any dated MSS. of it, in either the thir- 
 teenth or fourteenth century, while they 
 abound in the fifteenth ? The claims of 
 Gersen have been advanced from time to 
 time by Robert Quatremaire and various 
 Benedictines, but with little effect. All 
 their endeavours to induce Cardinal 
 Richelieu to put the name of their mythic 
 abbot to the edition of the Imitation 
 published by him failed to persuade that 
 statesman. 
 
 His claims were, however, supposed to 
 be considerably advanced by the advocacy 
 of Chevalier de Gregory, who, on finding 
 the De Advocatis MS., wished to assert its 
 great antiquity ; and in order to prove that 
 it was in existence in the thirteenth cen- 
 tury brought forward a Diarium of the 
 Avogrado family, in which it was stated 
 that the MS. belonged to them. It did 
 not, however, take much trouble to prove 
 that this Diarium was a forgery. Even 
 Mons. Renan, whose sympathies are with 
 Gersen, accuses the Chevalier of trop de 
 zlle. Herr Hirsche has carefully examined 
 this, as well as other MSS., and states 
 that the MS. itself is a very faulty one; 
 and this is proved by experts (for it is 
 undated) to be one of the latest, for 
 " while the initial letters retain the Gothic 
 
1 1 8 TJic Story of 
 
 type, the small ones are in the Italian 
 Renaissance of the fifteenth century; and, 
 what is still more interesting, it shows in 
 its capitals the transition from the Re- 
 naissance to the ugly mixture of the 
 Rococo. Father Becker, who has also 
 examined the question of MSS., agrees 
 with Hirsche, and adds that " there is ab- 
 solutely no proof that a single Italian MS. 
 is older than the second half of the fif- 
 teenth century,* while, as the De Medita- 
 tione Cordis is in this same codex, it could 
 not be older. The latest exponent of the 
 claims of Gersen is Wolfsgruber, but 
 though he has written an elaborate book 
 on his life and work in 268 pages, he can- 
 not fill more than fourteen with an account 
 of his life.t Archdeacon Farrar, in his 
 lecture on the Compa7iions of the Devout 
 Life, tersely sums up the case as follows : — 
 " Whose very existence is problematical, 
 and of whom, at any rate, we know nothing 
 whatever beyond the syllables of his name, 
 and whose claims, as founded on dubious 
 manuscripts, confused orthography, and 
 misread dates, may now be considered to 
 be set at rest." 
 
 * Precis Hisforiques, xxxviii., p. 146. 
 t Wolfsgruber (C.), G. Gersen^ seiii Leben ti. sein 
 Werk. 
 
tJie " luiitatio Christi." 119 
 
 The principal writers in his favour are 
 Father RossignoH, 1605 ; Cajetan, 1616 ; 
 Bellarmine, 1630 ; Mabillon, 1677 ; Gre- 
 gory, 1827 ; and Wolfsgruber, 1880. 
 
 The question of the authorship was 
 referred to the French parHament, but 
 after a careful examination of the whole 
 question they forbade in 1652 the printing 
 of the Imitation under the name of Gersen, 
 but permitted the Canons Regular to print 
 it under the name of Thomas a Kempis. 
 This was intended to settle the dispute 
 between the Benedictines and the Augusti- 
 nians, but alas ! the Benedictines still clung 
 to the claims of the supposed Gersen, 
 though it may now be said that scarcely 
 any one out of Italy besides these writers 
 could believe that it came from that 
 country. The resemblances to the writ- 
 ings of Dante and of Jacobo da Todi 
 are easily accounted for, as all were in- 
 spired from the same source, namely, the 
 Scriptures, while the language as well as 
 the testimony of the MSS. point to a 
 northern country as its birthplace. The 
 strongest opponents of the claims of 
 Gersen are they who favour those of the 
 great Chancellor Charlier de Gerson, the 
 grandest orator and politician of his day. 
 One of the ablest of these, Mons. Gence, 
 has written thirty-three works on the 
 
120 The Story of 
 
 subject ; in them he shows that all the 
 MSS. bearing the name of Gersen refer 
 to the Chancellor, and not to a mythical 
 person, as in those days no one was par- 
 ticular in spelling, and the title of Abb6 
 was applied indiscriminately to all ecclesi- 
 astics in France. It is also to be remarked 
 that two or more of these MSS. have 
 " Chanc. Paris " after the name, and one 
 " Doctor of Paris," and all the Italian 
 translations prior to 1500 bear the name 
 of the Chancellor. Four wTiters of con- 
 siderable ability have advocated his claims 
 — Mons. Labbe in 1653, Dupin in 1698, 
 Gence in 1809, and Darche in 1875. 
 Monsieur Tamizey-Larroque and M. Vert 
 have also written on the same side. It 
 was thought at one time that to produce 
 a chef d'ceuvre like the Imitation required 
 an author of acknowledged ability. As 
 the Chancellor undoubtedly was the fore- 
 most man of his age, it was on this account 
 attributed to him, especially as there is 
 some probability of his having introduced 
 the work into France, for having been the 
 advocate of the Brothers of Common Life 
 at the Council of Constance, the latter 
 would most likely have let him see the 
 work, as having been produced by one of 
 their order. 
 
 Another reason for imputing the author- 
 
the '' Imitatio Christie 12 1 
 
 ship of the Imitation to the French 
 Chancellor was that it was constantly 
 bound up with his Meditatio Cordis, and 
 as it was anonymous it might naturally 
 be supposed to be by the same author. 
 This was, however, even in France, never 
 the general opinion, and many knew that 
 it was written by Thomas a Kempis. 
 There was an edition of one of the oldest 
 French translations issued at Toulouse in 
 1488, in which it was said to be written by 
 St. Bernard, or another devout person. 
 
 That Gerson could have written the 
 Imitatioti is simply impossible, as its 
 author was certainly a monk, and wrote 
 for monks, while Gerson was not one, and 
 had no nearer connection with monasteries 
 than that his brother was the head of 
 one. Mons. Renan, in his Etudes dHiS' 
 toire Religieuse^ puts the case plainly 
 thus : — 
 
 "The. opinion which attributes to 
 Gerson the book of the Imitation is in all 
 points insupportable. The book does not 
 figure in the list of the Chancellor's writ- 
 ings drawn up by his own brother. A 
 personage so celebrated in his lifetime 
 could not, even if he wished, keep anony- 
 mous a book which became so quickly 
 famous, and in a century when publicity 
 was so extended. Besides, there is a 
 
122 The Story of 
 
 strange contrast between the rough school- 
 man whose Hfe was filled with many 
 combats, and the peaceful monk who 
 wrote these pages so full of gentleness 
 and artless resignation. A man who had 
 mingled in all the strifes of his time could 
 never have known how to form such fine 
 and penetrating lines. Gerson, even in 
 retirement, continued to be troubled with 
 all the quarrels of the time." 
 
 When writers say that he might have 
 written it in his retirement, they forget 
 that he only retired in 1425, and then the 
 l7iiitation had been in use for some years. 
 Gerson was a great wTiter, but his style 
 had nothing in common with the preg- 
 nant sentences of the Liiitation. Mons. 
 L. Moland, a French writer, says in 1856, 
 "The talent of Gerson is as full of in- 
 equalities as his life is of contradictions. 
 His Meditatio Cordis places him not only 
 among the wisest and sweetest masters of 
 the Inner Life, but also among the most 
 remarkable writers of the literature of the 
 fifteenth century." This may account for 
 some supposing him to be the author of 
 the Imitation^ but as there are mystics and 
 mystics, the spirit and style of that work 
 have nothing in common with the Medi- 
 tatio. Gerson was essentially a man of 
 his time, and did not rise above its spirit ; 
 
the '' Imitatio Christie 123 
 
 he may have felt the vanity of the world, 
 but he did not wish to leave it, and was 
 never a recluse, even when he retired to 
 Lyons. He was a man determined to 
 rule. Can we imagine him as saying, " Be 
 not ashamed of serving others for the love 
 of Christ"?* or, " It is a great matter to 
 live in obedience, to be under a superior, 
 and not to be at our own disposal. It is 
 much safer to obey than to govern " ? t 
 How different is the spirit shown by 
 Gerson at the Council of Constance, de- 
 manding the death of John Huss, and 
 proclaiming the necessity of stamping out 
 heresy, from that shown in the saying, " If 
 one that is once or twice warned will not 
 give way, contend not with him; but 
 commit all to God . . . who well knoweth 
 how to turn evil into good;"t or, "Be 
 patient in bearing with the defects and 
 infirmities of others ! " Gerson agrees 
 with the author in the opinion that 
 Scripture and experience are the true 
 foundations of a spiritual life, but differs 
 from him in requiring philosophy to 
 precede theology, and not to be joined 
 together, though agreeing in the opinion 
 
 * Imitatio7i, I. 7. 
 t Ibid., I. 9. 
 X Ibid., I. 16. 
 
124 'J^J^ Story of 
 
 that whatever serves to estabhsh a sound 
 faith, to strengthen hope and influence 
 love, are the true property of theology. 
 It is interesting to compare the life of 
 Gerson with that of A Kempis, as they 
 were contemporaries, or nearly so, for 
 Gerson was born in 1363 and Thomas in 
 1379. The former became Bachelor of 
 Divinity in 1387, and Chancellor of the 
 Church of Paris in 1392. In 1395 he 
 was Dean of St. Donat, when Thomas 
 arrived at Deventer ; in 1405 he became 
 cure, and in 1408 was a deputy to the 
 Council of Pisa, where he helped in the 
 election of Alexander as Pope. In 1415, 
 two years after Thomas had taken orders, 
 Gerson attended the Council of Constance; 
 this was one year before his connection 
 with the Brothers of Common Life, whose 
 cause he then championed. In 1425 he re- 
 tired to Lyons, when Thomas was selected 
 sub-prior, and died in 1429, when Thomas 
 became treasurer. Gerson's works are 
 highly valued, and a complete edition of 
 them was published in 1706, in five folio 
 volumes. It is almost needless to add 
 that the Imitation is not to be found 
 among them. 
 
 Peter Scot, a canon of Strassburg, in 
 the 1488 edition of Gerson's works, and 
 Martin Simus, in his preface to the 1494 
 
the "■ Imitatio Christiy 125 
 
 edition, both say that many works were 
 wrongly attributed to him, mentioning the 
 De Co7itemptu Mimdi as one of them, at 
 the same time stating that the author was 
 Thomas, a Canon Regular. Besides being 
 omitted in Scot's edition, this work was 
 omitted in the list of Gerson's works drawn 
 up by his brother. 
 
 Though it is thus shown conclusively 
 that Gerson could not have been the 
 author, can we not surmise some reason 
 besides his greatness for his name being 
 connected with the work? We believe 
 that he was the means of introducing 
 the work into France, and that to him, 
 as Mons. Moland says, may be credited 
 that translation known under the name 
 of L^Internelle Consolatmi^ so free and 
 so independent that it has often been 
 considered an original work. The pas- 
 sages in the Imitatioji which make it 
 impossible for him to have been the 
 author are often modified in this transla- 
 tion, as in the tenth chapter of the third 
 book, " It is not granted to every one 
 to forsake all things, to renounce the 
 world, and to undertake a monastic life," 
 becomes, " You have not given this grace 
 to every one that they should renounce 
 altogether this world, and that they should 
 take up a monastic life or religion." Sir 
 
126 TJie Story of 
 
 James Stephens considers this translation 
 superior to the original from its boldness, 
 its feeling, and its hu77ian character. 
 
 The claims of Gerson may be said to 
 be given up even in France, though the 
 prepossessions of the writers of that 
 country prevent them from universally 
 giving the palm to Thomas, thinking his 
 other works show a weakness that would 
 be impossible in the writer of the Imita- 
 tion, a weakness much exaggerated, as 
 shown in a previous chapter. For cer- 
 tainly the more one studies these works 
 the more highly one thinks of them. 
 
 Mons. Arthur Loth, v/ho is at present 
 the chief French writer on this subject, 
 acknowledges the strong arguments in 
 favour of Thomas being the author of 
 the Imitatio7i : " The opinion of the his- 
 torians of his order who were his 
 contemporaries ; a common fame which 
 was very extended in the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, numerous MSS. and editions next 
 to the first time of printing : " and yet he 
 adds, " they lose their force before the 
 authentic date of a manuscript." Such a 
 MS. he thinks he has found, but how can 
 he prove that the date is authentic ? He 
 gives the date as previous to 1406, be- 
 cause there is in the volume a calendar 
 beginning with that year. If this is the 
 
the '^ Imitatio Christir 127 
 
 correct date, it destroys at once the claims 
 of both Gerson and A Kempis, as neither 
 of these could have written it at that date, 
 and Mons. Loth would even date it still 
 earlier — perhaps half a century earlier, 
 as it is the copy of a copy. 
 
 Before such a statement could be 
 accepted, a careful examination of the 
 volume was made, when it was found that 
 such a date was impossible. Canon 
 Santini says that the volume is a collection 
 of pieces by various writers, that one-third 
 of the paper is different from the rest, and 
 that it includes a work of the Chancellor 
 Gerson, his De Arte Moriendi. A closer 
 examination shows that the MS. was of 
 German origin, as it contains many Ochs 
 and Prochs, such gutturals not being found 
 in French MSS. ; further, that it came from 
 a house of the Brothers of Common Life, 
 since it contained rules of the constitution 
 of that body which were not adopted 
 until after 1406, the supposed date. This 
 MS. has been again carefully examined 
 by Father Becker, who has given an 
 account of it in the Precis Historiqiies for 
 April 1889, pubhshed in Brussels. In 
 that journal he states that it is " a simple 
 collection of different heterogeneous tracts 
 copied by different hands, and put to- 
 gether at an unknown time. There are 
 
128 The Story of 
 
 at least three different kinds of paper, and 
 the sheets have been bound after having 
 been written. Towards the end, in a 
 hand different from the preceding treatise, 
 is a large one, the paper of which is seen 
 at once to be different, as it is much 
 whiter than the others. The margins of 
 the others are uncut, but this has been 
 cut on three sides, evidently because it 
 was larger. It was cut after having been 
 written on, as at page 231, the title of 
 the chapter, ' De Commendatione Claus- 
 tralis Silentiij placed, according to a 
 common custom, on the lower margin as 
 a guide to the illuminator, has been partly 
 cut away by the knife." He also points 
 out that the Imitation^ which begins on 
 the back of leaf 29, is on a different 
 paper from the prayers and calendar which 
 commence the volume, and that the front 
 of page 29 is evidently the last page of 
 some book of prayers previously placed 
 in front of it, since it is in the same 
 kind of writing. When the volume was 
 bound this had been removed. To show 
 that the volume is a thorough pot 
 pourri, he points out that it contains a 
 German treatise on the pulse. " Some 
 pages and parts of pages, having been left 
 blank by the original copyist, have been 
 filled in by a later hand with prayers and 
 
the '' Imitatio Christir 129 
 
 extracts from spiritual books," among 
 which are excerpts from the third and 
 fourth book of the Imitation. With re- 
 gard even to the date on the calendar, the 
 fact of its beginning with the year 1406 
 only proves that it was after that date, as 
 Father Becker shows from examples of 
 the calendars in several breviaries. If we 
 look to the calendar of our own Book of 
 Common Prayer we shall see that it com- 
 mences some years before the date of the 
 book. Another French writer, Mons. 
 Madden, is convinced of the Teutonic 
 origin of the Imitation^ but rather than 
 give the honour to Thomas a Kempis, he 
 would prefer to give it to his brother 
 John, or to Vos of Heusden. 
 
 We have mentioned the strong reasons 
 for the work being attributed to St. 
 Bernard, on account of the many quota- 
 tions from his works. Several MSS., as 
 previously mentioned, have the name of 
 Bonaventura attached to them, and some 
 Kalkar and other Carthusians. Kalkar 
 was the friend of Gerard Groot, and we 
 see from his life how close was the con- 
 nection of this leader with the Carthusians, 
 who are mentioned in the Imitation^ and 
 among whom the work has been a great 
 favourite, for many MSS. were early 
 spread about among their various monas- 
 
130 The Story of 
 
 teries. Walter Hilton was an English 
 Carthusian, credited with the authorship 
 of the book under the name of Musica 
 Ecclesiastica. It is very probable that he 
 was one of the first to introduce it to this 
 country, though there is no evidence to 
 show that he wrote such a work. John 
 Kempis, who is mentioned in some MSS., 
 is known to have made a collection of the 
 writings of St. Bernard, and may have 
 furnished his brother with materials. 
 John Gerson, the brother of the Chan- 
 cellor who became Prior of the Celestines 
 at Lyons, is also put forward as the author, 
 and perhaps some reasons might be found 
 for his claims, as well as for those of others. 
 Pope Innocent III. is spoken of as the 
 author, because he wrote a work De Con- 
 temptu Mundi, but the cruel persecutor 
 of the Albigenses could hardly have 
 written such a work as the Imitation. 
 The body of evidence in favour of 
 Thomas a Kempis, both internal and ex- 
 ternal, seems to us overwhelming, and 
 we believe that no one who fully and 
 impartially studies the subject, as brought 
 out in the pages of Mr. Kettlewell or of 
 Dr. Cruise, can fail to be convinced that 
 Thomas was really the author of the four 
 treatises now known under the name of 
 the Imitation^ with which treatises the 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christie 131 
 
 volume commences, as well as of the 
 other nine which are comprised in this 
 MS. written by his own hand. For what 
 more can be desired than a MS. of the 
 author's, a contemporary MS. copied 
 from it, and many contemporary wit- 
 nesses. Of one of the strongest proofs 
 of his authorship, to be found in his 
 own written copy, we shall treat in the 
 next chapter. 
 
 That the work is not said to be com- 
 piled by him is natural, for the motto of 
 the author was a?}ia nesciri; but that he 
 was the mere scribe, as asserted by some, 
 is incredible, for, as Monsignor Malou 
 says : " It is impossible that an author, as 
 humble and as pious as Thomas a Kempis, 
 would have transcribed at the head of his 
 works four very important treatises, which 
 were not his. There are many copies of 
 the works of this author transcribed by his 
 own hand ; but there is not one of them 
 in which his treatises are mixed up in the 
 same volume with the works of other 
 authors. In transcribing the four books 
 of the Lnitation at the head of his works, 
 Thomas a Kempis avows himself to be 
 their author." * 
 
 Some of the contemporary witnesses 
 
 * Malou, Recherches, etc., 1858, p. 365. 
 
132 TJie Story oj 
 
 in favour of Thomas may be registered as 
 follows : — 
 
 1. John Busch, who, in his Chronicle of 
 Windeshewi, mentions the arrival of two 
 Brethren from Zwolle. " One of them, 
 Thomas of Kempen, has written many 
 devout works, namely. Qui sequitiir me de 
 imifatione Christie It is asserted by some 
 opponents that this must have been added 
 later, as it is absent in some MSS. Such 
 a remark might be justified if it was only 
 in one MS., but it is in several ; besides, 
 it is quite in accordance with Busch's 
 custom to introduce such remarks of 
 people when speaking of places; thus, 
 when writing of the convent of Groenendal, 
 he says that Ruysbroek " composed many 
 most devout books of the most lofty con- 
 templation in the mother tongue ; " and in 
 another place he mentions that the sub- 
 prior " preached a solemn sermon." 
 
 2. Hermann Ryd, one of the Brothers 
 of Windesheim, writing of the Canons 
 Regular, says: "The brother who has 
 composed the book of the Imitation is 
 called Thomas \ he is sub-prior of the 
 monastery of St. Agnes, near Zwolle ; " 
 and he further states that he has spoken 
 to him. 
 
 3. Wessel is said by his biographer 
 Hardenberg to have been so moved by 
 
tJie *^ Imitatio Ckristi." 133 
 
 the Imitation that he determined to go 
 and hve at Zwolle, in order to be near 
 Mount St. Agnes, so that he could enjoy 
 the friendship of the pious Thomas a 
 Kempis. Hardenberg, who visited the 
 monastery, says that "the monks have 
 shown me many writings of the very pious 
 Thomas a Kempis, of which they have 
 preserved, besides many other books, the 
 truly inestimable work of the Imitation of 
 Jesus Christ.'''' 
 
 4. The German anonymous biographer 
 of Thomas gathered his materials for his 
 biography from the monks of Mount St. 
 Agnes, who were the companions of 
 Thomas; and at the end gives the cata- 
 logue of his works, among which stand 
 the books of the Imitation as treatises 5, 
 6, 7, and 8. 
 
 5. The editor of the Niiremberg edition 
 gives also a catalogue, not exactly agreeing 
 with the preceding, but containing the 
 four treatises. 
 
 6. John Mauburne, who had served his 
 novitiate at Mount St. Agnes, soon after 
 the death of Thomas wrote a work, 
 Rosetum Spiritualium Exercitiorum, and 
 quotes several sentences from the Imitation 
 as if written by A Kempis. In another 
 work, Venatorium^ he writes, " Brother 
 Thomas ^ Kempis, among other works 
 
134 ^^^^ Story of 
 
 which he made, composed the little book 
 Qui sequitur me, which some attribute 
 falsely to Dominus Gersen." 
 
