Bücher von Thomas a Kempis

Thomas Hammerlein was born in Kempen, North Germany, some six hundred years ago. He took the cowl at the age of twenty, entering the monastery of St Agnes where, now known as Thomas à Kempis ('Thomas from Kempen'), he spent the remaining seventy years of his life. It was in this secluded environment that he wrote his devotional classic 'The Imitation of Christ' which had its origins in a Dutch lay religious society, the Brethren of Common Life. Respected equally by Christians of all denominations, the work is divided into four 'Books': on the spiritual life, on the interior life, inward consolation, and the sacrament of the altar. 'The Imitation of Christ' is a profound meditation on the Christian spiritualexperience, giving guidance and explicit instructions on renouncing the world and discovering the Eternal within, by emulating the life of Jesus. It is hard to overstate the influence of this work: with the exception of The Holy Bible, it has been printed in more copies, and changed more lives, than any other book.

True Wisdom was written by the 2nd bestselling author of all time, Thomas A Kempis, widely known for The Imitation of Christ. Here we have another spiritual classic by this great author which is sure to enrich the spiritual lives of its readers. Upon reading the works of Kempis one can not helped but be touched by his spiritual writings. This is an unedited reprint of the 1904 English translation.

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - The treatise "Of the Imitation of Christ" appears to have been originally written in Latin early in the fifteenth century. Its exact date and its authorship are still a matter of debate. Manuscripts of the Latin version survive in considerable numbers all over Western Europe, and they, with the vast list of translations and of printed editions, testify to its almost unparalleled popularity. One scribe attributes it to St. Bernard of Clairvaux; but the fact that it contains a quotation from St. Francis of Assisi, who was born thirty years after the death of St. Bernard, disposes of this theory. In England there exist many manuscripts of the first three books, called "Musica Ecclesiastica," frequently ascribed to the English mystic Walter Hilton. But Hilton seems to have died in 1395, and there is no evidence of the existence of the work before 1400. Many manuscripts scattered throughout Europe ascribe the book to Jean le Charlier de Gerson, the great Chancellor of the University of Paris, who was a leading figure in the Church in the earlier part of the fifteenth century. The most probable author, however, especially when the internal evidence is considered, is Thomas Haemmerlein, known also as Thomas a Kempis, from his native town of Kempen, near the Rhine, about forty miles north of Cologne.

Originally published in 1908, this book presents an English translation of The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis (c.1380-1471), one of the most well-known Christian books of devotion. It will be of value to anyone with an interest in the writings of Kempis and the history of Christianity.