Customer Reviews

The Imitation of Christ (Mystics)

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"Want to know the best advice I ever heard?" asked Larry King, in an interview published today in Canada's National Post newspaper: "I never learned ANYTHING while I was talking." 50 years experience at the interviewer's microphone and Larry's best advice comes down to one word. "Listen!"

Coincidentally (or maybe not!) I picked up this just-received book, sent to me by a dear friend who recalled my reviewing an earlier published edition of this same "Ronald Knox translation." And it literally it fell open to these words,

"By all means ask questions, but LISTEN to what holy writers have to tell you . . . often enough, (when we hear) Holy Scripture, we are distracted by mere curiosity; we want to seize upon some point and argue about it, when we ought to (listen) and move on."

I flipped open "The Imitation" just now and my eyes (lately fixated on my newest pride and joy were these: (p 32 under the heading, "ABOUT SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND HOW TO GET RID OF SELF-CONCEIT")

"It is nonsense to depend for your happiness on created things (and) why all this self-importance? Do not boast of riches, if you happen to possess them . . . nor about the important friends you have; boast rather of God's friendship.

"Do not give yourself airs, if you have physical strength or beauty; it only takes a spell of illness to waste the one, or mar the other. Do not be self-satisfied about your own skill or cleverness; God is hard to satisfy, and it is from him that they come, all these gifts of nature.

"He reads our thoughts, and will only think the worse of you, if you think yourself better than other people. Even your good actions must not be a source of pride to you: If you have any good qualities to show for yourself, credit your neighbor with even better qualities: that is the way to be humble.

"To be humble is to enjoy undisturbed peace of mind, while the proud heart is swept with gusts of envy and resentment."

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Seven years ago (on my birthday actually) I wrote my very first review for Amazon.com -- for an earlier re-print of this same translation. This latest version, from Ignatius Press of San Francisco, is far-and-away the most beautiful and features cover art by Andrea Solario (1480-1540) from the "Galleria Borghese, Rome" -- painted about a century after Thomas a Kempis produced his "Imitation." Inside artwork includes some marvelous, same-period woodcuts by Albrecht Durer.

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In his (2005) FOREWARD to this new edition, psychologist and priest Benedict Groeschel (seen by millions on his "Sunday Night Live" TV show on EWTN) recalls stealing his first copy of the "Imitation" from the public library in his Caldwell NJ hometown - slipping it into his schoolbag intending to return it "to its rightful place on the shelf, in two weeks time, the ordinary period for a book loan in those days."

"The title suggested to my 12-year-old mind that this must be a story about someone who pretended to be Jesus. I went and sat by a window . . . the spring sun (shining) on the oak table, I can still see my blue-sweatered arm around the book as I began to read:

"'Vanity of Vanities - all is vanity except to love God and serve him alone.' At that moment I was electrified, and I sat there reading page after page . . . . for two hours, mesmerized by the book!"

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As for the translation? Is it really the best-ever? I stand by my thoughts of seven years ago:

"I have several translations of the Imitation but I keep coming back to this one. I believe many readers will find this translation 'flows' better than the others, written as it is in a warm, gentle and accessible style by a master translator and communicator, Monsignor Ronald Knox. A convert to Catholicism who produced an acclaimed Latin-to-English translation of the Bible, Knox completed the first 30 or so chapters of the Imitation before his death in 1957. He wrote to Michael Oakley, two months before his passing: "If I die without finishing my translation, please tell my executors that you are to finish it." The younger Latin scholar did a splendid, seamless job of completing Knox's superb translation of what was--until this century--the second most widely read book in the world. What a delight that this version is once again available, [50 years] after its first publication. If you purchase only one copy of the Imitation in your lifetime, make it this one."

This book is one of my most treasured possessions. I have three different editions of the Imitation, but this one is my favorite. The language is simple and yet filled with timeless reverence. Some of its counsels may appear to be difficult, but the teachings contained within its pages yield peace of heart. It shows us how to live a holy life, and thus how to be at rest even in the midst of hardships; it reminds us that earthly sorrows are passing and cannot be compared with the joy of communion with Christ. The passages I treasure the most have to do with humility, the virtue that shields us from all manners of suffering. "Watch your own step; be slow to criticize the doings of other people." Serenity is within our grasp, if only we remember that the Lord is above all things. The Imitation is definitely a book that calls for absolute surrender: a radical proposition nowadays. However, absolute surrender bestows absolute freedom, fearlessness and serenity.