 7. Francis Tolensis, the last sub-prior 
 of Mount St. Agnes, speaks of Thomas as 
 the author of the Imitation. 
 
 The witness of Adrien de But is a very 
 important one. He was a Cistercian who 
 wrote a chronicle of the monastery of 
 Dunes, and after the date of 1458 he has 
 inserted this remark : " In this year 
 Brother Thomas de Kempis, professor of 
 the Order of Canons Regular, edifies many 
 by his published writings; he wrote the 
 Life of S. Lydwig, and a certain volume 
 besides in metre, Qui sequitur me^ This 
 note has been signed by Adrien de But 
 himself. Dr. Cruise has had a photograph 
 of the page containing the note taken, by 
 which we can see, as he points out, that 
 the note applies to the year 1458, to which 
 it is affixed, and not to the year 1480, as 
 had been previously supposed, for the 
 account of that year is added afterwards, 
 and at that time Thomas ^ Kempis was 
 dead; and the word edifies is in the present 
 tense, while the word wrote, as applied to 
 the Imitation, is in the past, as if the work 
 were already in existence. Father Becker, 
 who agrees in Dr. Cruise's supposition, 
 says that Thomas was busy at that time 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 1 3 5 
 
 with his sermons to the novices of whom 
 he had the charge. 
 
 The testimony of Trithemius is supposed 
 to be of doubtful value ; it, however, 
 should not be passed over. He was Abbot 
 of Spannheim, and in 1493 wrote a list of 
 the great men of Germany, and among 
 them he placed Thomas a Kempis as the 
 author of the Imitatio. Though Thomas 
 had died but a few years before (147 1), 
 there were rumours which Trithemius 
 thought it his duty to note ; this he did 
 by saying that there were two Kempis 
 brothers, and that some of the works of 
 the one might be attributed to the other ; 
 adding, that " our seniors say that their 
 seniors read the work." He himself 
 evidently attached little importance to 
 such a statement, for he writes immedi- 
 ately after this that many, however, assert 
 the contrary. 
 
 Among the MSS. possessed by the late 
 Mr. Ed. Waterton was one dated 1501 
 of the Scala Devotionis, by Severinus de 
 Bolsward, a Franciscan, in which the books 
 of Imitation are attributed to Thomas. 
 
 There are in the Imitation many little 
 points which involuntarily indicate the 
 authorship. For instance, in Book III., 
 chap, xlv., is a passage, " We are frail men, 
 even if we are reputed and called angels," 
 
136 TJie Story of 
 
 which is supposed to refer to a time when 
 the people of the neighbourhood, seeing 
 the processions of the white-robed monks 
 at night, had thought to have seen visions 
 of angels. 
 
 Father Becker points to a misquotation 
 in the Imitation^ which certainly proves 
 that the author was a member of the 
 Windesheim circle. In the ninth chapter 
 of the second book we read: " St. Laurence 
 overcame the world with his priest," which 
 is exactly the contrary to the statement of 
 Maximus of Turin, who says nan vmcebat^ 
 which shows that the author quoted not 
 directly, but from some other work, and 
 this we find was the Windesheim Brevi- 
 ariu7ft, which has the same mistake, using 
 vicit instead of non vincebat. Father Becker 
 traces the source of this error. 
 
 In the third chapter of the first book, 
 " What availeth it to dispute and contend 
 about dark and hidden things ? " and 
 again, " What have we to do with genera 
 and species ? " — this is supposed by Father 
 Becker to refer to the disputes between 
 the nominalists and realists, which at that 
 time were again disturbing the Brethren. 
 
 In Book I., chap. 24, there is a de- 
 scription of the punishment of the wicked 
 in the next world : " The slothful shall be 
 pricked forward with goads, the gluttons 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 137 
 
 tormented with great hunger and thirst" 
 This has been thought by some to have 
 suggested the idea to Dante, but we need 
 not look so far. The Imitation could not 
 have been written in Dante's time, and 
 it was not necessary for its author to have 
 read Dante, as it is shown by Jonckbloet 
 in his Literary History that there was a 
 legend common to the fifteenth century 
 in which is to be found such a description 
 of punishment ; and Father Becker has 
 seen a copy of a MS. with this legend, 
 accompanied by three books of the Imita- 
 tion, as also a copy which had belonged 
 to the Canons Regular of Windesheim. 
 
 The arguments in favour of Thomas we 
 consider unanswerable ; however, as we 
 said before, some French authors think the 
 author of the Imitation could not be the 
 same person as the author of the other 
 works of Thomas. In this they were in 
 agreement with Mr. Busken-Huet, the 
 only Dutchman, as Father Becker says, 
 who opposed the claims of Thomas. 
 However, since the time the father wrote, 
 Busken-Huet has been convinced that 
 the writings are all by the same man. 
 He has devoted a section of his work, 
 Het Land van Rembrand,* to a study of 
 
 * A translation in German was published by 
 Marie Mohr, in Leipzig, in 1886-7, 2 vols. 
 
138 The Story of 
 
 Thomas a Kempis, with relation to his 
 times. This section bears his name as 
 a representative of the fifteenth century. 
 He states the difficulties of the case thus : 
 (i) " His piety, like that of most mystics, 
 was founded on Mariolatry, and yet the 
 Virgin Mary is not mentioned in the Imita- 
 tion. If this is strange, the same objection 
 occurs with regard to his other works, as 
 she is not mentioned in some of them, 
 and very little in others ; in fact, among 
 all of them there are certainly not more 
 than three or four chapters on the sub- 
 ject." (2) That it is "more w^onderful 
 that we find no trace of want of taste, 
 and of his blind superstition," but where 
 is the want of taste in his other works, 
 except in a few sermons, and some hastily 
 written treatises ? (3) That it is " most 
 wonderful still that a man without know- 
 ledge or experience, a man buried alive, 
 whose circle of vision hardly reached 
 beyond his provincial town, — that such 
 a man should have written a work which 
 testifies to a universal and deep know- 
 ledge of human nature, and whose literary 
 beauties eclipse the fame of Church 
 fathers of genius," and yet he is bound to 
 add there is in reality no greater opposi- 
 tion between the I??iitation and the other 
 writings of Thomas than there is between 
 
the '' Imitatio Christie 139 
 
 his religious feeling and his spiritual 
 narrowness of judgment of worldly affairs. 
 We certainly think this writer has over- 
 stated the case, probably led away by the 
 love of antithesis ; for it is possible for a 
 deep thinker to know what are the views 
 that affect mankind, and a man that thinks 
 of the world in general as vanity and full 
 of wickedness is not likely to dwell espe- 
 cially on one state of wickedness more 
 than another. 
 
 We have already mentioned the pecu- 
 liar expressions that point to its 
 Teutonic origin in chapter ii., but there 
 are other peculiarities that seem to point 
 strongly to Thomas a Kempis as the author. 
 The habit of putting texts of Scripture as 
 headings to several of the chapters of the 
 hjiitation is followed, according to Mon- 
 signor Malou, in fifteen of his other 
 works ; his use of exclamations," O quam," 
 etc., are common to all. Certain uncom- 
 mon uses of several Latin words also 
 occur. Alta is used for "lofty " in a spiritual 
 sense in the Imitation^ and forty times 
 in his other works. Leviter for " easily " 
 occurs eighteen times ; graviter for " diffi- 
 cult" twenty-nine times; exteriora and 
 interiora one hundred and twenty-one 
 times. The chapters of the Imitation often 
 fall into two divisions, and this arrange- 
 
140 The ^^ Imitatio Christil\ 
 
 ment is found in many of the author's 
 other works. Mr. Duffield, in his Latin 
 Hymn Writers^ is the latest advocate of 
 the claims of Thomas, and he so clearly 
 sums up the case that we close this 
 chapter in his words : — 
 
 " Thomas a Kempis's works as a whole 
 fit into the writings of the group of dis- 
 ciples of Gerard Groot just as the l7?iitation 
 of Christ fits into the rest of his works. 
 He simply is the best writer they had, 
 as the Imitation is the best thing he ever 
 wrote. . . . No other century than his 
 could have produced it. It reflects the 
 ideas of no other group than that of 
 Gerard and Florentius. Among their 
 disciples there is no one but the author 
 of the Soliloquy of the Soul and of the 
 Valley of Lilies to whom we could 
 give it. It differs no more in point of 
 worth from Thomas's other books than 
 does the Pilgriin^s Progress from Bunyan's 
 other writings, Grace Abounding always 
 excepted." 
 
 
^^"^ r4^/i»4«^4f^'cfWnIiiO »-'-- ^] 
 
 Page i of Brussels Codex. 
 
 S^ToJace page 141. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Manuscripts. 
 
 Never be wholly idle, 
 But read, or write, or pray, or muse." — 
 Imit. I. 19, 
 
 HERE are many treasures among 
 the MSS. in the Royal or Bur- 
 gundian Library in Brussels, 
 but none surpass in interest a 
 small volume from the pen of Thomas 
 a Kempis. This beautiful codex, for it is 
 a model of penmanship (Nos, 5855 — 5861) 
 is a small i2mo, partly of paper and partly 
 of parchment, and is still in a good 
 state of preservation, though it shows 
 marks of having been much used. It 
 commences, after the list of contents, 
 which is also written by Thomas, with the 
 four treatises now known as the Imitation, 
 but in a different order from the usual one, 
 as the fourth precedes the third. This 
 
142 The Stoiy of 
 
 arrangement is also observed in the cata- 
 logue of his works drawn up and written 
 at the end of his life by a contemporary 
 biographer. After these come the re- 
 maining treatises, and then is the sub- 
 scription, "Finitus et completus anno 
 domini MCCCCXLI per manus fratris 
 Thomae. Kempensis in Monte S. Agnetis 
 prope Zwolles." This subscription is 
 shown to be appropriate when a study of 
 the MS., as the Abbe Spitzen points out, 
 enables us to see that the composition of 
 the volume was the affair of years, and 
 that the first part may have been written 
 about 1420. This is brought to light by 
 the paper and by the writing. There are 
 five different sets of sheets, the first con- 
 taining Books 1,2, and 4 of the Imitatio?i, 
 the second the third book, the third 
 various small treatises, the fourth the Z>e 
 Elevatione Mentis^ and the fifth the Brevis 
 Admonitio and Oratmies. The writing in 
 the first set of sheets is the smallest, the 
 second is rather larger, the third still 
 larger, while the fourth and fifth are like 
 the second. There are also different 
 watermarks on the paper ; the first ninety- 
 seven leaves have a P., showing paper of 
 the time of Philip the Bold ; other leaves 
 have an anchor, others the head of an ox, 
 and others a Gothic P., showing the time 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 143 
 
 of Philip the Good, who lived 1430 to 
 1465. The last six leaves have no mark. 
 Thomas only finished his copy of the 
 Bible in July 1439, having taken sixteen 
 years to write it, and he could hardly have 
 written this codex in two years. Father 
 Becker also points out the important fact 
 that while the writer considered the first 
 and second book complete, and left no 
 space in the summary of the chapter 
 before these books, nor at their end where 
 he has written "ExpHciunt, etc.," he re- 
 served space for adding to the third and 
 fourth, having left room for additions in 
 the summary of the chapters of these 
 books, as well as five blank leaves after the 
 fourth book and ten after the third. Two 
 chapters of the original have been lost, 
 and have been replaced by a later scribe. 
 Father Rosweyde expressed his willing- 
 ness to send a portion of the MS. to 
 Rome. Father Becker thinks these 
 sheets may have been sent there and lost, 
 at least never returned. The subscription 
 has been said by the opponents of Thomas 
 to mean that he was the mere scribe ; as 
 Mabillon says, " Everybody has been de- 
 ceived by it, and thought Thomas 
 announced himself the author." The 
 fact of Thomas being the scribe does not 
 militate against his being the author as 
 
144 T^^^^ Story of 
 
 well, for we find in the Burgundian 
 Library another manuscript with a similar 
 subscription, and in it all are undisputed 
 works of his. We have already shown 
 the importance given to this MS. by 
 Hirsche's Discoveries (p. 102); we may 
 also add that he has found many erasures 
 and corrections in the MS. that are not the 
 work of the scribe, but of an author who 
 wishes to improve his work, as can be 
 seen by comparing the MSS. before 1441 
 with it and the later ones. 
 
 This MS. was originally kept in the 
 convent at Mount St. Agnes, but at its 
 destruction, a.d. 1577, it came into the 
 possession of Joannes Bellerus, who pre- 
 sented it in 1590 to the Jesuit monastery 
 at Antwerp, where it remained, with the 
 exception of two journeys to Paris, when 
 its authenticity was examined into, until 
 1775, at the dissolution of the house. In 
 that year the monastery was turned into 
 a mihtary school, and the MS. was then 
 taken to Brussels, where it has remained 
 ever since. 
 
 The MSS. which are chiefly quoted by 
 the Gersenists in favour of their champion 
 are : — 
 
 1st. The Arona MS., a small i2mo volume, 
 containing all the four books. It consists of one 
 hundred and seventy-one leaves of the finest parch- 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christie 145 
 
 ment, and is in perfect preservation. The writing 
 is of a beautiful Latin character, with a few simple 
 abbreviations ; besides the Iviitation it contains 
 treatises of St. Bernard, St. Augustine, and St. 
 Ambrose. In the beginning of the work there is 
 a paper leaf (the only one), on which is written 
 (evidently at a later period) that Bellarmine had 
 said that ^^ \\\q^ Imitation was written neither by 
 Gerson nor by A Kempis, but by Giovanni Gersen." 
 There is added in a later hand that the MS. 
 was brought from Geneva to Arona, and that 
 Bellarmine had been convinced by the arguments 
 of Rosweyde, and had finally confessed that 
 . " Thomas a Kempis was the author." This MS. 
 is now in the National Library at Turin, and is 
 proved to have been written by an ignorant scribe, 
 as there are eight hundred mistakes in it. 
 
 2nd. The De A dvocatis MS., supposed to have 
 belonged to the Avogrado family, is without date 
 or name. Chevalier Gregory, who found the 
 volume, claims it for the thirteenth century, a 
 claim he tries to support by a diarium of the 
 Avogrado family, which is without doubt a forgery. 
 There being no date, it is the duty of the paleeo- 
 graphers to decide on one, and the best palseo- 
 graphers consider its probable date to be the 
 middle or end of the fifteenth century. The 
 celebrated Greek scholar Diibner speaks strongly 
 against this MS. Leopold Delisle, one of the 
 best French palaeographers, as well as Mons. 
 Arthur Loth, assign it to the fifteenth century. 
 The most important evidence against its antiquity 
 is the fact that the Be Meditatione Cordis is in- 
 cluded in the MS., and as this work was only 
 written in 1400 a copy could not have been made 
 before that date. There are various notes with 
 dates, but the dates are 1527, 1550, and 1568 
 sho^ving when the MS. was really in use. 
 
 10 
 
146 The Story of 
 
 3rd. The La Cava MS., which is also without 
 name or date. It contains a drawing of a monk 
 in the initial Q, which is said to be a portrait of 
 Gersen ! The fourth book is wanting. 
 
 4th. The Grammont MS. in the National 
 Library in Paris, No. 13,596, 4to, in parchment. 
 Two-thirds of the codex are taken up with the 
 four books of the Imitation, after which come 
 the Libelli de Disciplina Claustraliiim, with 
 other works of Thomas, — which, of course, does 
 away with the pretended antiquity, and forms an 
 argument in favour of the authorship of A Kempis. 
 
 5th. The Codex Paulanus was originally in the 
 Benedictine monastery at Wiblingen, but is now 
 in St. Paul's Benedictine monastery in Carinthia. 
 It is fully described by Wolfsgrubei", who confesses 
 that the writing is of the fifteenth century, although 
 it bears the date of 1384-5, but claims it as a 
 copy of an older MS., the dates of which the 
 scribe has copied. Such a claim seems absurd, 
 and Dr. Cruise has carefully examined the evi- 
 dence relating to this MS. {Thomas a Kempis, 
 p. 161 and following), and finds it worthless. 
 He there hints that the dates do not form part 
 of the original MS. Since writing his analysis of 
 this MS. in 1887 Dr. Cruise has examined the 
 MS. itself, and is confirmed in his opinion, both 
 from the position of the dates and the form of the 
 letters, that the dates are not genuine, and formed 
 no part of the original MS., "but a subsequent 
 addition," and that the ink is also different. He 
 has had six pages of this codex photographed, 
 and has published these photogravures, with a 
 note on them, in the Precis Histoj'iques, May 
 1890. A glance at these photogravures is sufficient 
 to show the worthlessness of its pretensions. 
 
 As several MSS. are mentioned in the 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christie 147 
 
 controversy we give lists of the principal 
 ones according to Santini, first those 
 which are dated arranged in chronological 
 order, next the undated ones in order of 
 places.* 
 
 Dom Wolfsgruber also gives a list of 
 MSS., which differs considerably from this. 
 According to him Munich possesses 5S 
 MSS., Vienna 26, Paris 16, Brussels 14, 
 Metz 3, St. Petersburg 2, Olmutz 2, 
 Donauschlag 2. The libraries at Arras, 
 Cracow, Erlangen, Innsbruck, Liege, Lille, 
 Marburg, Troyes, and Verdun have each 
 one. 
 
 There are 1 2 MSS. in the monastery of 
 St. Gallen, and the Benedictines possess 
 several, 8 at St. Peter's, Salzburg, 7 at 
 Kremsmunster, 4 at Molk, 3 at Gottweig, 
 I at Schotten, i at St. Paul in Carinthia, 
 and I at Seitenstetten, while the Cister- 
 cians seem to have but two. 
 
 Principal Dated MSS. 
 
 1 42 1. At the abbey of Moelck or Melck, contain- 
 ing the first book. The date is doubtful, as 
 it is in a later hand, f 
 
 * The descriptions are taken from the list drawn 
 up by Canon Santini in his "I diritti di Tommase 
 da Kempis," ii., pp. 229 and following. 
 
 t A catalogue of the MSS. in the Benedictine 
 monastery of Melk (Monast. Mellicensis) has just 
 
148 The Story of 
 
 1424. The Kirchheim, called also Ghesquiere, from 
 the Jesuit Doctor to whom it belonged, is 
 now in the Burgundian Library at Brussels 
 (No. 15,137), and contains the first three 
 books. At the beginning is written " In- 
 cipit libellus de Imitatione Christi et con- 
 temptu mundi," and at the end of the first 
 page there is a note, " Notandum quod 
 iste tractatus editus est a probo et egregio 
 viro magistro Thoma de Kempis dictus, 
 descriptus ex manu auctoris in Trajecto an. 
 1424 in sociatu provincialatus." Unfor- 
 tunately this note is in a different hand- 
 writing from the MS., and therefore cannot 
 be relied on for the date. 
 
 1424. Wolfenbuttel. 
 
 1425. The Gaesdonck, from the monastery of 
 Canons Regular at that town, bears the name 
 of Thomas and has the whole four books. 
 
 1426. The Ervic, from the monastery of Canons 
 
 Regular there. 
 
 1427. The Codex Noviomagensis, from the monas- 
 tery of Canons Regular of St. Catharine at 
 Nimeguen, the capital of Gueldres. It was 
 from this MS. that Gence took his text in 
 1826. 
 
 1427. Calmet mentions a MS. from Ochsenhausen, 
 
 but it has since been lost. 
 1427. Codex Trudonensis, from the abbey of St. 
 
 Troud, near Liege, only contains the first 
 
 three books. Mon. Leroy described this MS. 
 
 in his Etudes when he saw it at Ghent in 
 
 1836. 
 
 been published ; under No. 165 is described a 
 volume containing thirty-six treatises, among which 
 is Thomas a Kempis, de Reformatione hominis et 
 primo de imitatione Christi et contemptu omnium 
 vanitacum mundi (liber primus). 
 
tJie ^^ Itnitatio Christi!' i^g 
 
 1428. Calmet mentions the MS. of Augia Dives as 
 
 of this date in his Diaritim Helveticum^ 
 p. 1 1 1. It is of German origin. 
 
 1429. The Codex Asraburgensis, now in the Bur- 
 
 gundian Library, Nos. 1018 — 21, contains 
 only book one. 
 
 1430. According to Mons. Denis, the Codex 
 Coloniensis of Santa Croce contains 
 various works, partly on parchment, partly 
 on paper. In it the Exhortatio7i to the 
 Communion is attributed to St. Bernard. 
 This MS. is now in the Palatine Library at 
 Vienna. 
 
 1430. Codex Wiblingensis III., in paper, came 
 from a Benedictine monastery in Swabia. 
 
 1433 and 1434. Two from Weingarten, both on 
 paper, one written by Brother Conrad 
 Obersperg, the second by John of Mersberg, 
 was found in the Benedictine Abbey of St. 
 Maria (in Swabia). 
 
 1435. Codex Sangallensis. 
 
 1436. The Paduan MS., has the name of Gerson, 
 but Santini says that according to Mabillon 
 this MS. has been altered. 
 
 1437. The Augsburg MS., No. i, has the word 
 
 exterius replaced by memoriter. 
 
