The guardian., 1951-01-27
D
TO
"Of The Imitation of Christ"
by Thomas A. Kempis

all we feel, to His glory--these
form the leading virtues of our
pilgrimage, and, in the very pro-
portion of their rarity and their
painfulness, are they. the more
4 effectual tests of our regenera-
/ ton" And SO, even in our ac-
tivity there is need of meditation,
| watchfulness, and prayer. Ours
may else become a mere per-
functory Christianity, mechan-
ical routine of words spoken and
deeds done in the name of the
Master, and ali the while desti-
tute of that inner, higher spirit
ual life, without which we and
all our works are dead before
God. The cross, then, must be
laid upon our shoulders, that
that cross which Of old was the
badge of shame, as well as the
instrument of cruel tortures. We
must often be perfected, as was
the Master, through suffering.
Ours must be the lonely vigils
with Christ of whole nights spent
in prayer. Ours must be the
painful self-denials, in which the
Son of God becomes our eXen-
plar. We must often call back
the hands from labor, that the
heart may pray to God, and we
must sometimes turn our gaze
away from the unclouded bright
ness of the sun of righteousness,
to look within upon ourselves,
and see our sin and shame.
In this work of self-eXamina-
ton, this wonderful little book is
comforting to anxious, faithful
souls. It's Short, quivering SEN
tences" clinging to the memory,
could not fail of influencing the
life, and the life Influenced by its
maxims and controlled by its
sober, scriptural requirements,
will be that of one working out
his own salvation, will be that
of one working out his own sal
vation with fear and trembling,
conscious all the while that God
is working in and with him both
to will and to do of His own
good pleasure.
Nor may it be truly said of
this manual of the inner spiritual
life, as the eloquent historian of
Latin Christianity has asserted,
that 1T is absolutely and entirely
selfish in. its aim as in its acts"
Granted, to quote the further
criticism of this gifted author,
that "its sole, single, exclusive
object is the publication, the ele-
vation of the individual soul, of
the man absolutely isolated from
his kind, of the man dwelling
alone in solitude, in the hermit
age of his own thoughts; with no
fears or hopes, no sympathies of
our common nature" Still it does
not follow, even from this, that
help to individual sanctification
necessarily induces selfishness.
Well does Dean Goodwin, in his
Introduction to paraphrase of
this book, meet this charge. at
appears to me that my devout
reader of the book would say,
certainly the reading of this
book does not encourage me to
be selfish, but rather makes me
ashamed of selfshness. It is true
that my duty to my neighbor is
not the principal theme of the
book; but, still, 1 feel that if I
could realize in my heart some
thing of that intense spirit of
devotion, that nearness to God,
that seraphic piety which ami
mates the Imitation, it would
come out and show itself in my
conduct" And the life and con-
duct, springing thus from init
mate union and communion with
God, would be, as was the Mas
ter's worldwide in its grasp of
love, untiring in its egorts for
others good.
We must, however, bear in
mind that the Imitation nowhere
claims to be a complete Duty
of Man" It is doubtful if the
title which it bears was ever
given it by its author, Of whom
the the legend tells us that he
wrote down words which the
Lord seemed to use in spiritual
converse with him. And so the
work is a gathering together Of
hints and helps for those who
are looking heavenward. We
seem, as we turn its pages, to
realize somewhat the truth of the
monkish tale, that when the SIM
ple-minded Thomas was walking
with his brethren in the convent
or the garden, and felt the inner
call, he would say, Dear Breth-
ren, I must go; there is some One
waiting for me in my cell" And
what the Lord Jesus seemed to
/ say to Thomas, and what the
monk replied, we have in the
Imitation for our instruction, and
so far as it has the stamp of
Christs own mind and words as
I revealed in the inspired pages, it
has made this book the treasured
manual Of the heavenly-minded
Leighton, the earnest and unself-
ish Wesley, the impassioned
Whitefeld, and the intellectual
Chalmers, with a host Of others
Of every creed and every cline.
And this. too. in spite Of phrases