~Logospilgrim, author of 'Just a thistle'

My current job involves a total of 1.5 hours of commuting each day, and I bought this audio version of the Imitation for that drive. It is one of the best audio books I've ever heard. The narration is pitch-perfect for the material and pleasing to the ear. I've read the Imitation before, but listening to someone else read it, brings out even more meaning. This is one of the greatest Christian books ever written, and I had doubts that any recording could do it justice, but this one does.

Going into the details of questions of authorship (did Thomas a Kempis actually write this, or did he translate it, et cetera) is not quite as important to me as the import of the message and how it is phrased.

The Imitation of Christ is essentially a minor treatise, but a better and more helpful description might be personal record and observance, on how to realize the Christ within. It has the conversational style, rendered in lovely prose by Knox (and for the sections left uncompleted after his death, Oakley), which can successfully draw the reader into a conversation with the author about his own spiritual and personal development.

It is not like reading the Beattitudes or the Ten Commandments, where instructions or broad pronouncements are supposed to be self-evidently obvious to the reader, who is assumed to be earnest in his quest for understanding. Instead, it is like discussing one's personal life, one's very serious doubts and concerns about one's conduct and inner life with an ardent, energetic and thoughtful monk.

It is a book to ponder over and indeed, non-Christians and Christians, the areligious and religious, alike can benefit from actively thinking about some of the arguments Kempis makes about, say, criticizing others when so much work still needs to be done on oneself (nothing less than a pithy expatiation on casting the first stone!). Indeed, the first great modern proponent of Vedanta, Yoga, and Hinduism, Swami Vivekananda, said that while he loved and read many different works from all sorts of cultures, the two he always carried with him were the Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ. Quite an endorsement, considering that Protestants and Catholics alike have gained so much from it from all these centuries.

"For the path to Life is narrow and few there be that find it." This little book will help you to keep on the straight and narrow...no tickling the ears here. True inspiration to living a Christian life. I can see why some feel that this and the Bible is all you need.

This Audio book is wonderful for the daily commute. The voice is very smooth and pleasing and the message is, of course, as inspiring and timeless as ever. Like good medicine, I will take as needed....often.

I purchased the CD's and listened to them in my car and were amazed at how beautiful and peaceful and spiritual they were. They told about Jesus Christ's great love for his children and how much he wants us to depend on him and love him the way he loves us. I really enjoyed listening and will listen again and again.

I first read this book early in my spiritual journey. Then, a decade later I pulled it out and read it again. Each time it impacted me deeply, powerfully.

I find it amazing that a monk (the author might not have been Thomas a' Kempis, we don't know for sure) was able to write a book that has resonated with Christians and non-Christians, Protestants and Catholics, seekers and believers for more than 500 years.

Some people say it's the second best-selling book of all time (trailing only the Bible). I'm not sure. But I do know that it has helped a lot of people just like me discover how to follow and imitate the greatest person to ever live.

"Imitation of Christ" is one of the most widely read Christian spiritual works of all time. In the Middle Ages only the Bible had a wider readership. After you start reading it, it becomes immediately obvious why this would be the case: its approachable style and the perennial good advice that emanates from its every page make this an incredibly readable and inspiring book. The book is not strictly speaking an invitation for modeling one's life on particular historical events in the life of Jesus. This is no "What Would Jesus Do" manual. Rather, it's a distillation of the wisdom and teachings of Christianity as presented primarily in the Bible and the early Church Fathers. The result is a fascinating work of spiritual insight that has proven to have timeless practical relevance to the lives of Christians throughout the centuries.

The book also places a strong emphasis on growing one's faith within the Church. The last part of the book is almost entirely dedicated to the veneration and reflection on the Eucharist. Unfortunately, in recent years there has been a diminishing appreciation of Church's sacramental gifts, even within Christian communities that had traditionally placed a great emphasis on this particular way of getting closer to Christ. Hopefully reading this book may rekindle some of that appreciation in a reader who has not thought about it much lately.

Whatever your Christian tradition may be, you will take a lot from this insightful and inspirational book. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in deepening their spiritual life.

I have three translations of this book - but the Ronald A. Knox translation - the fourth - is the very best. Highly recommended
Susanne Storm Denmark