 1437. Codex Augustanus or Ulricanus I., of paper, 
 belonged to the monastery of St. Udalrich 
 near Vienna. The first book was written 
 at Wiblingen, the second in 145 1. 
 
 1438. Codex Aquisbacensis III., from the Car- 
 thusian monastery, where there are four 
 MSS., but this one, which contains Book I., 
 is the only one dated ; the second and 
 fourth are said to have been written by a 
 certain Carthusian at Reineck. 
 
 1438. Codex Lunaclacensis, from the monastery of 
 Mondesee (of paper). 
 
150 The Story of 
 
 1439. Codex Gemnicensis VI., contains Books I. 
 and II. , edited by a certain Carthusian in 
 Reineck. 
 
 1439. The Rothensian MS., belonged to the Bene- 
 
 dictines apud Rhenum. 
 
 1440. The Augsburg MS. II., from the monastery 
 
 of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross, 
 is in 4to, and contains the first book. 
 
 1441. The famous Antwerp Codex, written by 
 Thomas, already described, pp. 141-4. 
 
 1441. The Indersdorf MS., No. II., is said to be 
 compiled by "a certain Canon Regular." 
 
 1441. Pollingano, No. I., "a Johanne Gers." As 
 this inscription breaks off suddenly we can- 
 not tell what the scribe intended, and there- 
 fore it is not necessarily in favour of Gerson 
 or Gersen. 
 
 1443. Codex Zwiefaltensis, written by Brother 
 Conrad Eberberg. 
 
 1447. The Codex Coloniensis of St. Barbara, 
 which belonged to the monastery of the 
 Carthusians of St. Barbara, in Cologne, has 
 the first three books. While the first book 
 is said to be by a certain Carthusian, it is in 
 the index "by a certain devout Regular," 
 to which is added in the margin " whose 
 name is Thomas Kempis," etc. 
 
 1447. The Pollingano, No. III., contains various 
 tracts, among which are the second, third, 
 and fourth books. 
 
 1448. Brullensis S. Emerani, at Ratisbon. 
 
 1448. The Codex Rebdorfensis I., from the monas- 
 tery of St. John the Baptist, at Rebdorf in 
 Franconia, which belonged to the Canons 
 Regular of Windesheim, contains also a 
 life of Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 1448. Codex Spizelianus, which contains the first 
 three books, is in the library of the 
 
the " Imitatio Ch istil' 151 
 
 convent of Wengen, written by Jaspar 
 Pforcheim. 
 
 1450. The Abbeville MS., of paper, which be- 
 longed to the Minor Brethren of that towTi, 
 is now in the Bibliotheque Nationale, No. 
 3,788. 
 
 1450. Codex Augustanus, or Ulricanus II., has 
 the first three books. 
 
 1452. Codex Gemnicensis I., is in 4to, and be- 
 longed to the Carthusians of Gemmingen. 
 It contains the first book written by John 
 Lang, of Prima. 
 
 1457. A Brussels MS., No. 2,581, in royal 8vo, on 
 parchment, contains the four books in the 
 following order, 3,2, i, and 4. 
 
 1457. The second Gemmingen MS., contains the 
 fourth book alone. 
 
 1458. The third Paris Codex contains, besides the 
 
 Imitation, works of Bonaventura, St. 
 Augustine, and St. Bernard. 
 
 1458. Codex Parcensis I., was found in the monas- 
 tery of the Carthusians of Notre Dame du 
 Pare, near Mans. It contains de Miseria by 
 Innocent III. as well as the Imitation. 
 
 1460. A second MS. from the same monastery, 
 said to be written by *' a monk of the Car- 
 thusian order. " 
 
 1460. The St. Germain MS., from the Benedictine 
 Abbey of St. Germain des Pres, but now in 
 the Bibliotheque Nationale (No. 13,597), 
 Paris, is in i6mo, of the finest paper in an 
 elegant writing. It attributes the author- 
 ship to John Gerson. 
 
 1463. Codex Bruxellensis, belonged to the Car- 
 thusians. Said to be composed "by a 
 certain Regular." 
 
 1463. The Salzburg MS., No. i, which belonged 
 to the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter, 
 
152 The Story of 
 
 is of paper. Like the Pollignano MS. of 
 1441, it has Joh. Gers. incomplete. 
 1464. Venetian MS., No. I. 
 
 1464. The Florentine MS., No. i,\vas found in the 
 monastery of the Benedictines of Florence, 
 and attributes the authorship to John 
 Gerson, Chancellor of Paris. 
 
 1465. The second Venetian MS., also attributes it 
 to John Gerson. 
 
 1466. The second Florentine, another Benedictine, 
 does the same. 
 
 1467. In the Codex Schyrensis corde tenus is used 
 instead of exterius. 
 
 1470. The third Gemmingen MS., which is in 8vo, 
 and contains the four books, attributes them 
 to Dr. Bonaventura. 
 
 1471. The Brussels MS., No. 2,982-9, of the Bur- 
 gundian Library, contains with the /wzVa/zf?;^ 
 the Soliloquy and other writings of St. 
 Augustine. 
 
 147 1. In the Codex Buxheimensis from the Car- 
 thusian monastery library of Memmingen, 
 Thomas is said to be the compiler. It was 
 in the possession of the late Mr. Waterton. 
 
 1 47 1. The Codex Dalhemensis, came from the 
 house of St. Peter and St. Anthony, belong- 
 ing to the Canons Regular of Windesheim. 
 In it is written '' Brother Thomas Kempis, 
 etc., made it." 
 
 1472. The Codex Afflighemensis, which had be- 
 
 longed to the Benedictines, but is now in 
 the Mazarin Library in Paris, also attributes 
 the authorship to " Brother Thomas a 
 Kempis." 
 1474, In the Codex Griesensis, which came from 
 the Tyrol, is written at the end " the com- 
 piler was a certain Canon Regular of the 
 name of Thomas." 
 
the '^ Imitaiio ChristH' 153 
 
 1475. I"^ the index to the Codex Augiistanae 
 Reipublicae the work is said to be by 
 " Thomas, Canon Regular of Mount St. 
 Agnes." 
 
 1477. The Codex from the convent of Maiseck 
 is written by D. Cornelius Offerman, rector 
 of the convent, and is said to be composed 
 by Father Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 1481. The MS. in the library of Prince Chigi 
 in Rome gives the credit to John Gerson, 
 Chancellor of Paris. 
 
 1482. The second Lou vain MS., which came from 
 Leydensdorf, belonging to the Canons Re- 
 gular of Windesheim, attributes it to Thomas 
 a Kempis. 
 
 1487. The Palatine MS., No. i of the Cesarian 
 Library at Vienna, does the same. 
 
 1487. The Viennese MS., in the Palatine Library, 
 contains ' ' Gerson's Meditation " and the 
 ^^ Imitatio of Thomas Kempis." 
 
 1502. The Codex Rotomagensis, in the Rouen 
 Library, A36, bears the name of Gerson, 
 though it must have been copied from a 
 Flemish or German MS., as the German 
 form " Proch " is used. 
 
 1529. A Brussels MS., Nos. 11,160-68 of the 
 Burgundian Library, contains the Imitation 
 and other works of A Kempis, whose 
 name it bears. 
 
 Principal Undated MSS. 
 
 1. The De Advocatis MS., desci-ibed p. 145. 
 
 2. The Alliaciano Codex, so-called from its 
 second possessor, or Bisciano from its first, is in 
 l2mo, partly of paper and partly of vellum. As 
 the date is marked MCCC. it is claimed as if it 
 represented the year 1300 by the opponents of the 
 
I 5 4 The Story of 
 
 claims of Thomas ; but as this codex contains a 
 Bull written by the same hand as the Imitation^ 
 and dated 1448, it is evident that the date is 
 incomplete. It has on its frontispiece Jo. de 
 Canabaco, which is supposed by Mons. Ruelens 
 to be a Latinized form of A Kempis, as no such 
 person as John of Canabaco is known, unless it is 
 a mistake for Tambaco. 
 
 3. The Codex Althensis, No. 2, contains, be- 
 sides the Imitation^ extracts from the other 
 writings of A Kempis. 
 
 4. Arona, described p. 145. 
 
 5. Augsburg III. is apparently written by the 
 same scribe as the second Augsburg Codex, 
 written in 1440 (see p. 150), which contains only 
 Book I. This MS. is in folio, and contains the 
 four books, and in it is a note saying that the 
 compiler is a certain Brother Thomas, etc. 
 
 6. The Codex Bellovacensis belonged, accord- 
 ing to Mabillon, to a Canon of Beauvais and to 
 the Abbey of St. Hilaire. It contained, at the 
 beginning of the second book, a portrait of a monk 
 in a white dress, but no argument can be drawn 
 from a figure in an illuminated letter. 
 
 7. The Codex Bobbiensis, or of the Celestines, 
 now in the University Library, Turin, contains 
 Books I. to III. on eighty-eight double folios on 
 fine parchment. 
 
 8. Brussels MS. in parchment in small 8vo 
 (No. 4,913). 
 
 9. Cambray, attributed to John Gerson, Chan- 
 cellor of Paris, is supposed to be written about 1441. 
 
 10 and II. The Carthusian MSS., Nos. i and 2, 
 belonged to the monastery of St. Michele of Venice, 
 are both of the fifteenth century, and attributed 
 to a Carthusian monk. In the second MS, it 
 is added that many learned men attributed it to 
 Walter, an English monk, who wrote a work in 
 
the '' Imitatio ChristiP 155 
 
 1430 called Mzisica Ecclesiastica. This is the only 
 foreign MS. which attributes it to Walter Hilton. 
 
 12. La Cava, described on p. 146. 
 
 13. In the Clermont, of German origin, but 
 now in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, it is 
 said to be made by a holy brother of the Carthusian 
 order. 
 
 14. In the Catalogue of the Library of the 
 Diessen monastery is mentioned Thomas Kem- 
 pensis de Imitatione, etc., in folio, and another 
 in 4to. 
 
 15. The Codex Ettalensis, from a Bavarian 
 monastery, is mentioned by Amort as attributing 
 the work to Thomas. 
 
 16. At St. George of Augsburg, in one of the 
 Colleges of the Canons Regular, is a manuscript 
 of Books 1-3 in 8vo, written in an ancient character, 
 but without title or date. 
 
 17. In the Library of St. Genevieve at Paris, 
 No. 413, is a MS. with the inscription "The 
 Work of St. Bernard," which is attributed to John 
 Gerson, Paris, Chancellor. 
 
 18. The Grammont MS., No. 1,359, in the 
 Bibliotheque Nationale, is described on p. 146. 
 
 19. The Grenoble MS., also at Paris, which 
 contains, with the first three books of the Imita- 
 tion, the Meditations of St. Anselm and the Epistle 
 of St. Catharine of Sienna, is supposed to be 
 written about 1444. 
 
 20. The Guelforbitan MS., in the Wolfenbuttel 
 Library, is in 8vo, and said to be compiled by 
 John Gerson, Chancellor of Paris. 
 
 21. Do., No. 2, which is without date, name, or 
 index, contains the whole work, but is divided in 
 six books, the Soliloquy of the Sotd, by Thomas, 
 being inserted between the fourth and fifth. 
 
 22 and 23. Two MSS. at Lambeth Palace, 
 called Mtisica Ecclesiastica. 
 
I 5 6 The Story of 
 
 24. The Lebeuf MS., called so from its old 
 possessor, is in the Bibliotheque de I'Arsenal in 
 Paris. It is in Gothic character, but has not the 
 fourth book. 
 
 25. Mons. Loth's MS. This MS. was found 
 by Mons. Arthur Loth, who is against the claims 
 of Thomas, in the Compartement des Estampes 
 of the Bibliotheque Nationale. It is bound in 
 red morocco, and is of recent date and German 
 origin. Mons. Loth, however, considers it of great 
 antiquity, and having found in it an almanack 
 beginning with the year 1404, wishes to assert 
 that this must be the date of the MS., and there- 
 fore before the time of Thomas. Further descrip- 
 tion of this manuscript and answer to Mons. Loth's 
 assertions will be found on pp. 126-9. 
 
 26. The Lou vain MS., No. i, contains the first 
 three books, the second and third being transposed. 
 There is a note added in 1586 stating that it was 
 written by Thomas, but as the writing is different, 
 it only meant compiled by. 
 
 27. Margaret of York's MS., is in the Royal 
 Library at Brussels, No. 9,272, and Is said by Mon. 
 Ruelens to have been made expressly for Margaret 
 of York, wife of Charles the Bold, Duke of Bur- 
 gundy. It is a large folio volume of the finest 
 parchment, containing a French translation of the 
 second book, with miniatures and various writings 
 of St. Bernard and of other Church fathers. 
 
 28. The Palatine, No. 2, at the Cesarian Library 
 at Vienna, contains seventeen Ascetic works, with 
 only the first book of the Imitation. 
 
 29. The Parma, now in the Bibliotheque 
 Nationale, No. 1,558. 
 
 30. Pollingano II., supposed to be written about 
 1442, with an inscription assigning the authorship 
 to a certain Canon Regular. 
 
 31. The Raitenhaslach MS., from the abbey of 
 
the " Imitatio Christie i 5 7 
 
 that name in Bavaria, contains the Imitation, said 
 to be by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Amort speaks 
 of two MSS. in the monastery, one of which 
 attributed the work to Thomas. 
 
 32. The MS. of Reittenbuech in Bavaria, contains 
 the four books of the famous man, Thomas of Mont 
 St. Agnes, near Utrecht, a Canon Regular. 
 
 33. In the Benedictine monastery of St. Paul's 
 in Carinthia is a MS. which came from Wiblingen, 
 called now the Codex Paulanus. This MS. is 
 said to have been written in 1384, but such a state- 
 ment is evidently a mistake or the date is a forgery, 
 as the writing is apparently of the fifteenth century 
 (described on p. 146). There is another MS. 
 which is not mentioned in Santini's list. No. 
 15,138 in the Royal Library at Brussels, which 
 states : " Hie est libellus qui vocatur Musica Eccle- 
 siastica." It is in small 8vo. Liber Carthusiae 
 Monachorum Brugis. In this MS. the third book 
 is called Liber internes consolacionis. 
 
 Canon Santini only mentions three 
 MSS. in this country, two at Lambeth 
 and one at Oxford. Mons. Loth seems 
 also to be under the same impression ; 
 but though we have not many we have 
 several, and Father Becker comes nearer 
 to the truth when he reckons sixteen, 
 which is a poor amount, however, com- 
 pared to the number of those in Ger- 
 many and Holland, which countries have 
 the larger share of the four hundred 
 MSS. supposed to exist. Bernard's Ox- 
 ford catalogue of MSS., made in 1697, is 
 remarkably correct, and all the MSS. 
 
158 The Story of 
 
 quoted by him can be traced except the 
 one of Coventry. Of this the present head- 
 master of King Henry's School, to which 
 the Hbrary belonged, kindly answered my 
 inquiries and stated that it has disappeared 
 as well as other valuable books. The two 
 MSS. at Lambeth Palace Library are both 
 entitled Musica Ecdesiastica. No. 536 is 
 a small 12 mo, beautifully written, though 
 with contractions ; the initials are finely 
 illuminated. In this volume are other 
 tracts written in the same hand. No. 475 
 is a small 4to, in larger but much inferior 
 writing ; it contains the first three books 
 and a small tract on the uses of tribula- 
 tion. Before the words on the title Musica 
 Ecdesiastica there has been added by an- 
 other writer " Gualteri Hilton " and " sive 
 de Imitatione Christi." The second treatise 
 is in a different hand. 
 
 In the British Museum are six MSS. 
 The MS. indexed in Bernard's catalogue 
 as in the Jacobean Library, No. 534, is 
 now in the King's Library (Royal MSS. 
 7B8). It is in foHo and is most beauti- 
 fully written in large, clear letters, with 
 a fine illuminated frontispiece. It is un- 
 dated, and neither scribe nor author 
 is mentioned. It begins with " Incipit 
 tabula primae partis libri interne conso- 
 lacionis qui vocatur musica ecdesiastica," 
 
tJie " Imitatio ChristH' 159 
 
 and ends with " Explicit tertia et ultima 
 pars," etc., for it has only the three books, 
 " divisa in tres partes principales." There 
 is another MS. in the Royal collection 
 (8c VII.) which contains an imperfect 
 copy of Book I. on parchment. There 
 are two good MSS. in the Harleian col- 
 lection in 8vo, on parchment. No. 3,216, 
 dated 1464, is beautifully written, and has 
 illuminations in gold and colours. It 
 contains various other treatises, among 
 which are excerpts from St. Jerome and 
 a tract by Bonaventura. As the word 
 exterius is missing it comes probably from 
 France. No. 3,323, on parchment, not 
 quite as well written as the preceding, is 
 dated 1478, contains the whole four books 
 alone, and attributes the work to Gerson 
 the Chancellor. In the Burney collection 
 No. 314 is a MS. on paper also attributed 
 to Gerson; it is in 4to, and is undated. 
 The ink is much faded. Among the Add. 
 MSS., 11,437 is a volume in paper, con- 
 taining, with sermons and ^sop's Fables, 
 the first two books. It is in a cramped 
 hand, with all the usual contractions. 
 
 At Oxford there are five MSS., the 
 most important being that in Magdalen 
 College, xciii., written by John Dygoun 
 in 1438, called Musica Ecdesiastka, 
 though there is added "potius Thomae 
 
i6o The Story of 
 
 a Kempis opus de imitatione Christi et 
 continet tres partes." Two are in the 
 Laudian Collection Misc. 167-215, one 
 of paper, the other of parchment. These 
 contain other works besides the Imitation. 
 The other two entered in Bernard's Ox- 
 ford Catalogue of MSS. are numbered 
 Bodl. 632 and Arch. Selden, Supra 93 ; in 
 the old Catalogue 1,957 and 3,481. 
 
 There are three MSS. of the Imitation 
 at Cambridge, one of which is a transla- 
 tion. Of the other two, one is in St. 
 John's College, the other at Emmanuel. 
 The first is described in Cowie's Cata- 
 logue ; it is called " Musica Ecclesiastica 
 sive de Imitatione Christi," and contains 
 the first three books. It is beautifully 
 written on vellum, in 4to, and illuminated. 
 
 The second is also called Musica 
 Ecclesiastica, and contains but three 
 books. There is the name of neither 
 compiler nor scribe. It is followed by a 
 collection of Anathemas, and there is 
 bound up with it the Soliloquies of St. 
 Augustine, written in a similar hand, and 
 with decorative initials also resembling 
 those in the Imitatio?i. 
 
 The late Mr. Waterton had several 
 MSS., one of which was that known as 
 the Buxheim Codex of 147 1. 
 
 Sir Thomas Phillipps is also said to have 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 1 6 1 
 
 had a MS. of this work ; and according to 
 Notes and Qiieries of October 12th, 1861, 
 Mr. John WilHams possesses three MSS. 
 which came from Erfurt. 
 
 We have seen with what rapidity MSS. 
 of the Imitation were produced, and how 
 copies continued to be made until the end 
 of the fifteenth century. We will now 
 consider the evidence that is borne by the 
 translations. If Thomas a Kempis was the 
 author we shall naturally look to Holland for 
 the first translation, and according to Mr. 
 Busken-Huet we find fragments of a Dutch 
 translation in the Upper Yssel dialect 
 which appeared in 1423 ; another Dutch 
 translation by John Sutken about that 
 date is mentioned. If Amort is correct, the 
 Codex Augustanus Germanicus appeared 
 in 1450. This MS. belonged to the 
 monastery of the Dominicans of St. 
 Catharine at Augsburg, and contains the 
 lives of Gerard Groot, of Florentius, and 
 some other writings of Thomas translated 
 into German. In the preface it is men- 
 tioned that Father Thomas a Kempis 
 composed the devout little book, De 
 Imitatione. Prior to this is the transla- 
 tion of the book into French, written in 
 Amiens in 1447. The Valenciennes 
 Codex, also in French, is dated 1462. It 
 is beautifully written on parchment, in 
 
 II 
 
1 62 TJie Story of 
 
 folio, and it was this MS. which first 
 suggested the idea that French was the 
 original language of the Imitation. 
 
 The Codex Leodiensis I. is a Flemish 
 translation, written in 1463. Originally at 
 Louvain, it is now in Brussels, where it is 
 catalogued as No. 11,856. 
 
 In the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 
 is a translation, in the French-Flemish 
 dialect, on paper, in 4to, and dated 1468. 
 It bears the signature of Katherine 
 d'Enghien, and is called the Codex 
 Vallonicus, having been in the posses- 
 sion of Canon van den Block, of Brussels, 
 whose heirs disposed of it. There is 
 another French translation in the Biblio- 
 theque Nationale, No. 7,276, which came 
 from Toulouse, the date of which is 
 uncertain. 
 
