Books › Imitation of Christ
Imitation of Christ
First published 1977 · 617 pages
A quiet, austere retreat into the soul, offering timeless maxims on humility and divine love.
What it feels like
Reading this centuries-old devotional feels like stepping out of a noisy street into the cool, echoing silence of a stone monastery. The pace is inherently steady and meditative, demanding to be read in short, reflective bursts rather than consumed all at once. Its tone is deeply earnest and occasionally austere, stripping away the distractions of the material world to focus entirely on the interior life. The prose is aphoristic and direct, delivering spiritual maxims that resonate with a quiet, transcendent power. It is a book that guides the reader through an emotional arc of humbling self-reflection toward a profound, peaceful surrender. Seekers of spiritual discipline and those yearning for a quiet, contemplative anchor will find a timeless refuge within these pages.
- Mood
- contemplative
- quiet
- solemn
- transcendent
- peaceful
- Tone
- earnest
- reverent
- didactic
- austere
- comforting
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- spiritual surrender · inner peace · detachment from the world · humility · divine communion
- The writing
- Direct, aphoristic, and rhythmic, relying on simple but profound spiritual maxims meant for slow digestion.
- The arc
- Moves from a stark recognition of worldly vanity toward a profound, quiet surrender to divine love and inner peace.
- Who it's for
- Seekers of quiet contemplation and spiritual discipline who appreciate timeless, austere wisdom.
Content notes
- religious dogma
- discussions of sin
- mortality
About the book
The Imitation of Christ is a Christian devotional book dating to the early 15th century, originally written anonymously but popularly attributed to Thomas à Kempis. A popular piece of religious literature since it was first circulated, the Imitation is divided into four books that instruct the reader to forego worldly goods, to follow Christ, and to receive the sacrament of Communion, all in order to attain spiritual peace. Admired by numerous Christian theologians and mystics throughout the course of centuries, it is today considered to be the most-read Christian devotional work besides the Bible, going through over 745 printings before 1650. The Imitation even found an audience in India with the 19th-century Hindu philosopher-monk Ramakrishna, who cherished it along with the Bhagavad Gita as one of his favorite books.
Description from Open Library.
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