 In the Catalogue of the Counts of 
 Angouleme, written in 1467, a French 
 translation is mentioned. There is also 
 at Brussels, No. 10,321, a MS. in 4to 
 entitled La Consolation Internelle, which 
 is a free translation in French of the 
 first three books, the date of which is 
 unknown. 
 
 There are probably other German trans- 
 lations of which we have found no 
 traces. 
 
 There are two English translation^, one 
 
the '' Imitatio Christi." 163 
 
 at Cambridge and one at Dublin, which 
 were probably written about the middle 
 of the fifteenth century. The latter, Dr. 
 Ingram conjectures, cannot be later than 
 1460. He is about to edit this MS. 
 for the Early English Text Society, with 
 a collation of the Cambridge one, for 
 the translation seems to be alike in 
 both, though with considerable variants, 
 which will all be noticed in this edition. 
 Dr. Ingram has already described this 
 MS. in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish 
 Academy for January 1883 (2nd series, 
 vol. ii., p. 145). Bernard, in his Oxford 
 Catalogue of MSS., mentions it as in the 
 College of Physicians, Dublin. Dr. In- 
 gram says that it was in the possession of 
 Dr. John Madden, President of the Irish 
 College of Physicians. It is not easy to 
 trace its history, but from the names in 
 it Dr. Ingram shows that it belonged in 
 1662 to Henry Dodwell, who was at one 
 time a Fellow of Trinity, and also to 
 the Turney family. It was presented to 
 Trinity College by Sterne, Bishop of 
 Clogher. It would be of great interest 
 if we could find out from what monastery 
 each of these two MSS. proceeded, and 
 to know which is the original translation 
 and which the copy, with its variations, or 
 whether both are taken from some other 
 
164 The Story of 
 
 codex. They are both called Musica 
 Ecclesiastica, and contain the first three 
 books. 
 
 The Cambridge MS. is on vellum, con- 
 taining 171 leaves, there being twenty 
 lines to the page. It is described in the 
 Catalogue of MSS. in the University 
 Library, Cambridge. The concluding pas- 
 sages resemble the Dublin Codex, except 
 that the Cambridge MS. has three 
 " Amens," while the Dublin has but one, 
 and omits the " Deo gratias " which is in 
 the latter. 
 
 This latter is " written in a bold, round, 
 and legible hand, on parchment, with few 
 contractions. The lines are ruled in red, 
 the writing is continuous, but the headings 
 of the chapters are marked in red and the 
 initials coloured alternately blue and red. 
 The system of punctuation is peculiar: 
 the end of a sentence is marked by 
 a ~I> followed by a capital ; the full stop 
 serves as a comma, the semicolon is repre- 
 sented by ", and the note of interroga- 
 tion by/."* 
 
 The orthography, Dr. Ingram says, 
 differs from that in the Cambridge MS., 
 and he thinks that the MS. bears traces 
 of an alteration of the text which would 
 
 * I have to thank Dr. Cruise for this description. 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Ckristi." 165 
 
 look as if the Dublin one were the later. 
 Scholars will look forward with great 
 interest for his edition, where all these 
 points will be discussed. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Printed Editions and Translations. 
 
 " Send out Thy light of truth, and shine upon 
 the world. "—/wzV. III. 23. 
 
 *' There is one voice in books, and yet they 
 teach not all men equally." — l77iit. III. 43. 
 
 O give a complete list and de- 
 scription of all the editions of 
 the Imitation would take more 
 space than we can spare. Those 
 who take a special interest in the bibho- 
 graphy may be referred to Backer, Essai 
 Bibliographique sur les livres de V Imita- 
 tion ; where the number of editions and 
 translations are reckoned to be about 
 three thousand, and even this list is 
 incomplete. 
 
 Notwithstanding the great number of 
 MSS., the Imitation was one of the earliest 
 books to be printed, for the first edition 
 {Editio Princeps) was printed by Giinther 
 Zainer at Augsburg, about 147 1 or 1472, 
 
TJie ^^ Imitatio Ckristi." 167 
 
 when the authorship was attributed to 
 Thomas while he was still living. The 
 lirst French edition is said to have been 
 printed at Paris in 1481, and the first 
 Italian at Venice, 1483. In a Paris 
 edition of 1489, Gerson's name is men- 
 tioned, while in the Lyons edition of the 
 same year Thomas is named as the author. 
 Two Paris editions (1493 and 1498), as 
 well as two German ones (1489 and 1493),* 
 have the name of Thomas. Eighty-six 
 editions appeared before 1563, at which 
 date Castalio made an attempt to render 
 it in what he thought clearer Latin. In 
 1599, Sommalius brought out his edition 
 of Thomas's complete works. Dom Caje- 
 tan pubHshed his edition in 161 6, and 
 Rosweyde his in 16 17. This latter was 
 printed at the Plantin Press at Antwerp, 
 and is one of the best editions. The 
 Abbe Gonnelieu's edition, which appeared 
 in 1724, has been the one most used in 
 France. That of Valart, who was a Ger- 
 senist, was published in 1758, but it is 
 not considered a good one ; while that of 
 Gence, which appeared in 1826, is very 
 highly prized for the purity of its text, and 
 for the references which the editor made 
 
 * These were printed, one at Ingolstadt 1489, 
 and the other at Luneburg 1493. 
 
1 68 The Story of 
 
 to the Bible, to the Christian Fathers, 
 etc., as well as for his valuable notes. 
 In 1833, Chevalier Gregory published his 
 edition, but as it is founded on the Codex 
 de Advocatis (a bad text), it has no critictil 
 value. Of editions since then, the best 
 are those of Liebner in 1848, of Vert in 
 1856, of Mooren in 1858, and lastly that of 
 Hirsche, which follows the text of the 
 Kempis MS. of 1441, and which was 
 pubhshed in 1874. Backer quotes 545 
 editions of the Latin ; but there are, of 
 course, many more, as besides reprints of 
 the editions quoted there are many edi- 
 tions the editors of which are unknown. 
 The latest edition is one by Gerhard 
 (1889), in which there is after each 
 chapter a consideration which is based on 
 the other works of Thomas a Kempis. 
 The work is posthumous, and the editor 
 did not live to see the result of his 
 labours. 
 
 It is to France that we are indebted for 
 the most beautiful editions. Under the 
 patronage of Cardinal Richelieu there 
 issued from the Imprimerie Royale, which 
 was established by him, as its first pro- 
 duction, an edition in folio, in 1640. 
 Still finer was the edition which was pro- 
 duced by the Imprimerie Imperiale, in 
 1855, for the Paris Exhibition of that 
 
tJie ^^ Iviitatio Chyisti." i6g 
 
 year. The text was magnificently printed, 
 surrounded by miniatures, done by Mons. 
 Steinheil, the smaller decorations being 
 composed by Madame Toudouze. This 
 is followed by Corneille's translation, 
 revised by Mons. Victor Leclerc; the 
 designs for the ornamentation of this 
 were made by Mons. Gaucherel. Only 
 one hundred and three copies were printed. 
 The first and second, which were not num- 
 bered, were presented to the Emperor 
 Napoleon III. and the Empress Eugenie. 
 Of the others Nos. 3 to 73 were retained 
 by the Emperor, for presents, the rest 
 were disposed of among the public, 
 four thousand francs being asked for a 
 copy. In 1858 a miniature edition was 
 printed, with H. Didot's microscopic 
 type, and published by Mons. Trosse, 
 and in 1862 another by Mons. Mame, 
 of Tours. The other editions de luxe pub- 
 lished in France will be noticed among 
 the translations. 
 
 To Holland must be credited the 
 beautifully printed Elzevir editions, the 
 first of which was published at Leyden, by 
 J. and D. Elzevir, in 1652, 3, or 4. It has 
 an engraved frontispiece, and is rather 
 scarce. Another with a different frontis- 
 piece appeared in 1658, which was re- 
 printed at Amsterdam in 1679. 
 
I/O The Story of 
 
 We have not had many critical editions 
 in this country. Rosweyde's edition was 
 reprinted in Edinburgh, by Ruddiman. 
 Charles Butler, of Lincoln's Inn, pub- 
 lished an edition in 1827, to which was 
 prefixed a life of the author; it was re- 
 printed in 1 85 1. Pickering's edition, 
 185 1, is nicely printed, but the text being 
 from the Advocatis MS. is not good ; 
 an edition by Benham was issued in 1874. 
 Castalio's Latin paraphrase was reprinted 
 in Cambridge, in 1685 and 1688, and at 
 Oxford in 1848. 
 
 We must also give the palm to France 
 for translations, both for their numerical 
 superiority and for beauty of execution. 
 The first was by Lambert, and published 
 at Toulouse, in 1488, the authorship 
 being attributed to Gerson ; though in 
 another edition about the same date 
 the work is said to be composed by St. 
 Bernard, or other devout person. There 
 were issued re-impressions of Lambert's 
 edition in 1493 and 1494. In the 1493 
 edition, a copy of which has been offered 
 for sale for ;£'84, it is expressly stated that 
 the writer was "a venerable father, and 
 a very devout Canon Regular living in 
 his time in the regular observance of the 
 rule of St. Augustine, Brother Thomas a 
 Kempis." There was an edition of the 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 171 
 
 free translation known as the Internal 
 Consolation^ printed at Rouen in 1498. 
 
 Bellere, an Antwerp printer, published 
 a translation in 1565 ; in the next fifty 
 years six other translations appeared. In 
 162 1, Michel de Marillac, Chancellor and 
 Garde des Sceaux, brought out a transla- 
 tion, which is still considered one of the 
 best ; he was at first in favour of Gerson, 
 but was finally convinced that the work 
 was by A Kempis. Editions appeared 
 in 1626, 1630, and 163 1. It was this 
 translation which was chosen for the 
 magnificent edition published by Mons. 
 Curmer, in 1858. Each page was orna- 
 mented with a border in gilt and colours 
 taken from the finest illuminated MSS. 
 of the Middle Ages, accompanied by 
 vignettes, all of which were fac-similes in 
 chromo-lithography from the miniatures 
 in illuminated copies of Missals, Books of 
 Hours, etc. In 1641 appeared Girard's 
 translation, of which over fifty editions 
 were published before 1771. Twenty 
 other translations were published between 
 1 64 1 and 17 12, when that of Gonnelieu's 
 appeared. Though this translation is 
 known as that of De Gonneheu's, and has 
 been so called in the later reprints, as 
 his name was the only one on the title- 
 page, it was really by Mons. J. Curson, 
 
1/2 The Story of 
 
 the publisher. The Abbe Gonnelieu 
 added the meditations and prayers which 
 have rendered this edition the most 
 popular one; not only has it been con- 
 stantly reprinted, but it is still in great 
 demand. Sixteen other translations fol- 
 lowed, until the appearance of Gence's 
 in 1820, which was said by Montfaucon 
 to be the best. De Genoude's, which 
 appeared in 1821, is considered good, and 
 so is that of La Mennais, which first 
 appeared in 1824, and of which editions 
 continue to be published ; it probably 
 has more poetic feeUng than the others. 
 Since then over a dozen translations 
 have appeared, one of which is by Mons. 
 Tamizey-Larroque, a great advocate of 
 the Chancellor Gerson, 
 
 Of the Internal Consolation there have 
 been about fifty editions ; the best is that 
 issued in the BibliotJieque Elzeverienne, 
 edited by Moland and d'Hericault, 1856. 
 It is called the first French version, and 
 has an Introduction and Notes. One 
 of the greatest of French poets, Pierre 
 Corneille, thought so highly of the 
 Imitation that he did his best to make 
 a poetical translation of it, and as far as 
 French poetry is suitable to render a 
 faithful copy of such a work he has 
 succeeded; in fact Mons. Leroy has 
 
the *' Imitatio Christie 173 
 
 written a work, Corneille et Gerson dans 
 V Imitation^ to show the beauties con- 
 tained in it. This translation, on which 
 he worked for thirty years, has gone 
 through sixty editions, and has been re- 
 pubHshed in 1885 at Lille, in an edition 
 of which only one hundred copies were 
 printed ; it is in 4to, with four plates, and 
 beautifully illustrated borders. Another 
 French poetical version was published 
 in 1818. French prose is often as poeti- 
 cal as French poetry, and Lamennais' 
 edition is, consequently, much admired 
 for its style ; and that is the translation 
 which has been chosen by Messrs. Gruel- 
 Engelmann, for a most beautiful edition 
 which appeared in 1883. It is orna- 
 mented with designs in gold and colour 
 taken from examples found in the most 
 beautiful MSS. of the thirteenth, four- 
 teenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. 
 It was edited by R. Engelmann, and cost 
 five hundred francs for each copy. 
 
 There are over three hundred and 
 seventy Italian translations, that by 
 Filicaia being one of the best. The work 
 was early translated into that language, 
 for we find that nine translations were 
 issued before 15 10. 
 
 Though there have been many trans- 
 lations into German, the number is not 
 
174 '^^^^ Story of 
 
 quite equal to the Italian. One of the 
 earliest was published at Augsburg, in 
 i486; another appeared in 1505. The 
 principal of the three hundred and forty 
 or more translations are those of Gosner, 
 Sailer, Krehl, Miiller, Arnd, Silbert, Weigl, 
 and Gorres — a beautiful edition of that of 
 the last-named appeared with illustrations 
 by Ritter von Fiihrich. Many of these 
 translations have gone through several 
 editions. 
 
 Of Flemish and Dutch translations 
 there are at least one hundred and three. 
 It was in the Netherlands that the first 
 translations appeared, and there were 
 more early ones there than elsewhere. 
 An edition in Brabant Dutch, by Nic. 
 van Winghe, was published in Antwerp, 
 in 1610. 
 
 The best Dutch poetic translation, 
 according to Joncbloet, the literary his- 
 torian, is that by J. Bonckart, pubHshed 
 at Amsterdam, 1663. There is another 
 in Dutch verse by C. Boey, which 
 appeared at the Hague about the same 
 date. 
 
 Corneille's French translation of Books 
 I., II., and III. was retranslated into Dutch 
 poetry by a society : I. and II. in 1707 at 
 Amsterdam, and III. at Rotterdam in 1730. 
 
 The Imitation has also been translated 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christi." 175 
 
 into Arabic, Armenian, Basque, Bohemian, 
 Breton, Chinese, Danish, Greek, Hebrew, 
 Hungarian, Illyrian, Icelandic, Japanese, 
 Malay, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Rus- 
 sian, Slavonic, Spanish, Swedish, Syriac, 
 Tamil, Telogoo, Turkish, and Negro. 
 There have been poetical versions, besides 
 English and French, in Latin, — one of 
 which, by Bebber, in Ovidian verse, 
 appeared at Cologne, in 1742, — Italian, 
 German, and Dutch. 
 
 There are also two polyglot editions, — 
 one of which appeared in Sulzbach, in 
 1837, — in Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, 
 German, English, and Greek; also one 
 at Lyons, in 1841, in French, Greek, 
 English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portu- 
 guese, and Latin by Montfaucon. 
 
 The first English translation was anony- 
 mous ; the second was made from the 
 French at the request of the mother of 
 Henry VII., Margaret Countess of Rich- 
 mond and Derby, who translated the 
 fourth book, the three first having been 
 done by Atkynson, whose translation is 
 rather free, as he is said to have omitted 
 some passages and altered others ; it was 
 printed by Godfrey in 1502. Other 
 editions were issued by Wynkyn de 
 Worde in 1503 and 1504, and by Pynson 
 in 1503. 
 
176 The Story of 
 
 The next translation was by John Red- 
 man in i6mo, but we do not know its date 
 — it was about 1540. Father Richard 
 Whytford, Brigettine of Syon House, 
 brought out a translation in 1556; it 
 reads well, but is quaint ; it was reprinted 
 in 1872. 
 
 Ed. Hake's translation appeared in 1567. 
 It is not of much value, as not only is it 
 translated from Castalio's paraphrase, but 
 the translator leaves out whatever he thinks 
 " not good scripture." 
 
 Roger did much the same in his trans- 
 lation, which was first published in 1584, 
 for we meet with such remarks as " What 
 needs these words ? " " Our merit ! the 
 Scripture is clean against our merits." It 
 contained only the first three books, the 
 Soliloquy being added as a fourth. This 
 translation was however popular, partly, 
 perhaps, from Scripture references having 
 been added. Publishers of it were Den- 
 man, Middleton, and Short. Editions 
 appeared in 1589, 1592, 1596, 1598, 1605, 
 and 1636 in 8vo ; also in 1592 and 1628 
 in 4to. Worthington calls it "a short 
 paraphrase." In 16 13 appeared the 
 version of F. B. or B. F., whom Waterton 
 says was Anthony Hoskins, of the Society 
 of Jesus. It is very good, and has formed 
 the basis of some of the later editions. 
 
the " Iinitatio Christie 177 
 
 Mr. Waterton mentions an edition of 
 Thomas Carre in 1624 ; he was confessor 
 to the English nuns in Paris. W. Page's 
 edition appeared in 1639, and was re- 
 printed in 1677. Dr. John Worthington, 
 Master of Jesus College and Vice-Chan- 
 cellor of the University of Cambridge, 
 brought out one, under the title of the 
 Christian's Pattern^ in 1654. It must have 
 met with great success, as it was, reprinted 
 in 1657, 1658, 1669, 1677, 1684, 1688, 
 1695, 1699, 1701, 1705, and 1722. Not- 
 withstanding these numerous editions it 
 is very scarce, and Mr. R. C. Christie had 
 difficulty in procuring the copies he has 
 so carefully catalogued for the Chetham 
 Society.* The Rev. Luke Milburne tried 
 to turn the work into poetry : his para- 
 phrase appeared in 1694. Its character 
 may be judged by the following lines : — 
 
 " What though I could with strange acuteness pry 
 Into the still mysterious Trinity ? 
 Only more woes would me at last surprise, 
 Should my proud soul for Thee that died for good 
 despise." 
 
 What this translator thought of the 
 original, and what were his ideas of the 
 
 * " Bibliography of the Works written and edited 
 by Dr. John Worthington, etc., compiled by 
 Richard Copley Christie." (Chetham Society's 
 Publications, N.S., XIII.) 
 
 13 
 
178 The Story of 
 
 duty of a translator, is thus expressed : 
 " A sour kind of leaven runs through it, 
 which I have endeavoured to purge out." 
 The translation by Dean Stanhope, which 
 first appeared in 1696, has been the most 
 popular of any, having been reprinted in 
 1698, 1700, 1706, '8, '11, '14, '17, '21, '27, 
 'ZZ^ '42, '595 '72, '795 '93j and 1809, and is 
 the one chosen by Mr. Henry Morley for 
 his edition. It is rather freely translated, 
 having been taken from Castalio's version, 
 but is in very good language, and hardly 
 deserves the severe criticism of Payne 
 and of Dibdin. The former says, " The 
 sense of the original is utterly lost in the 
 loose paraphrase of Dean Stanhope : " and 
 the latter, " Loose and paraphrastic, not 
 to say faithless." Dean Stanhope may have 
 expanded his text, but it was suitable to the 
 time, as the number of editions prove. 
 
 In 1 7 10 appeared Hickes's translation, 
 which is valuable for the interesting 
 preface, in which a fair description of the 
 claims of the various candidates for the 
 honour of the authorship is given. 
 
 The learned nonjuror Robert Nelson 
 issued a translation in 17 15,* and Willymot 
 
 * The British Museum does not possess a copy of 
 this, which is called The Christian's Pattern. Nelson 
 also published a translation of a selection of Thomas's 
 other works, called The Christian's Exercise. 
 
tJie " Imitatio Christi." lyg 
 
 in 1722 published a translation of this as 
 well as of the other works of Thomas. The 
 next important translation was that of 
 " R. C." (or Bishop Richard Challoner), 
 in 1737, other editions of which appeared 
 in 1744, 1800, 1814, and 1833. It is 
 also rather free, but reads well, as may be 
 judged from the following: — "Sublime 
 words make not a man holy and just, but 
 a virtuous life makes him dear to God." 
 John Wesley brought out his translation 
 in 1735, which is good, and tolerably close 
 to the original; G. Smith his in 1738, and 
 Lee his in 1760. 
 
 Payne's translation appeared in 1763; 
 it was adopted for Dibdin's edition, which 
 appeared in 1822. All these translations 
 have the long sentences and Addisonian 
 language of their period, which is hardly 
 the style best suited to the Imitation. 
 
 There are other translations, such as 
 those of Keith in 1774, and Goodwin in 
 i860; Benham's, 1874, which was reprinted 
 with etchings in 1886; and Hutchins', 1887. 
 We welcomed lately three excellent trans- 
 lations. One by "J. E.," based on the trans- 
 lation of " F. B.," revised and punctuated 
 in accordance with Hirsche's edition, 
 published by the Christian Knowledge 
 Society in 1888. Both by its arrangement 
 and punctuation it surpasses all previous 
 
i8o TJie " Imitatio Christie 
 
 English translations. Another has been 
 lately published, in 1889, by Mr. Elliot 
 Stock, in which the translator has arranged 
 the lines as poetry, being punctuated as 
 in the 1441 Codex, and given the title 
 Musica Ecclesiastica accordingly. It will 
 give many a better idea of the original, 
 and it forms an excellent book of devotion. 
 The third is a translation in verse by Dean 
 Carrington ; it is a great improvement on 
 Milburne's version, and it is wonderful 
 how well and concisely the translator 
 has followed the original., There was the 
 first volume of a translation in verse by 
 a Miss Thomson in 1 2mo, which appeared 
 in 1868. We cannot help thinking, how- 
 ever, that more is lost than gained by a 
 poetical version, a terse prose one suiting 
 the original much better. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Opinions of Authors on the 
 Imitation. 
 
 " Why one has less, another more ; 
 Not ours to question this, but Thine 
 With Whom each man's deserts are strictly 
 
 watched. 
 Wherefore, Lord God, I think it a great blessing 
 Not to have much which outwardly seems worth 
 
 praise or glory — as men judge of them." — 
 
 Imit. III. 22. 
 
 ROM what we know of the life 
 of Thomas a Kempis we per- 
 ceive him to have been filled 
 with the spirit of charity, and 
 that is the spirit which pervades the Imita- 
 tion ; so that, although the book may at 
 times appear to be too ascetic, it possesses 
 in general that true catholicity which 
 appeals to all, whatever may be the reli- 
 gion they profess. We accordingly find 
 that it is appreciated by Positivists like 
 Comte and George Eliot, as well as by 
 
1 82 The Story of 
 
 those of the Christian faith. Every nation 
 does it honour. In our country Sir 
 Thomas More, Wesley, Johnson, Dibdin, 
 and General Gordon are among its many 
 admirers. In France, philosophers like 
 Caro ; scholars like Renan ; theologians 
 like Lamennais, Bossuet, and Massillon; 
 poets like Corneille and Lamartine; his- 
 torians like Michelet and Henri Martin ; 
 critics such as La Harpe, Ste. Beuve, 
 and Villemain, — all bring their tribute of 
 praise. Ignatius Loyola speaks for Spain, 
 Bellarmine for Italy, and Leibnitz for 
 Germany. Even from Japan a voice 
 reaches us in the form of an indulgence 
 offered by Pope Sixtus V. to him who 
 will read a chapter of it written in a 
 Japanese translation. We here offer a 
 few of the most important of the opinions 
 that have been expressed. 
 
 The writer whose opinion is most 
 generally quoted is Fontenelle, who said 
 that the Imitation was "the finest book 
 ever issued from the hand of man," the 
 Gospels being Divine. Comte, the founder 
 of the Positive philosophy, writes : " It is 
 an inextinguishable treasure of true wis- 
 dom," adding that the "poem of the 
 Imitation had been " to him " for years 
 one of the principal daily sources of 
 nourishment and consolation to my 
 
the ''Imitatio Christi" 183 
 
 soul." Another French philosopher, but 
 a Christian, Mons. Caro, thus writes : — 
 "Open the I??utatwn after having read 
 the De Officiis of Cicero or the Enchiridion 
 of Epictetus, and you will feel yourself 
 transported into another world as in a 
 moment. You will be made to feel that 
 you have, however, to penetrate a degree 
 more into the living centre, impenetrable 
 to the senses or to the conscience, and feel 
 at once in the presence of God. Other 
 great thinkers were unable to take this 
 step, which is to die to oneself, to be born 
 again to God." St. Frangois de Sales 
 says that " its Author is the Holy Spirit." 
 Mons. de Sacy is a biblical scholar and 
 Orientalist of some standing, and he gives 
 his opinion that "it speaks to all souls. 
 ... As one reads it, conviction glides into 
 the soul with a sentiment of peace and 
 of inexpressible happiness." Father La- 
 mennais left the Church, but his writings 
 testify to his deep religious feeHng. He 
 writes that ^^ the. Imitation has made more 
 saints than all the books of controversy. 
 The more one reads the more one marvels. 
 There is something celestial in the sim- 
 plicity of this wonderful book. One would 
 almost imagine that it was by one of those 
 pure spirits who have seen God face to 
 face, who had come expressly to explain 
 
1 84 The Story of 
 
 His ways and to reveal His secrets. One 
 is profoundly moved at this aspect of that 
 soft light which nourishes the soul, and 
 fortifies and animates without troubling 
 it." Michelet, besides being an historian, 
 had the poetical imagination in a high 
 degree ; he thus writes of the eifect the 
 work must have produced when it first 
 appeared. He had just been depicting 
 the misery of the people during that time 
 of wars and troubles, when he writes : — 
 " What must have been the emotions of 
 the people, of the women, of the unfor- 
 tunate (everybody was unfortunate then), 
 when for the first time they heard the 
 Divine Word, not in the language of the 
 dead, but as a word that lived, not as a 
 ceremonial formula, but as a living word 
 from the heart ; they heard, as it were, 
 their own voice, the marvellous manifesta- 
 tion of their own secret thoughts. This 
 was indeed a resurrection ; humanity 
 raised its head _; it loved, and it wished 
 to live. * I shall not die, but live, and 
 shall yet see the works of the Lord.' " 
 
 Henri Martin, another French historian, 
 says : — "This book has not grown old, and 
 never will grow old, because it is the expres- 
 sion of the eternal tenderness of the soul. 
 It has been the consolation of thousands — 
 one might say of millions — of souls." 
 
the '' Imitatio Christie 185 
 
 Another French historian, though more 
 famous as a poet, has shown the soothing 
 influence of the Lnitation on one op- 
 pressed with trouble. Mons. de Lamar- 
 tine thus writes in hisjocelyn : — 
 
 " Harassed by an inward strife, 
 I find in th' Imitation a new life — 
 Book obscure, unhonoured, like to potter's clay, 
 Yet rich in Gospel truths as flowers in May. 
 Where loftiest wisdom, human and Divine, 
 Peace to the troubled soul to speak, combine." * 
 
 And in his Entretiens Familiers, xxii. 2, 
 he says of this " Poem of the Soul " that 
 it " condenses in a few pages the practical 
 philosophy of men of all climates and of 
 all countries who have sought, have suf- 
 fered, studied, and prayed in their tears, 
 ever since flesh suffered and thought 
 reflected." 
 
 Another writer of some eminence in the 
 last century, J. F. de la Harpe, a dramatist 
 as well as a critic, whose Cours de Littera- 
 ture met with great success, was a thorough 
 man of the world, and an atheist, but when 
 trouble came he received in his prison com- 
 fort and consolation from the Imitation. 
 "Never before," he writes, "or since, have 
 I experienced emotion so violent and yet 
 so unexpectedly sweet — the words, 'Be- 
 
 * Anstruther's translation. 
 
1 86 The Story of 
 
 hold, I am here,' echoing unceasingly in 
 my heart, awakening its faculties, and 
 moving it to the uttermost depths." He 
 had already " studied attentively the 
 Gospels, the Psalms, and other spiritual 
 works," by which his faith had been 
 revived ; but he was still without comfort 
 until he took the Imitation — having heard 
 that in this admirable "book are to be 
 found clear answers to all difficulties w^hich 
 can agitate the soul" — when he came 
 across a quotation from i Sam. iii., where 
 the young prophet says, " Here am I, for 
 Thou hast called me." 
 
 One would hardly expect a favourable 
 opinion of the work from such a combative 
 Ultramontane as Mons. Louis Veuillot, 
 and yet we find him saying, "To teach 
 man that life in God, that is, the Christian 
 life, is the only reasonable one, the only 
 happy one, the only practical one, I would 
 wilhngly say the only possible one, and 
 that at length man is made thus to live, is 
 the aim of the author and the secret he 
 teaches." 
 
 Ampere, the physicist, had a great re- 
 gard for the work, saying on his death-bed 
 that he knew it thoroughly. 
 
 Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the 
 Society of Jesus, thought so highly of the 
 book that he daily read two chapters of it. 
 
the " Imitatio Christi" 187 
 
 Frangois de Sales recommended the 
 reading of it. 
 
 The learned Benedictine, DomMabillon, 
 editor of the Acta Sanctorum, etc., valued 
 it very highly, saying that " this book is, 
 without contradiction, the most estimable 
 on matters of piety which has ever been 
 made." 
 
 When we turn to Germany we find the 
 same consensus of opinion. The great 
 philosopher Leibnitz was so enamoured 
 of it that he says, " The Imitation is one 
 of the most excellent treatises that have 
 ever been written," adding, "Blessed is 
 he who lives according to this book, and 
 is not content merely with admiring it." 
 Ullmann, the German divine, author of 
 the Reformers before the Reformatio?z, etc., 
 styles it "the most impressive preacher, 
 the attracting magnet to countless multi- 
 tudes." Pastor Veit calls it " the balm of 
 suffering hearts." Paul Gerock, hymn- 
 writer and preacher, calls it "a blessed 
 treasury for the edification of spirit and 
 of heart." Dr. Moritz Schwalb says it is 
 his favourite book of edification, in reaHty 
 his only one. " It quickens my mind as 
 no other can, and gives me rich food for 
 thought." Although a Protestant, he calls 
 the fourth book a noble Communion book, 
 with which even a pious Zwinglian could 
 
1 88 The Story of 
 
 prepare himself for Communion, as well as 
 a pious Catholic, considering that "the 
 Zwinglian doctrine, if read in the light of 
 such meditations, is not in opposition to 
 the Catholic doctrine, but merely its prose 
 translation." George Pirckheimer, who 
 wrote about Thomas a Kempis, whom he 
 calls "that most wise, most sweet, and 
 most religious man," was the prior of a 
 Carthusian house at Niiremberg, and 
 edited his works in 1494. To encourage 
 the publisher, and to show him that he 
 was doing a good work, he thus writes : — 
 "Nothing more holy, nothing more 
 honourable, nothing more religious, no- 
 thing, lastly, more for the Christian com- 
 monweal, can you ever do than to take care 
 that these books of Thomas a Kempis be 
 made public ; which, though hitherto not 
 taken notice of, as fire hidden in the veins 
 of a flint, may be very greatly useful and 
 serviceable to the Christian Religion. . . . 
 Whereas, the venerable Father Thomas 
 of Kempen, not trusting to eloquence, but 
 to truth, composed these works, whose 
 style, though it flow meanly, as from a 
 gentle spring, yet shines clearly with its 
 own light and intrinsic lustre." * He has 
 
 * Introduction to Hickes's edition of The Chris- 
 tianas Pattern. 
 
the '^ Imitatio Christi!'' 189 
 
 added more to the same effect. One can 
 but wonder that such words were needed 
 so soon after the death of Thomas. 
 
 Count Stolberg writes that Thomas's 
 little book of the Imitation of Christ de- 
 serves to be the book of all those who 
 truly love Truth and Love." 
 
 Bernhard, in his preface to his transla- 
 tion, says that it is " drawn immediately 
 from the spring of living water which 
 flows into Eternal Life." 
 
 One is surprised, however, to see how 
 little it seems to be appreciated by the lite- 
 rary men of Germany of to-day. Of many 
 that were asked to give their opinion of 
 the hundred best books, only two mention 
 it. One of them. Dr. Sepp of Munich, 
 thinks it too Buddhistic ; he, however, tells 
 us that King Louis I. of Bavaria thought 
 highly of it, and when asked what book 
 he reckoned the best, replied that he 
 valued the luiitatiofi above all, and that 
 he read it daily. 
 
 Dr. F. X. Kraus, the Christian anti- 
 quary, says he always takes three books 
 with him when he travels — the Bible, the 
 Imitation^ and the Divina Commedia of 
 Dante. 
 
 The late Emperor Frederick is said to 
 have been fond of it. 
 
 We shall now see that England is not 
 
190 The Story of 
 
 behindhand with its praise of the Imita- 
 tion. George Eliot shows her deep appre- 
 ciation of the book in her Mill on the 
 Floss (Book IV., chapter iii.), where she 
 says that " it works miracles to this day, 
 turning bitter waters into sweetness. It is 
 the chronicle of a solitary hidden anguish, 
 struggle, trust, and triumph. ... It 
 remains a lasting record of human needs 
 and human consolations; the voice of a 
 brother who ages ago felt and suffered 
 and renounced . . . under the same silent 
 far-off heavens and with the same pas- 
 sionate desires, the same strivings, the same 
 failures, the same weariness." 
 
 Another novelist, Charles Kingsley, calls 
 it " the School of many a noble soul." 
 
 John Wesley, by publishing a transla- 
 tion, showed the great value he set on the 
 work. He considers "the style of the 
 treatise as the most plain, simple, and 
 unadorned that can be conceived ; yet 
 such is the strength, the spirit, and weight 
 of every sentiment that it is scarce pos- 
 sible, without injury to the sense, to add 
 or diminish anything. The whole treatise 
 is a complete and finished work, com- 
 prehending all that relates to Christ, perfect 
 in all the principles of that internal wor- 
 ship with which alone we worship in spirit 
 and in truth." He also says that "one 
 
the ^^ hnitatio Christi" 191 
 
 of the main uses of the book is that 
 while it enforces the spiritual graces in 
 all their extent, it lays open the spiritual 
 enjoyment that springs from the cultiva- 
 tion or the reveaHng of the hidden charm 
 which Hes in godhness, and demonstrating 
 the sure though secret alliance which 
 obtains between the peace of heaven in 
 the soul and patience under all the adver- 
 sities of the path which leads to it." 
 
 Dr. Chalmers, the Scottish theologian, 
 one of the leaders of the great revival of 
 religion in Scotland in 1846, also brought 
 out an edition of the Imitation^ using 
 Payne's translation. He speaks in his 
 preface of " the simplicity of thought and 
 style, remarkably clear and powerful;" 
 adding that " a serious mind will never 
 be satiated with it, though it were read a 
 thousand times over ; for these general 
 principles are as fruitful seeds of medita- 
 tion, and the stores they contain can never 
 be exhausted." 
 
 Hallam speaks of the sentences as 
 " heart-piercing," and the expression as 
 " concise and energetic." 
 
 Sir James Stephen speaks of it as a 
 work " which could not fail to attract 
 notice, and which commended itself to all 
 souls driven to despair." 
 
 Most people will acknowledge that Dr. 
 
192 The Story of 
 
 Samuel Johnson was a good critic, and 
 he says that " Thomas ci Kempis must be 
 a good book, as the world has opened its 
 arms to receive it ; " he confesses that he 
 was struck with this sentence in it, " Be 
 not angry that you cannot make others as 
 you wish them to be, since you cannot 
 make yourself as you wish to be." 
 
 Whatever may be thought of Matthew 
 Arnold's religious views, few will doubt 
 the general correctness of his criticism 
 and his knowledge of a good style, and he 
 calls the Imitation "the most exquisite 
 document after those of the New Testa- 
 ment of all that the Christian spirit has 
 ever inspired." * Of some of the sayings 
 of which he gives specimens he says, 
 " These are moral precepts, and precepts 
 of the best kind. As rules to hold pos- 
 session of our conduct, and to keep us in 
 the right course through outward troubles 
 and inward perplexity, they are equal to 
 the best ever furnished by the great 
 masters of morals — Epictetus or Marcus 
 Aurelius." 
 
 The late Dean Church, in his Disciplineof 
 the Christian Character^ says that " it springs 
 forth out of the depths of the heart, . . . 
 and except the New Testament, no book 
 
 * Essays on Criticism^ p. 270. 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Ckristi" 193 
 
 of religious thought has been used so 
 widely or so long. ... No book of 
 human composition has been the com- 
 panion of so many serious hours, has been 
 prized in widely different religious commu- 
 nions, has nerved and comforted so many 
 and such different minds — preacher and 
 soldier and solitary thinker — Christian, or 
 even, it may be, one unable to believe." 
 
 Another Dean of St. Paul's, Dr. Mil- 
 man, in his Latin Christianity (vol. ix., 
 pp. 1 6 1-2), treats the subject historically, 
 as follows : — " In one remarkable book 
 was gathered and concentrated all that 
 was elevating, passionate, profoundly pious 
 in all the older mystics. Gerson, Ruys- 
 broek, Tauler — all who address the heart 
 in later times, were summed up and 
 brought into one circle of light and heat 
 in this single small volume. That this 
 book supplies some imperious want in 
 the Christianity of mankind, that it sup- 
 plied it with a fulness and felicity which 
 left nothing at this period of Christianity 
 to be desired, its boundless popularity is 
 the one unanswerable testimony. . . . 
 The size of the book, the manner, the 
 style, the arrangement, as well as the pro- 
 found sympathy with all the religious 
 feelings, wants, and passions, its vivid and 
 natural expressions to monastic Christi- 
 
 13 
 
194 The Story of 
 
 anity, what our Hebrew Psalms are to 
 common Christianity, its contagious piety, 
 all conspired to its universal dissemina- 
 tion, its universal use. This one little 
 volume contained in its few pages the 
 whole essence of St. Victor, of Bonaven- 
 tura without his Franciscan peculiarities, 
 and of the later mystic school. Yet it 
 might easily be held in the hand, carried 
 about where no other book was carried — 
 in the narrow cell or chamber, or on a 
 journey into the solitude, or among the 
 crowd and throng of men. Its name ; its 
 short quivering sentences, which went at 
 once to the heart, and laid hold of and 
 clung tenaciously to the memory with the 
 compressive incompleteness of proverbs ; 
 its axioms, each of which suggested end- 
 less thoughts ; its imagery, scriptural lan- 
 guage, were alike original and unique. 
 The style is Ecclesiastical Latin, but the 
 perfection of Ecclesiastical Latin — brief 
 and pregnant as expressing profound 
 thoughts in fervent words, and those 
 words, if compared with the Scholastic 
 Latin, of pure and of sound construction." 
 De Quincey seems to have been of the 
 same opinion, as he says of this work : 
 "Next to the Bible in European publicity 
 and currency, the book came forward 
 as an answer to the sighing of Christian 
 
the ^' Imitatio Christir 195 
 
 Europe for light from heaven." The same 
 thought is expressed with much the same 
 sentiment by Archdeacon Farrar when he 
 writes : " The compiler of this book did 
 but gather in one rich casket the religious 
 yearnings, the interior consolation, the 
 wisdom of solitary experience which had 
 been wrung from many ages of Christian 
 life ; " and again as " the expression of the 
 loftiest individual genius, or as like unto 
 some sacred goblet in which had been 
 crushed the rich cluster of the wisdom of 
 centuries." 
 
 In a translation published in 1633, the 
 translator speaks of it "as so full of sweet 
 sense of the Divine flower that the most 
 spiritual bees may daily draw from it great 
 plenty of celestial honey. It is a dish so 
 Divine that it never satiates the devout 
 mind. It covereth the soul with the rich 
 garment of grace. It adorneth it with the 
 splendidest pearls of evangelical perfec- 
 tion." According to Dean Plumptre, 
 Bishop Ken had a copy in his library, and 
 both he and Archbishop Leighton recom- 
 mended both it and the other works of 
 Thomas a Kempis. The late Dr. Liddon 
 was a great admirer of the work. He not 
 only wrote a preface to an edition of it, 
 but mentions it in his sermons "as the 
 product of the highest Christian genius," 
 
ig6 The Story of 
 
 and as among " the very choicest of devo- 
 tional works." He also says it is one of 
 the books " that have touched the heart 
 of the world." 
 
 The Rev. R. F. Horton, one of the chief 
 preachers of the Congregationalists, writes 
 that " the lasting power of the Imitatio is 
 derived from the fact that it is the in- 
 ward Christ with whom it is dealing all 
 along, and the life lived in the flesh is 
 regarded merely as a more or less frag- 
 mentary illustration of that supernatural 
 and eternal life." He thinks that it never 
 contemplates the human side of Christ 
 divorced from His "unique and Divine 
 existence, and then gives the fullest and 
 most fruitful aspect of the truth." 
 
 We are told that the Lnitation was the 
 constant companion of General Gordon ; 
 and Lord Wolseley "has always carried 
 when in the field The Book of Cofjunon 
 Prayer, ThoDias a Kempis, and The Sol- 
 dier's Pocket Book:' Mr. H. M. Stanley, 
 the African traveller, thinks that "the 
 Bible, Matthew Henry's or Barnes's Com- 
 mentaries on it, and the Imitation of 
 Christ, by Thomas a Kempis, are all-suffi- 
 cient for a healthy and simple theology." 
 
 Sir John Lubbock has included this 
 work in his list of the hundred best books ; 
 and in answer to the request of the Editor 
 
the '^ Imitatio Christi." 197 
 
 of the Fall Mall Gazette^ several persons 
 gave their opinions on the subject ; while 
 Mr. Ruskin marked out the Imitation as 
 needless, Archdeacon Farrar, whose opinion 
 we have previously quoted, wrote that " if 
 all the books of the world were in a blaze, 
 the first twelve I should snatch from the 
 flames would be the Bible, The Lnitation 
 Christie Homer, ^schylus, Thucydides, 
 Tacitus, Virgil, Marcus Aurelius, Dante, 
 Shakespeare, Milton, and Wordsworth. 
 The Rev. Dr. J. E. C. Welldon, the Head- 
 master of Harrow, included the Imitation 
 in his list; and among those who, by 
 approving of Sir John's list, may be said 
 to value that work are Dr. E. Warre, the 
 Head-master of Eton, the Lord Chief 
 Justice, Rev. D. Greene, Professor Jowett, 
 and the Duke of Argyll. 
 
 When Dr. Harvey Goodwin, Bishop of 
 Carlisle, was Dean of Ely, he published 
 a translation, in the preface to which he 
 expressed the wish, in which we join, that 
 this "wonderful little book may carry on 
 the blessed work of comforting faithful 
 souls, which by God's grace it has already 
 been permitted in so pre-eminent a degree 
 to perform." 
 
 One of the latest translations in Ger- 
 many is edited by Dr. E. Fromm, and in 
 his preface he speaks of it in the words of 
 
198 TJie ^^ Imitatio Christie 
 
 Pascal, "One expects only a book and finds 
 a man," adding that in it "the deep pious 
 feeling expressed, the earnestness, the 
 modesty, the unartificial piety of the 
 author, come out in every sentence like 
 the silvery sound of inward genuineness." 
 He tells us that Karl Simrock, the poet, 
 translated the work into verse, though he 
 never ventured to publish it. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Chrestomathy of Extracts from the 
 Imitation. 
 
 HE following selection of extracts 
 will give the reader an idea of 
 the riches to be found in the 
 Imitation. They are in the 
 words of the various translators in chrono- 
 logical order : — 
 
 •* Our lorde saith he thatifoloweth me goith not 
 in darkenesse." — I. i, Cambridge MS. 
 
 " Who euere wol understonde ye wordes of crist 
 plainly and sauerely, he must studie to conforme 
 all his lif to his \yi."—Ibid., Dublin MS.y about 
 1 450- (80) ? 
 
 •' Vanij [sic) hit is to desire a longe lij ve and take 
 none heede of a goode lyue. Vanij te hit is a man 
 to take heede onely to >is presente lijve and not to 
 see bifore >>oo J?inges >at are to come. Vanite hit 
 is to loue J>at >inge >at passeth aweij with alle 
 maner of swyftenesse And not to haste thider 
 where Joyes abyden everlastynge." — Ibid.y Cam- 
 bridge MS. 
 
 " How many ben ther that perrisshith in this 
 worlde by veyn konnyng, that litel retchith of the 
 service of God."— I. 3, Dublin MS. 
 
200 The Story of 
 
 " If man had knowlege of all thinges in the 
 worlde without charite, what shulde it avayle him 
 in the syght of God that jugeth man after his 
 dedis."— I. 2, Atkynson, 1502. 
 
 " Remebre yf thou knowe many thynges & 
 exceedest othere in conning. Yet consider there 
 be many mo thinges that thou art ignoraunt of." — 
 Ibid. 
 
 " If thou wylt profitablye knowe and lerne, 
 desire to be unknowe." — Ibid. 
 
 " It is a great wysdome and pfeccy5 to haue of 
 thysylfe lytel confidence and estymate wel of 
 other." — Ibid. 
 
 " What auayleth us for to labour bisely for the 
 knowlege of those thynges whyche shalle naither 
 helpe us yf we knowe theym nor disavautage us, yi 
 we therin be ignoraunt at the day of jugement." — 
 I. 3, Ibid. 
 
 "The humble knowlege of thysylfe is a more 
 sure way to heue than the cur' inqsitio of pfoude 
 knowlege of thiges unprofitable." — Ibid. 
 
 ' ' That psone may be named gret i grace that 
 is incended with charyte & i pfytly, obedient 
 by humylyte, coteynynge, the lordinate desire of 
 pemynens or of dignyte." — Ibid. 
 
 " That psone is verely wel taughte that euer 
 inforseth hymselfe to forsake hys owne wyll and 
 folowe the wyl of God." — Ibid. 
 
 " A good life maketh a man wise to God, and 
 instructeth him in many things that a sinful man 
 shall never feel nor know." — I. 4, Whytford, 1556. 
 
 " Charity is to be sought in Holy Scripture, not 
 eloquence. And it should be read with the same 
 spirit that it was first made."— I. 5, Ibid. 
 
 " He is vain that putteth his trust in man or in 
 any creature. Be not ashamed to serve others for 
 the love of Jesus Christ, and to be poor in this 
 world for His sake." — I. 7, Ibid. 
 
tJte '^ Imitatio Christie 201 
 
 •' Open not thy heart to every person, but to him 
 that is wise, secret, and dreading God." — I. 8, Ibid. 
 
 " An evil use and a negligence of our ghostly 
 profit maketh us oftentimes to take little heed 
 how we should speak." — I. lo. Ibid. 
 
 ' ' We might have much peace, if we would not 
 meddle with other men's sayings and doings, that 
 belong not unto us." — I. ii, Ibid. 
 
 " If we set the end and perfection of our religion 
 in these outward observances, our devotion will 
 soon be ended." — Ibid. 
 
 " If thou shalt not conquer small and trifling 
 things, when wilt thou be able to vanquish and 
 subdue the harder things ? First of all resist thine 
 own inclination and forsake naughty custom, lest 
 perhaps it lead thee by little and little into greater 
 difficulty and hardness. Would to God thou 
 wouldest mark both how great peace thou shouldst 
 cause unto thyself and joy unto others in behaving 
 thyself godly. Out of doubt thou wouldest then 
 be more carefull to come forward in ghostly things." 
 —I. II, Hake, 1568. 
 
 " It is profitable for us to be kept down with 
 calamities and adversities sometimes, because they 
 oftentimes do call back a man unto himself, 
 whereby he may know that he liveth here in 
 banishment, and may not put his hope and affiance 
 in any worldly things." — I. 12, Ibid. 
 
 "Therefore ought man so wholely to depend 
 upon God, that it be not necessary for him to 
 seek many comforts." — Ibid, 
 
 " It is good for us sometimes to suffer affliction, 
 for it maketh us to know ourselves in this world 
 and to repose no confidence in any creature." — 
 I. 12, Rogers, 1584. 
 
 " As fire trieth iron so tentation trieth man. 
 What we are able to do we know not many times ; 
 but what we are tentation shows." — I. 13, Ibid. 
 
202 The Story of 
 
 "If thou have not love, thine outward deeds 
 profit nothing. If thou have love, be thy work 
 never so small and simple, they profit much. For 
 God respecteth not what is done, but how and 
 with what affection a thing is done." — I. 15, Ibid. 
 
 "He doth much that loveth much, he doth 
 much that doeth a thing as it should be done. A 
 man endued with perfect charity serve th not his own 
 turn, but onely seeketh the gloiie of God." — Ibid. 
 
 *' That which thou canst not amend neither thy- 
 self nor others, must patiently be suffered til God 
 otherwise work." — I. 16, Ibid. 
 
 " Endeavour to be patient in bearing with the 
 defects and infirmities of others ; for that thyself 
 also hast many things which must be suffered by 
 others."— I. 16, F. B., 1633. 
 
 " We ought to bear with one another, comfort 
 one another, help, instruct, and admonish one 
 another." — Ibid, 
 
 "Thou must learn to break thy own will in 
 many things if thou wilt have peace & concord 
 with others." — I. 17, Ibid. 
 
 " Thou shouldest always so order thy thoughts" 
 & thy actions as if this very day thou wert to 
 depart this life. If thou hadst a good conscience 
 thou wouldest not much fear death." — I. 23, Ibid. 
 
 " Blessed is he that hath always before his eyei 
 the hour of his death, and disposeth himself daily 
 thereto."— Z^z^. 
 
 '* Labour to live in such sort, that at the hour of 
 death thou mayest rather rejoice than fear."— T^zo'. 
 
 "All is vanity but to love God and only to 
 serve Him ; and he that loveth God with his 
 whole heart, needeth to fear neither death, punish- 
 ment, judgement, nor hell, for perfect love gives 
 secure access to God." — I. 24, Ibid. 
 
 " Be careful to avoid those things in thyself, 
 which most displease thee in others." — I. 25, Ibid. 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christie 203 
 
 ** Remember always the end, and how that time 
 lost never returns." — Ibid. 
 
 "Put thy whole trust and confidence in God, 
 love Him for His mercy, fear Him for His judge- 
 ment, He will answer for thee and will do all 
 things for the best."— II. 2, F. Page, 1639. 
 
 *' A passionate man tumeth good into evil and 
 easily belie veth the worst ; a good quiet man tumeth 
 all things into good ; he that is peaceable is not 
 suspicious of any." — II. 3, Ibid. 
 
 " If in thy own heart thou art good and pure 
 then wouldest thou be able to see and under- 
 stand all things without any let or impediment ; 
 a pure heart pierceth heaven and hell." — II. 4, 
 Ibid. 
 
 "Account nothing great, nothing high, nothing 
 grateful, nothing acceptable, but God alone, or 
 that which is from God."— II. 5, Ibid. 
 
 "Love him and keep him for thy friend, who 
 when all go away, will not forsake thee nor suffer 
 thee to perish in the end."— II. 8, Ibid. 
 
 *' Give unto God that which is God's, and 
 ascribe unto i;hyself that which is thine own ; that 
 is, give thanks unto God for His grace, and 
 acknowledge that nothing is to be attributed to 
 thee, but only sin and the punishment due thereto." 
 —II. 10, Ibid. 
 
 "Content thyself and desire always the meanest 
 and lowest things, and the highest shall be given 
 thee, for the highest stand not without the lowest." 
 —Ibid. 
 ** How close on Jesus for the loaves they wait, 
 
 But all thoughts of sufferings hate. 
 Gladly His helpful Miracles admire, 
 
 To loud Applauses and Hosannas rise. 
 But from the shameful Cross retire, 
 
 With daunted Hearts and lowring Eyes." 
 
 II. II, Milbourne, 1697. 
 
204 "^^ Story of 
 
 " O may I then, while living, daily die 
 
 To sin, to earth, and to myself, that I 
 May fill my heart with things above. 
 
 So may my God accept my happier choice 
 
 To die with Christ, not with the world rejoice. 
 And thence approve my sacred love." 
 
 II. 12, Ibid, 
 
 " Love is gi-eat and powerful, an excellent Virtue 
 and mighty Advantage in welldoing. It lightens 
 the heaviest burdens, makes Difficulties easy, and 
 smooths the rugged Ways of Duty ; takes out the 
 Bitterness of Suffering, and gives them a delight- 
 full relish."— III. 5 (6), Stanhope, 1698. 
 
 "In Love is the perfection of pleasure and 
 strength, it is higher than heaven, broader than 
 the sea, it fills the spacious universe, for it is born 
 of God. The first and best of all His creatures, 
 and as it came from Him, so it never rests till it 
 have got above all finite beings, and centres again 
 in that only, that infinite good from whence it 
 originally sprung." — Ibid. 
 
 "If Disasters or calamitous Accidents cool or 
 draw off our Affections, this is an Argument that a 
 man is not yet what the Apostle requires we should 
 all be, Rooted and grounded in Love,''' — Ibid. 
 
 "A valiant lover stands firm amidst trials and 
 temptations, and hearkens not to the crafty insinua- 
 tions of the enemy." — III. 6, Willymot, 1722. 
 
 " Strive like a good soldier ; and if at any time 
 thou fallest through frailty, rally thy forces again, 
 redouble thy vigour, not doubting of larger re- 
 cruits of grace from Me." — Ibid. 
 
 " A moderate degree of knowledge, and a small 
 capacity accompanied with humility, is preferable 
 to vast treasures of learning, attended with vanity 
 and self-conceit." — Ibid, 
 
 " Regard everything as derived and flowing 
 from the first and sovereign good." — III. 9, Ibid. 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christie 205 
 
 " Out of Me the little and the great, the poor 
 and the rich, draw as from a living fountain the 
 water of life." — Ibid. 
 
 " If My grace, together with true charity, once 
 enter the heart, there will be no more envy, nor 
 narrowness of spirit nor self-love." — Ibid. 
 
 '•Lord, how great is the multitude of Thy 
 sweetness which Thou hast reserved for those who 
 fear Thee ! But yet Thou art something more to 
 those who love Thee with their whole heart." — 
 III. 10, Anon.^ 1726. 
 
 " It is good sometimes to hold the reins, and 
 use moderation even in good endeavours and de- 
 sires ; but too much eagerness should cause dis- 
 traction in the mind ; and lest want of method 
 should be of ill example to others."— III. ii, Ibid. 
 " Grant that I may ever desire and wish for such 
 things as are most acceptable and most agreeable 
 to Thee. May I have no other will but Thine ; 
 and that alone be my only measure, and the rule 
 I most exactly follow." — III. 15, Ibid. 
 
 "Though thou hadst in thy possession all the 
 advantage of this world together ; yet thou couldest 
 never be at ease, nor happy in anything, but the 
 Creator of thee and them, in whom" alone all 
 felicity consists." — III. 16, Ibid. 
 
 "All human comfort is short and vain; and' 
 that only true which truth itself creates in our 
 hearts."— /^e^. 
 
 ' ' Thy care for me is greater than all the care 
 that I can take for myself. 
 
 "For he standeth very totteringly that castest 
 not his whole care upon Thee. 
 
 ' ' Lord, so that my will may remain right and 
 firm towards Thee, do with me whatsoever shall 
 please Thee. For it cannot be but good whatso- 
 ever Thou doest with me." — III. 17, Wesley, 
 1735- 
 
2o6 The Story of 
 
 " O how many and great thanks am I bound 
 to render to Thee, that Thou hast vouchsafed to 
 show unto me and to all the faithful a direct and 
 sure way to Thy everlasting kingdom ! 
 
 " For Tiiy life is our way, and by holy patience 
 we go with Thee that art the cro\vn." — III, l8, 
 Ibid. 
 
 " How much better Thou disposest thyself to 
 suffering, so much the more wisely thou doest, 
 and so much the greater reward shalt thou receive. 
 
 * ' Thou shalt more easily also endure it, if, both 
 in mind and by exercise, thou art well prepared 
 thereunto."— III. 19, Ibid. 
 
 ' * Rest thyself, my soul, in God upon all occa- 
 sions, and make Him thy only dependence ; for 
 He is thy only sure refuge, the eternal rest of the 
 saints. Grant me Thy grace, O sweetest, kindest 
 Saviour, to esteem and love and trust in Thee 
 above all others."— III. 21 (23), Dr. G. Smith, 
 1738. 
 
 '' For Thou, O my God, art the best and most 
 excellent Being. In Thee alone can we find plenty 
 and fulness, sweet refreshment, peaceful comfort, 
 and ravishing delights, the perfection of beauty 
 and charming gi-aces, true honour and adorable 
 majesty. In Thee as its proper centre all good meets 
 and dwells, and ever did, doth, and will continue 
 to abide, for and to all eternity." — Ibid, 
 
 '* Draw me with the cords of an entire and holy 
 affection. Set me at liberty from this clog of 
 earth, and give me wings of fervent zeal and pure 
 devotion, that I may soar aloft, and take my flight 
 higher than heaven itself, and find my rest in 
 Thee."— /<5z^. 
 
 "All the faculties of mind and body, all the 
 endowment of nature, and all the advantages of 
 grace are the gifts of thy Hand, and proclaim the 
 Infinite love and munificence of the Giver, from 
 
the ^^ Imitatio Christi" 207 
 
 whom all good eternal proceeds." — III. 22 (16), 
 Payne, 1763. 
 
 ' ' He that hath received greater gifts hath no 
 reason to glory in his own merit, nor to exalt 
 himself above others, nor to insult his poorer 
 brother who hath received less ; for he is the 
 greatest and best who ascribes least to himself, and 
 is most devout and humble in the acknowledgment 
 and praise of the Infinite Liberality from which 
 every good and perfect gift proceeds." — Ibid. 
 
 " Nothing should give so much joy to the heart 
 of him that truly loveth Thee, and is truly sensible 
 of Thy undeserved mercies, as the perfect accom- 
 plishment of Thy blessed will."— 7<5zi/. 
 
 '* If thy love be pure, simple, and well ordered 
 thou shalt be free from the bondage of things." — 
 III. 27, Keith, 1774. 
 
 •' Grant me prudently to avoid him that flatters 
 me, and to suffer patiently him that contradicts 
 me."— /3zV. 
 
 " He that coveteth not to please men, nor feareth 
 to displease them, shall enjoy much peace." — 
 III. 28, Ibid. 
 
 "Be firm and constant. Take courage and be 
 patient, and comfort will come to thee in due 
 time." — III. 30, Ibid. 
 
 "It is a vain and unprofitable thing to be 
 grieved, or to rejoice for future things, that perhaps 
 will never happen." — Ibid. 
 
 "Far more noble is that learning which flows 
 from above from the Divine influence, than that 
 which is painfully got by the industry of man." — 
 HI. 31, Ibid. 
 
 " Nature looks at the outward things of a man. 
 Grace tumeth herself to the inward." — Ibid. 
 
 *' You cannot possess perfect liberty unless you 
 completely deny yourself." — III. 32, Goodwin, i860. 
 
 " Seek true peace, not on earth, but in heaven ; 
 
20 8 TJie Story of 
 
 not in men, nor in any other creature, but in God 
 alone." — III. 35, Ihid. 
 
 ' ' Fear God, and you need not tremble at the 
 terrors of men." — III. 36, Ibid. 
 
 '* Flee into the hidden chamber of your own 
 heart, and earnestly implore the Divine succour." — 
 III. 38, Ibid. 
 
 *'Men often strive vehemently for something 
 upon which they have set their hearts ; but when 
 they attain it they find it different from what they 
 expected."— III. 39, Ibid. 
 
 ** If you rest upon the ever-living and abiding 
 Truth, the loss or death of a friend will not over- 
 whelm you with grief. Friendship ought to have 
 its foundation in Me, and whosoever appears good 
 to you and is dear to you in this life is to be 
 loved for My sake." — III. 42, Ibid. 
 
 " Leani in all things to conquer thyself for thy 
 Creator's sake ; then shalt thou be able to attain 
 unto Divine knowledge." — III. 42, Benham^ 1874. 
 " I am He who in an instant lifts up the humble 
 spirit to learn more reasonings of the eternal truth 
 than if a man had studied ten years in the schools." 
 —III. 43, Ibid. 
 
 "The voice of books is one, but it informeth 
 not all alike, because I inwardly am the Teacher 
 of truth, the Searcher of the heart, the Discerner 
 of the thought, the Mover of actions, distributing 
 to each man as I judge meet." — Ibid. 
 
 "It is more profitable to turn away thine eyes 
 from those things that displease, and to leave to 
 each man his ovm opinion, than to give thyself 
 to discourses of strife." — III. 44, Ibid. 
 
 " A Friend who continueth faithful in all the dis- 
 tresses of his friend is rare to be found. Thou, O 
 Lord, Thou alone, art most faithful in all things, 
 and there is none other like unto Thee." — III. 
 45, Ibid. 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 209 
 
 "What I do not like to bear from others, I 
 ought myself in every way to avoid."— III. 45, 
 Hutchings, 1887. 
 
 " Regard My words, and you will not care for 
 ten thousand words of men." — III. 46, Ibid. 
 
 "Do not seek what is pleasant and profitable 
 to yourself, but what is acceptable to Me and 
 honours Me." — III. 49, Ibid. 
 
 **Be strong and courageous, as well in doing as 
 in suffering things from which nature shrinks." — 
 Ibid. 
 
 "What you do for others shall have success, 
 what you undertake to please yourself shall fail." 
 —Ibid. 
 
 "This must be your desire, that God may be 
 always glorified in you whether by life or death." 
 — Ibid. 
 
 "When men judge according to their senses 
 they often err ; and the lovers of the world, by 
 loving visible things, only, are deceived." — III. 
 50, Ibid. 
 
 "Humble contrition for sins is an acceptable 
 sacrifice unto Thee, O Lord, yielding a far sweeter 
 savour in Thy presence than the perfuming frankin- 
 cense."— III. 52,/. E., 1888. 
 
 "Oh, how great a confidence shall he have at 
 the hour of death, whom no affection to anything 
 detaineth in the world." — III. 53, Ibid. 
 
 * * If thou perfectly overcome thyself, thou shalt 
 with more ease subdue the rest. The perfect 
 victory is to triumph over ourselves. For he that 
 keepeth himself subject in such sort, that his 
 sensuality be obedient to reason, and reason in 
 all things obedient to Me, he is truly conqueror 
 of himself and lord of the world." — Ibid. 
 
 "When this evil (selfishness) is once overcome 
 and subdued, there will presently ensue great 
 peace and tranquillity." — Ibid. 
 
 14 
 
2IO The Story of 
 
 *' The life of man* shuns death, shuns pressure, 
 shuns defeat, 
 
 Would not be second, 
 
 Would not pass beneath a yoke. ' 
 
 Life touched by God* aims at the humbling of 
 self, even to death, 
 
 Fights with self-indulgence, 
 
 Asks for subjection, 
 
 Wishes for defeat, 
 
 Cares not for its own liberty, 
 
 Loves to be bound by rule, 
 
 Likes not to domineer, 
 
 But ever under God 
 
 To live, to stand, to be ; 
 
 And for His sake is ready humbly to bow down 
 
 To any human creature. 
 
 The life of man works for its ovm end, 
 
 And thinks, What can I gain from some one else ? 
 
 Life touched by God cares not what serves or 
 helps itself. 
 
 But what will help mankind." 
 
 HI. 54, Musica Ecclesiastica, 1889. 
 " God must be blessed in all His gifts, it says, 
 
 Who gives us all out of pure charity." — Ibid. 
 ' ' Thy grace, O Lord, how greatly do I need 
 
 In good works to begin, in them proceed, 
 
 And rightly finish, for ^vithout Thine aid 
 
 All efforts to do well are vainly made." 
 
 III. 55, Carrington, 1889. 
 " O heavenly grace, without thee all we do 
 
 Is worthless ; gifts of nature worthless too." 
 
 Ibid. 
 *' Faith, hope, and other virtues find not place 
 
 In Thy regards, if lacking love and grace." 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 * The translator chooses these terms as equiva- 
 lent to "natura" and "gratia." 
 
the " Imitatio Christie 211 
 
 * ' What countless virtues doth Thy grace combine, 
 Mistress of truth, teacher of discipline, 
 Light of the heart, sweet comforter of grief, 
 Sorrow's disperser, and benign relief" — Ibid. 
 • ' If thou keep in My way, Truth shalt thou see 
 And understand, and Truth shall make thee free, 
 And life eternal shall thy guerdon be." — Ibid. 
 '* Defende and kepe ye soule of t>y litel servant 
 among so many perels of >is corruptible lyf and 
 \>y grace goying with, Dyrecte hym by \>t wey of 
 pes to >e cuntrey of euerlasting clerenes. Amen." 
 — Cambridge and Dublin MSS., about 1450. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Chrestomathy from the other Works 
 OF Thomas a Kempis.* 
 
 HE following extracts from the 
 Opera Minora of Thomas are 
 intended to show the similarity 
 of ideas and the resemblance of 
 style to sentences in the Imitation : — 
 
 "Seek true wisdom which Christ taught and 
 showed by His example. The truly wise man 
 hates iniquity, speaks the truth, and does justice." 
 — Hortulus Rosaru7)i, III. I. 
 
 " When anger enters the mind wisdom departs. 
 . . . Blessed is the tongue of the prudent, because 
 it heals the wounds of the angry one." — Ibid., 
 IV. 2. 
 
 "Be diligent in doing good, patient in bearing 
 evil, and you will be happy in your life in always 
 praising God." — Ibid., V. 2. 
 
 * I have mentioned the Soliloquy of the Soul 
 as one of the finest of the works of Thomas ; it is 
 full of the deepest piety, but hardly offers passages 
 for extracts. 
 
The '' Imitatio Christie 213 
 
 "He stands well and firmly who^ places his 
 trust not in himself, nor in man, but in God." — 
 J bid., V. 2. 
 
 * * When you hear some one saying unworthy and 
 hard words of you it is then given you to drink 
 medicine for your soul out of the cup of the Lord." 
 —Jbid., VII. I. 
 
 "If you wish to have peace and a good con- 
 science preserve humility, patience, and obedience." 
 —Ibid., X. 
 
 "Virtue is not acquired without labour or a 
 struggle, nor is it retained without caution." — Ibtd., 
 XL 2. 
 
 "He who does not pray does not fight, and 
 he who does not fight and resist will soon be 
 conquered, and lose his crown." — Ibid., XII. 3. 
 
 " He who knows and reads many things, and 
 does not act up to what he has known and learnt, 
 departs hungry and empty from a good table." — 
 Ibid., XIL 5. 
 
 "The love of God and a good conscience de- 
 1 ghts and makes one joyful above all things." — 
 Ibid., XII. 6. 
 
 " Charity is a noble virtue which surpasses all 
 virtues, all knowledge, and all gifts." — Ibid., 
 XIIL I. 
 
 ' ' As fire consumeth wood, so charity extinguishes 
 vices." — Ibid., XIIL 4. 
 
 " Charity is good will in the soul, which does 
 not desist from doing good, although weakness or 
 necessity does not permit it to do all the good 
 which it intends." — Ibid., XIIL 4. 
 
 "The love of Christ loosens all the chains of 
 the world, and makes all burdens light." — Ibid., 
 XIIL 5. 
 
 " Contend bravely, pray fervently, labour dili- 
 gently, study frequently, be silent wUingly, and 
 bear patiently."— /<5/^., XIV. 2. 
 
214 The Story of 
 
 ' ' If you cannot conquer little things you will not 
 be able to overcome more important ones." — /did., 
 XV. 2. 
 
 " Where there is peace and concord, there God 
 and all good things ; where strife and dissensione 
 there the devil and all evil ; where there is 
 humility, there is wisdom. . . . Conquer pride, and 
 you will find great peace. . . . Where there is agree- 
 ment among brethren there is sweet melody ; 
 where there is charity there is the Holy Spirit. . . . 
 It is delightful to hear good things, but it is more 
 praiseworthy to labour worthily." — 7dzd., XVI. 2. 
 
 " The Royal way of coming unto Christ is to 
 conquer one's will." — /did., XVIII. 2. 
 
 " He is always wretched and in want, whatever 
 he has, who has not God as his friend. He walks 
 with God in the light who desires nothing of this 
 world, but who has his heart fixed on God." — 
 Va/lts Lil., VII. I. 
 
 "You will not find rest unless you give your 
 heart to God. Seek God above all things, and love 
 Him thoroughly." — Idtd., VII, 29. 
 
 "God attends rather to compunction of heart 
 than the clamour of a loud voice." — Idzd., X. 3. 
 
 " I do not wish a long life but a good one, for 
 better is a good conscience than all the treasures 
 of the world."— Hid., XIV. i. 
 
 ' ' Love, and you will be loved ; because love 
 mends all past evils, drives away sadness, and pre- 
 pares the heart for joy such as the world knows 
 not, which flesh cannot make you feel." — /did., 
 XXVI. 2. 
 
 " Let all the creatures be silent before Thee, if 
 Thou shouldst speak alone to me. O Lord, be 
 present, and enlighten me." — Idid., XXIX. 2. 
 
 " Who loves Christ has peace, and rests in Him, 
 nor does it any more affect him what he should 
 seek."— /did., XXX. i. 
 
tJie " Imitatio Christir 2 i 5 
 
 " Do not rashly judge one falling, because God 
 can quickly raise him when he repents. Pray for 
 all men, and commit all men to God." — Ibid., 
 XXXI. 4. 
 
 " Every burthen is light which charity delights 
 to bear. Nor is any labour hard to him who is 
 comforted by the bread of charity." — De Tribus 
 Tabemaculis, I. 2. 
 
 * ' Beware of pride if you do not wish to suffer 
 ruin." — Ibid., II. 5. 
 
 "Solitude and silence help much to the purity 
 of the heart."— /3z^., V. 6. 
 
 "Whatever exceeds moderation and does not 
 keep to discretion can neither please God nor last 
 long."— /(^/V., IX. 2. 
 
 '• As fire and water are contrary to one another, 
 so the love of God and the love of the world do 
 not agree together." — Ibid., XI. i. 
 
 " The way to charity is to descend by humility." 
 —Ibid. 
 
 * ' He who has many things, will suffer much 
 care from them. He who is contented with 
 moderate things will have more peace." — Hospitale 
 Pauperum, IV. 
 
 ' ' This man has confidence in God, and does not 
 fear to die, because God is his hope whom he is 
 prepared to obey even to death." — Ibid., V. 2. 
 
 " The arms of our warfare are not carnal from 
 without, but spiritual gifts from within." — Ibid., 
 XVI. 2. 
 
 ' ' If you do not wish to be deceived, be not 
 delighted wath foolish praises." — Exer. Spir., 11, 3. 
 
 ' ' Solitude is the mother of devotion." — Ibid., IV. 
 
 ' * He is strong who despises the world ; he is 
 stronger who conquers himself." — Ibid., IV. 
 
 " It profits much to write out well a good and 
 correct copy, and it delights much in it often 
 being read. God says in the Gospel, Whoever 
 
2i6 The Story of 
 
 gives a cup of cold water to one that is thirsty 
 shall not lose his reward. Much rather shall he 
 who gives the living water of wisdom to one read- 
 ing in the book written by the finger of God not 
 lose his reward in heaven." — Doctrinale hivenum, 
 IV. 2. 
 
 *' Woe to the clergyman unlearned and without 
 the sacred books, who is often a cause of error to 
 himself and to others. For a clergyman without 
 the sacred books is like a soldier without arms, a 
 horse without a bridle, a boat without oars, a writer 
 without pens." — Ibid.^ VII. 2. 
 
 " The best doctrine teaches us to pray humbly, 
 and not to despair of the mercy of God." — 
 Ibid., X. 
 
 ' ' There is nothing by which you can conquer 
 better than by diligence in good work, in the study 
 of the sacred Scripture, and in the use of frequent 
 prayer." — Jbid., X. 4. 
 
 "Love Him when He bestows good things, 
 love Him when He takes them away, and when He 
 afflicts you by sending tribulations. No adversity, 
 no prosperity will separate the penitent heart from 
 Him." — De Solitudine, 20. 
 
 ' ' In general we all need to be silent more than 
 to speak. Indeed there are few who are too slow 
 to speak." — De Silentio, 28. 
 
 " Avoid being praised as poison, lest you should 
 be led away, and should lose the reward of your 
 good work. They are vain and foolish who delight 
 in human praises." — De Recogn, Propr. Fragili- 
 tatis, II. 2. 
 
 " He who knows not how to be silent will not 
 serve his friend long. When you have heard and 
 learnt many things you will have learnt well if 
 you can retain this, to know when to speak and 
 when to be silent. May God give you this great 
 gift, for it is truly a great gift, because few have it 
 
the " Imitatio Christir 217 
 
 to know when and how and to whom it is right to 
 speak." — Ibid.^ III. 
 
 " The love of the world soon departs, and leaves 
 you empty in your need. You may have many 
 friends in prosperity, but in adversity scarcely one 
 will stay with you." — Ibid., III. 2. 
 
 " Bear patiently and with longsuffering the 
 defects of others whom God, who sees all things, 
 bears."— /^zfl'., IV. i. 
 
 "He who always wishes to vindicate himself 
 will have few friends. Evil will always displease, 
 but the tolerance of evil will please." — Ibid.^ 
 IV. I. 
 
 " He who trusts in God sustains all things 
 patiently, and he who seeks God purely will be 
 easily contented." — Ibid.., IV. 2. 
 
 " In God there is true joy of heart, but without 
 God there is neither peace nor xes,i" —Ibid. , IV. 2. 
 
 ' ' Nothing avails without if grace and virtue are 
 wanting within." — Ibid., VI. 
 
 " The Heavenly Father will give His good 
 spirit to the soul seeking Him." — Ibid.^ V. 2. 
 
 *' He who gives an humble answer easily soothes 
 an angry man. He indeed does a great thing who 
 resigns himself, and conquers himself in all things 
 on account of God. For he who is conqueror of 
 himself is Lord of this world and the heir of heaven. 
 He who does not conquer himself in little things, 
 how will he overcome greater things?" — Ibid., 
 VI. 2. 
 
 " When truth and charity meet, then those 
 things which are for peace and safety work equally 
 together.'" — Ibid., IX. 2. 
 
 " Beware of offending God. Beware of scanda- 
 lizing your neighbour made in the image of God. 
 Recall the wanderer, instruct the ignorant, give a 
 good example, take away all cause of offence, re- 
 turn good for evil, and you will receive an eternal 
 
21 8 The Story of 
 
 prize and joy in the kingdom of heaven." — Ibid.. 
 
 X.2. 
 
 *' Happy is he who does all his good works with 
 a pure intention simply to the praise of God. 
 Happy is he who at all times directs his heart to 
 please God, and seeks nothing for his own private 
 good."— /^/^., XII. I. 
 
 "We must not weary of always praying and 
 devoutly thanking God, for He never ceases from 
 doing good to us." — /did., XIV. 2. 
 
 " Love solitude and silence, and you will find 
 great quiet and a good conscience. For where 
 there is a multitude there is often noise and a great 
 distraction to the heart." — Alphabet. Parvu7n. 
 
 " Choose poverty and simplicity, and be content 
 with few things, and you will not easily murmur." 
 —Ibid., 5. 
 
 "Always in the first place inquire about your 
 work, whether it is pleasing to God or displeasing. 
 Act not against your conscience either through 
 fear or love. . . . Learn first to be silent rather than 
 to speak, and be willing to be taught rather than to 
 teach." — Ibid., 15. 
 
 " No one is richer, no one is freer than he who 
 gives himself and everything to God." — Ibid., 20. 
 
 " He will be quickly learned and happy who 
 humbly imitates Christ." — De Humilitate, 2. 
 
 *' He forms a perverse judgment who thinks 
 great things of himself and imagines worse of 
 others."— /<^z^., 3. 
 
 " Humility is the precious root of virtues ; from 
 it is produced the fruit of obedience, and ripens 
 into charity. . . . Two humble persons agree well 
 together ; two proud persons contend even for a 
 worthless thing." — Ibid., 4. 
 
 ' ' He is truly humble whom the praise of men 
 moves not." — Ibid., 5. 
 
 "'To seek advice is a sign of humility. God 
 
the " Imitatio CJiristir 2 1 9 
 
 often speaks through another what He does not 
 reveal Himself to a man." — Ibid., 6. 
 
 " Learn in all things to conquer yourself, and you 
 ;yill have peace within." — Vzta Bom Monachi. 
 
 " Silence is the friend of solitude." — Sermo, I. 
 
 "It is necessary that humility should precede 
 glory, and that patience should prepare the crown 
 for the victors." — Ibid., X. 
 
 "Whoever wishes to please God and edify his 
 neighbour, should so guard all his words and 
 manners, without and within, as if he was at once 
 to be presented before God." — Ibid., XIV. 7. 
 
 " Give me, O Lord, a fortunate hour of death, 
 and to find a blessed rest wnth Thee." — Concio, 
 XXII. 16. 
 
 "In every tribulation and temptation recur to 
 prayer as to the safe door of your soul in implor- 
 ing the Divine assistance ; the quicker the better, 
 the slower the worse. The oftener the more use- 
 ful, the more fervently the more acceptable to 
 Qo^r— Concio, XXXII. 4. 
 
 "The knowledge above all knowledge is to 
 know that we know nothing. Let us be so much 
 the more humble in all things, as we are the 
 farther from true perfection." — Ibid., XXXVI. i. 
 
 " The word of man passes, but the word of God 
 remains eternal and unchangeable." — De Eleva- 
 tione Mentis, III. 3. 
 
 " Peace with virtues is good, but with vices 
 never, but always bad." — De Disciplina Claust., 
 XL 2. 
 
 " He who is prepared to give a little when he 
 has little, should not delay to give more when he 
 is richer." — De Fideli Dispens. , I. 6. 
 
 -"^Mi^^aC'.^ 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abbeville MS., 151 
 
 Addis, Mr., on the non-use of Sequences by 
 
 Carthusians and Cistercians, 109 
 Advocatis, De, MS., supposed antiquity of, I17 ; 
 
 description of, 145 ; referred to, 153 
 Afflighemensis Codex, 152 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, relics at, 36 
 Alliaciano MS., 153 
 Alpha betum Parvunt, extracts, 218 
 Althensis Codex, 154 
 Amort, Eusebius, opinion on date of Augustanus 
 
 MS., 161 
 Ampere, A. M., held the Imitation in high 
 
 esteem, 186 
 Angouleme, Counts of. Catalogue of, 162 
 Antwerp MS., see Brussels. 
 Aquinas, Thomas, influence of his Summa 
 
 Theologice, 14 
 Aquisbacensis Codex. 149 
 Argyll, Duke of, admirer of the Imitation^ 197 
 Aristotle quoted in the Imitation, 39 
 Arnd's translation, 174 
 Arnold, Matthew, on solitude, 62 ; opinion on 
 
 the Imitation, 192 
 Arona MS. referred to, 113, 154; described, 144 
 Asnaburgensis Codex, 149 
 Atkynson's translation, 175 ; extracts, 200 
 
2 2 2 Index, 
 
 Augia Dives, MS. of, 149 
 
 Augsburg, MS., 149, 150, 154; German transla- 
 tion published at, 174 
 
 Augustani Codices, 149, 151, 153 
 
 Augustanus Germanicus Codex, 161 
 
 Augustine, St., his teaching followed in the 
 Itnitation, lo ; Rule of, 73-5 
 
 Augustinians, the, 58-60, 73, 109 
 
 Avogrado family, Diarium of, 117 
 
 Azarias, Brother, quoted, 35, 39 
 
 B., F. , translation, 176, 179; specimen, 202 
 
 Backer's Bibliography, 166, 168 
 
 Beard, Dr. Charles, quoted, 30 
 
 Bebber's translation in Ovidian verse, 1 75 
 
 Becker, Father, on the Flemicisms in the Imita- 
 tion, 33 ; on the novitiate of Thomas a 
 Kempis, 69 ; on the rhythm, 108 ; on age of 
 Italian MSS., 118; on Loth's MS., 127-29; 
 on the sermons to novices, 134; on a mis- 
 quotation, 136; on the loss of some leaves 
 in the Brussels MS., 143 
 
 Beghards, community of, 19 
 
 Beguines, houses of, 19, 59 
 
 Bellarmine, Cardinal, favourer of the claims of 
 Gersen, 1 19 ; subsequently agreed to those of 
 Thomas a Kempis, 145 
 
 Bellere's translation, 171 
 
 Bellerus, Joannes, presented MS. to Jesuit 
 monastery at Antwerp, 144 
 
 Bellovacensis Codex, 154 
 
 Benedictines, 32 
 
 Benham, Rev. S., his edition, 170; his translation, 
 179 ; extracts, 208 
 
 Bernard, St., quoted, 10, 15, 38, 39, 70, 130; said 
 to have written the Imitation, 114, 121, 129 
 
 Bernard's Catalogue of MSS., 157, 163 
 
 Berner, Lubert, friend of Thomas a Kempis, 54 
 
Index, 223 
 
 Bemhard's opinion of the Imitation, 189 
 Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, MSS. in, 156; 
 
 translations in, 162 
 Bisciano MS., 153 
 Blankenheim, Frederick of, Bishop of Utrecht, 
 
 his "prosperous times," 38 
 Bobbiensis Codex, 154 
 
 Boey's, C, translation into Dutch verse, 174 
 Bohme, John, schoolmaster at Deventer, 67 
 Bohringer, 105 ; quoted, 78, 83, 95 
 Bonaventura, Cardinal, 39, 41, 112, 1 14, 129, 152, 
 
 159 
 
 Bonckart's Dutch translation, 174 
 
 Bradley's Dictiotiary of Miniaturists referred to, 
 
 70 
 Brethren of the Free Spirit, 19, 21 
 Brinckerinck, John, an ascetic, 54 
 British Museum, MSS. in, 158, 159 
 Brothers of Common Life, 44-61; referred to, 32, 
 
 35» 120 
 Brullensis S. Emerani Codex, 150 
 Brume, Henry, one of the Brothers of Common 
 
 Life, 54 
 Brussels, MSS. in the Royal Library of, 86, 
 
 141-44, 152, 153, 157 ; 'b.i^. oi \\iQ Soliloquium 
 
 Aninice, 91 ; printing press at, 61 
 Bunyan, John, comparison of his works, 140 
 Buren, vEmilius van, one of the Brothers of 
 
 Common Life, 54 
 Busch's Chronicle, 35, 53, 67, 104; testimony to 
 
 Thomas a Kempis, 132 
 Busken-Huet, on Christian mysticism, 1 1 ; opinion 
 
 on Ruysbroek, 41 ; quoted, 42, 43 ; advocate 
 
 of Thomas's claims, 137 
 But, Adrian de, 103, iii ; testimony to Thomas, 
 
 134 
 Butler's, Charles, edition, 170 
 Buxheimensi Codex, 152 
 
2 24 Index. 
 
 Cacabus, John, one of the Brothers of Common 
 
 . Life, 55 
 Cajetan, Dom, advocate for Gersen, 115, 119; his 
 
 edition of the Imitatioji, 167 
 Cambray MS., 154 
 Cambridge MSS., 160, 163, 164 ; specimens, 199, 
 
 211 
 Caro, Elme, his opinion, 183 
 Carre, Thomas, his edition, 177 
 Carrington's, Dean, translation in verse, 180; 
 
 specimens, 210, 2H 
 Carthusian MSS., 154 
 Carthusians, the, 32, 52, 58, 109, 129 
 Castalio's translation, 167, 170, 178 
 Cele, John, rector of school at ZwoUe, 67 
 Challoner, Bishop Richard, his translation, 179 
 Chalmers, Dr., his opinion of the Ifjiitation, 191 
 Chetham Society, 177 
 Chigi's, Prince, MS., 153 
 Christian Knovi^ledge Society, publication of the 
 
 Imitation, 179 
 Christie, Chancellor R. C, his bibliography of 
 
 Dr. Worthington, 177 
 Chronicle of Mount St. Ag7ies, 95 
 Church, Dean, his opinion of the Imitation, 192 
 Cistercians, the, 32, 109 
 Clermont MS., 155 
 Coloniensis Codex of St. Barbara, 150 
 
 of Santa Croce, 149 
 
 Comte, Auguste, his opinion of the Imitation, 182 
 Condones of Thomas a Kempis, 77 ; extracts, 219 
 Consolation Internelle MS., 162; editions, 171, 172 
 Comeille's translation, 169, 172 
 Cruise, Dr., description of Zwolle, 37 ; on St. 
 
 Bernard, 38 ; on Adrian de But, 134 ; on the 
 
 Codex Paulanus, 146 
 Curmer, E. L., his edition of the Imitation. 171 
 Curson, J., his translation, 171 
 
Index. 22$ 
 
 Dalhemensis Codex, 152 
 
 Dante, resemblances in the Imitatio7i to, 119, 
 
 137 
 
 Darche, advocate for the claim of Gerson, 120 
 
 De Amicis on Holland, 36 
 
 Delisle, Leopold, opinion as to the date of the 
 De Advocatis MS., 145 
 
 Denman, publisher of the Imitation, 1 76 
 
 De Quincey, Thomas, quoted, 3 ; his opinion, 194 
 
 Deventer, printing press at, 61 ; Thomas a 
 Kempis's description of the town, 66 
 
 De Vere, Aubrey, quoted, 1 3 
 
 Devoti, explanation of the term, 35, 50, 51, 52 
 
 Dibdin, T. Frognall, quoted, 2; his edition, 179 
 
 Didot's, H., miniature type, 169 
 
 DiessenMS., 155 
 
 Disciplina, De, Claustrtwi, extract, 219 
 
 Doctrinale Jm-enwn, extracts, 216 
 
 Dodwell, Henry, possessor of a MS. of the Imi- 
 tation^ 163 
 
 Dominicans, the. 32 
 
 Donatus, office of, 69 
 
 Dublin MS., 163, 164; specimens, 199, 211 
 
 Dlibner, opinion on the De Advocatis MS., 145 
 
 Duffield, G. W„ quoted, 96, 140 
 
 Dunes, monastery of, 134 
 
 Duns Scotus, 21 
 
 Dupin, an advocate for the claims of Gerson, 
 120 
 
 Dutch translations, 174 
 
 Dygoan, John, writer of one of the MSS., 159 
 
 E., J., translation by. 179 ; specimens, 209 
 
 Eckhardt, Meister, his teaching, 19, 21, 25 
 
 Elevatione, De, Mentis, extract, 219 
 
 Eliot, George, quoted, 4, 190 
 
 Elzevir editions, 169 
 
 Engelmann, R., editor of a luxurious edition, 173 
 
 15 
 
22 6 Index. 
 
 Enghien, Katherine d', translator of the Imitation, 
 
 162 
 Ervic MS., 148 
 Ettalensis Codex, 155 
 Exercitia Spiritualia, extracts, 215 
 Extracts from the "Imitation," 199-211 
 
 FROM OTHER WORKS OF ThOMAS, 212-19 
 
 Eza, Everard de, friend of Thomas. 57 
 
 Farrar, Archdeacon, on the teaching of the 
 l7?iitaiio7i, 9 ; on the claims of Gersen, 118; 
 opinion on the book, 195 
 
 Fideli. De Dispens., extract, 219 
 
 Filicaia's Italian translation, 173 
 
 Florentine MSS., 152 
 
 Florentius, founder of the community of the 
 Brothers of Common Life, 47-57 ; Thomas's 
 opinion of, 65, 66 ; alluded to, 26, 35, 38, 
 44, 46, 68, 95, 140, 161 
 
 Fontenelle, his opinion of the Imitation, 182 
 
 Francis, St., of Assisi, his writings one of the 
 sources of the Imitation, 39 
 
 Franciscans, the, 32 
 
 Franciscus Tolensis, quoted, 80 
 
 Francois, St., de Sales, an admirer of the Imitation, 
 183, 187 
 
 Frederick III., Emperor, an admirer of the Imita- 
 tion, 189 
 
 Fromm, Dr. E., quoted, 197 
 
 Fiihrich, Ritter von, illustrations of the Imitation, 
 174 
 
 Gaesdonck MS., 148 
 
 Garden of Roses, 8, 86. 93 ; extracts, 212, 213-14 
 Gaucherel, his designs for the Imitatioti, 169 
 Gemmingen MSS., 150, 151, 152 
 Gence, a supporter of the claims of Gerson, 119; 
 his edition, 167 ; his translation, 172 
 
Index, 227 
 
 Genoude's, De, translation, 172 
 
 George, St., of Augsburg MS., 155 
 
 Gerhard's edition of the Imitation, 168 
 
 Gerlach, Father, quoted, 97; his edition, 16S 
 
 Gennan Theology^ 2, 27 
 
 Gerock, Paul, his opinion of the Imitation, 187 
 
 Gersen, Giovanni, his supposed claim, 116, 117, 
 
 119 ; an imaginary person, 114 
 Gerson, Charlier de, 26, 114, 115, 119, 127 ; as a 
 
 mystic, 18 ; not the author of the Imitation, 
 
 121-23, 125, 126 
 Gerson, John, brother of the Chancellor, 130 
 Girard's translation, 171 
 Godfrey, printer of the Iviitation, 175 
 Gonnelieu's, De, edition, 167; translation, 171 
 Goodwin's, Dr. Harvey, opinion of the Imitation, 
 
 197 ; his translation, 179 : specimens, 207, 208 
 Gordon, General, his appreciation of the Imitation, 
 
 196 
 Gorres, his translation, 1 74 
 Gosner, his translation, 174 
 Grammont MS., 146, 155 
 Greene, Rev. D., 197 
 Gregory, Chevalier de, supporter of the claims of 
 
 Gersen, 117, 119, 145 ; his edition, 168 
 Grenoble MS., 155 
 Griesensis- Codex, 152 
 Groenendal monastery, 25. 54, 132 
 Gronde, John, an eloquent preacher, 54 
 Groot, Gerard, 25, 26, 35, 38, 39, 41, 48, 50, 54, 58, 
 
 . 63, 95, 109, 140, 161 ; life, 44-6 
 Guigo, a Carthusian, 105 
 
 Hake's, Ed., translation, 176; specimens, 201-2 
 Hallam's, H., opinion of the Imitation, 191 
 HamcTercken. John, father of Thomas, 63; see Kempis 
 Hardenberg's evidence in favour of Thomas a 
 Kempis, 80, 133 
 
2 2 8 Index. 
 
 Hericault, d', editor of the Consolatio7i, 172 
 
 Heusden, John of, 39 
 
 Heusden, Vos of, 53, 129 
 
 Hickes, Rev. Thomas, his translation, 178 
 
 Hilton, Walter, credited with the authorship of 
 
 the Ifnitation, 130 
 Hirsche's Investigations, ioi-ii ; his editions, 
 100, 168 ; on the Brussels MS., 144 ; on 
 Soliloqumm Animcz, 91 ; on the De Advocatis 
 MS., 117 
 Holland, its connection with the Imitation, 36 
 Horton, Rev. R. F. his opinion of the Imitation, 196 
 Hortiihis Rosariim, 8, 86, 93 ; extracts, 212, 213-4 
 Hoskins, Anthony, his translation, 176 ; speci- 
 
 mens, 202- 
 
 Hospitale Pauperum, extracts, 215 
 Himiilitate, De, extracts, 218 
 Huss, John, his death demanded by Gerson, 123 
 Hutchins, his translation, 179 ; specimens, 209 
 Hymns by Thomas a Kempis, 95-6 
 
 Indersdorf MS., 150 
 
 Ingram, Dr., on the Dublin MS., 163 
 
 Innocent II., pope, 59 
 
 Innocent III., iho. Imitation attributed to him, 130 
 
 Jerome, St., 159 
 
 Johnson, Dr. Samuel, his opinion of the linitation, 
 
 192 
 Jonckbloet, W. J. A., on a legend of the fifteenth 
 
 century, 137 
 Jowett, Professor, 197 
 
 Kalkar, Henry, a Carthusian, 129 
 Keith's translation, 179 ; specimens, 207 
 Kempis, John a, 39, 53, 129, 130 
 Kempis, Thomas a, Life, 63-81 ; compared with 
 Gerson, 124 ; a copyist, 90 ; his mysticism, 
 
Index. 229 
 
 12, 13, 17, 28, 29 ; his materials, 40; works 
 82-100, 140 ; Lives of the Brethren, 48, 49 ; 
 alluded to, 6-9, 23, 26, 32, 35, 37, 39, 43, 49, 
 61, no, 113,^14, ii5< 121, i3o» 131. 134, 161 
 Kempis, Thomas a, II., a miniaturist, 70 
 Ken, Bishop, an admirer of the Imitation, 195 
 Kessel or Kettel, John, cook at Deventer, 55 
 Kettlewell, Rev. S., quoted, 60, 80; description 
 of the rule of St. Augustine, 75 ; on the 
 Sequences, 106, 109 
 Kingsley, Rev. Charles, his opinion of the Imita- 
 tion, 190 
 Kirchheim MS., 40, 148 
 Kraus. Dr. F. X., on the minor works, 83 ; opinion 
 
 of the Imitation, 189 
 Krehl's translation, 174 
 
 Labb6, advocate for Gerson's claims, 120 
 
 La Cava MS., 146, 155 
 
 La Harpe, J. F. de, his opinion of the Imitation, 
 
 185 
 Lamartine, his opinion of the Imitation, 185 
 Lambert's translation, 170 
 Lambeth MSS., 155, 158 
 Lamennais, quoted, 2, 183; his translation, 172, 
 
 173 
 
 Lawrence, St., 136 
 
 Lebeuf MS., 156 
 
 Leclerc, Victor, his revision of Corneille's trans- 
 lation, 169 
 
 Lee's translation, 179 
 
 Leibnitz, his opinion of the Imitation, 187 
 
 Leighton, Archbishop, recommended the works of 
 Thomas a Kempis, 195 
 
 Leroy on Corneille's translation of the Imitation, 
 172 
 
 Liddon, Dr., his opinion of the Imitation, 195 ; 
 quoted, 4 
 
230 Index. 
 
 Liebner, his edition, 168 
 
 Liege MS., 47 
 
 Loth, Dr. Arthur, on various MSS., 115, 126, 145, 
 
 156 
 Louvain MSS., 153, 162 
 
 Loyola, Ignatius, his opinion of the Imitation, 186 
 Lubbock, Sir John, his opinion of the Imitation^ 
 
 196 
 Ludwig L, King of Bavaria, his opinion of the 
 
 Imitation. 189 
 Lunaclacensis Codex, 149 
 Luther favourable to the Brothers of Common 
 
 Life, 52, 61 ; on the German Theology, 27 
 Lydewig. St.. life of, 90 
 
 Mabillon, Dom, 112, 119 ; quoted, 143, 147 
 Madden, Dr. John, possessor of a MS., 163 
 
 Mons. J. P. A., 129 
 
 Maggioli, Father, 113 
 
 Maiseck Convent MS., 153 
 
 Malou, Monsignor, 40, 43, 139 ; quoted, 131 
 
 Mame, publisher of edition of the Imitation, 169 
 
 Mandelli's List of the Abbots of Vercelli, 116 
 
 Manriquez, Don Pedro, said the Imitation quoted 
 
 by Bonaventura, 112 
 Manuale Panndorttm, 100 
 Manuscripts, 141-65; alluded to, 86. 91, no; 
 
 lists of. 147-57 
 Margaret of York's MS. at Binissels, 156 
 Marienthal, printing press at, 60 
 Marillac's, Michel de, translation, 171 
 Martha and Mary, example of, 29 
 Martin, Henri, his opinion of the Imitation, 184 
 Mauburne, John, his testimony for Thomas a 
 
 Kempis, 133 
 Maude, Henry, one of the Brethren, 41 
 Maximus of Turin, quoted, 136 
 Meditatio Cordis, 121. 122 
 
Index. 231 
 
 Meditations, stvle of, 90 
 
 Melck MS., 147 
 
 Michelet, Jules, his opinion of the Imitation^ 184 
 
 Middleton, pubHsher of the Imitation, 176 
 
 Migne, Abbe, 16 
 
 Milburne, Rev. Luke, poetical translation, 177 ; 
 
 specimens, 203-4 
 Milman, Dean, his opinion of the Imitation, 9, 97, 
 
 193 
 
 Moland, L., his opinion of Gerson, 122 
 
 Monasteries, influence of, 71, 72 
 
 Montfaucon, his translation, 175 
 
 Mooren, his edition of the Imitation, 168 
 
 Miiller's translation. 174 
 
 Musica Ecclesiastica, 130, 158, 159, 160, 164 ; why 
 the Imitatio has been so called, 103 ; transla- 
 tion, 180 ; specimen, 210 
 
 Mysticism, 12 
 
 Mystics, German, 14-30 
 
 Nelson, Robert, his translation, 178 
 Newman, Cardinal, 13 
 Notker, Abbot of St. Gallen, 107 
 Noviomagensis Codex, 148 
 Nuremberg edition. 133 
 
 ochsenhausen ms., i48 
 Opinions of Authors, 181-98 
 Ovid, quotations from, 39 
 Oxford MSS., 159 
 
 Paduan MS., 149 
 
 Page's, W., translation, 177; specimen, 203 
 
 Palatine MSS., 153, 156 
 
 Parcensis Codices, 151 
 
 Paris MSS., 151 
 
 Parma MS., 156 
 
 Paulanus Codex, 146, 157 
 
232 Index 
 
 Payne's translation, 179; specimen, 207 
 Philip the Bold, 142 
 
 the Good. 143 
 
 Phillipps, Sir Thomas, his MS., 160 
 
 Pickering's edition, 170 
 
 Pirckheimer, George, his opinion of Thomas a 
 
 Kempis. 188 
 Pius IV., bull of, 59 
 Plumptre, Dean, 195 
 Pollingano MSS., 150, 156 
 Polyglot translations, 1 75 
 Przelatus, use of the word, 35 
 Precis Historiques, referred to, 127, 146 
 Printed Editions, 166-70 
 Pynson, printer of the Imitation, 1 75 
 
 QuATREMAiRE, ROBERT, advocate for Gersen's 
 claims, 117 
 
 Raitenhaslach MS., 156 
 
 Rapiaria. 39, 40, 44 
 
 Rebdorfensis Codex, 150 
 
 Recognitione^ De^ Proprice Fragiliiatis, extracts, 
 
 216, 217 
 Redman's, John, translation, 176 
 Reittenbuech MS., 157 
 Renan, Mons., 33, 117 ; his repudiation of the 
 
 claims of Gerson, 121 
 Richelieu, Cardinal, edition published under his 
 
 patronage, 168 
 Richmond, Margaret, Countess of. 175 
 Roger's translation, 176 ; specimen, 201-2 
 Ropartz, M. S., on mysticism, 17 
 Rossignoli, Father, 113 
 Rosweyde, Father, lor, 143 ; his edition, 167. 
 
 170 ; his criticism of the vv^orks of Thomas, 
 
 96 ; of the Brussels MS., no 
 Rothensian MS., 150 
 
Index, 233 
 
 Rouen MS., 153 
 
 Ruddiman's reprint of Rosweyde's edition, 170 
 
 Ruelens, Dr., his description of the punctuation of 
 
 the Brussels MS., 102-3 
 Ruskin, John, 197 
 Ruysbroek, John, 18, 132 ; his works, 25-6 ; his 
 
 life, 41 
 Ryd, Hermann, his testimony in favour of Thomas 
 
 a Kempis, 132 
 
 Sacy, Silvestre de, his opinion of Xh^ Imitation, 
 
 183 
 Sailer s translation, 174 
 St. Agnes, Mount, monastery of, 37. 68, 132, 133 ; 
 
 Chronicle of. 95, 106 
 St. Genevieve MS., Paris, 155 
 St. Germains MS., 151 
 St. Victor, Adam of, 16 
 
 Hugo of, 15 
 
 Richard of, 16, 20 
 
 Salzburg MS., 151 
 Sangallensis Codex, 149 
 
 Santini, Canon, 113; his description of Loth's 
 
 MS., 127 ; his reference to other MS., 157 
 Scala Devotionis, 135 
 Schoonhoven, Arnold of, 55, 64, 65 
 Schoonhoven, John of, 26, 40, 54 
 Schulting on the Sequences, 106 
 Schwalb, D. J\I., his opinion. 187 
 Schyrensis Codex, 152 
 Scot, Peter, Canon of Strassburg, 124 
 Seneca, quotations from, 39 
 Sepp, Dr., his opinion of the Imitation^ 189 
 Sequences, the, 106, 107, 109 
 Senna /., extract from, 219 
 Sermons to Novices, 90 ; quoted, 85, 99 
 
 to the Brethren, 95 
 
 Severinus de Bolsward, 
 
2 34 Index. 
 
 Short, publisher of the Imitation. 176 
 
 Silbert, 105 ; his translation, 174 
 
 Silentio, De, extract, 216 
 
 Simrock, Karl, translated the Imitatioti, 198 
 
 Sinius, Martin, 124 
 
 Sixtus v., Pope, his indulgence, 182 
 
 Smith's, Dr. G., translation. 179; specimen, 206 
 
 Soliloquy of the Sotil, 83 ; quoted, 84, 85 ; MS., 91 
 
 Solittidine, De, extract, 216 
 
 Sommalius, edition of Thomas's works, 99. loi, 
 
 167 
 Spitzen, Abbe, 53 ; description of the Brussels 
 
 MS., 142 
 Spizelianus Codex, 150 
 
 Stanhope, Dean, translation, 178 ; specimen, 204 
 Stanley, H. M.. 196 
 Steinheil, his miniatures in illustration of the 
 
 Imitation, 169 
 Stephens, Sir James, opinion of V Intern lie 
 
 Consolation, 126 
 Sterne, Bishop of Clogher, 163 
 wStolberg. Count, his opinion, 189 
 Suso, Henry, exponent of poetic mysticism, 19 ; 
 
 compared with Thomas. 23-4 
 Sutken, J., his translation, 161 
 
 Tambacii, John of, to whom the authorship of 
 the I??iitation has been ascribed, 40 
 
 Tamizey-Larroque, 105, 120 ; his translation, 
 172 
 
 Tauler, John, exponent of sentimental mysticism, 
 19, 21-4, 27 
 
 Terhoemen, Arnold, printer, 60 
 
 Thomas Aquinas, 1 15 
 
 Thomas a Kempis, see Kempis 
 
 Thomson, Miss. 180 
 
 Three Tabernacles described, 94 ; extracts, 215 
 
 Tolensis, Francis, testimony, 134 
 
Index. 235 
 
 Toudouze illustrations, 169 
 
 Toulouse, French translation issued at, 121 
 
 Translations in MS., 161-65 
 
 , Printed, 170-80 
 
 Trithemius, Abbot, his testimony, 135 
 
 Trosse, his edition, 169 
 
 Trudonensis Codex, 148 
 
 Turin, MS. at the National Library, 145 
 
 Ullman, his opinions, ^i^ 86, 105, 187 
 
 Valart's edition, 167 
 
 Valenciennes MS., 161 
 
 Valley of Lilies, 93 ; quoted, 77, 85, 94, 214 
 
 Vallonicus Codex, 162 
 
 Veit, Pastor, his opinion, 187 
 
 Venetian MSS., 152 
 
 Vercelli, Abbots of, 116 
 
 Vert, advocate of Gerson's claims, 120; his edition, 
 
 168 
 Veuillot, Louis, his opinion, 186 
 Viana, James of, 55 
 Viennese MS., 153 
 Vita Boni Monachi, extract, 219 
 
 Warre, Dr. G., 197 
 
 Waterton, Edward, 176; his MSS., 135, 160 
 
 Weigl's translation, 174 
 
 Weingarten MSS., 149 
 
 Welldon, Dr. J. E. C, 197 
 
 Wesley's, John, opinion, 2, 190 ; his translation, 
 
 179; specimen, 205-6 
 Wessel, his testimony, 132 
 
 Whytford, his translation, 176; specimen, 200, 201 
 Wiblingen. 146; MS., 149 
 Williams, John, MSS., 161 
 Willymot's translation, 1 78 ; specimen, 204, 205 
 Windesheim, 38, 52, 53, 68, 95, 136 
 
236 Index. 
 
 Winghe, N. van. his edition, 174 
 Wolfenbiittel MSS., 105, 148, 155 
 Wolfsgruber, C, 118, 119, 146 
 Wolseley, Lord, 196 
 Worthington, Dr. J., 176, 177 
 Wynkyn de Worde, 175 
 
 Zainer, G., 166 
 
 Zungo, 39 
 
 Zutphen, Gerard of, 56 
 
 Zwerdera, name of a lady, 67 
 
 Zwiefaltensis Codex, 150 
 
 ZwoUe, 36, 61, 67 
 
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