The Imitation of Christ

Chapter 18: THE EXAMPLE SET US BY THE HOLY FATHERS

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CONSIDER the lively examples set us by the saints, who possessed the light of true perfection and religion, and you will see how little, how nearly nothing, we do. What, alas, is our life, compared with theirs? The saints and friends of Christ served the Lord in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in work and fatigue, in vigils and fasts, in prayers and holy meditations, in persecutions and many afflictions.

2.  How many and severe were the trials they suffered—the Apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and all the rest who willed to follow in the footsteps of Christ! They hated their lives on earth that they might have life in eternity.⁷³

— How strict and detached were the lives the holy hermits led in the desert! What long and grave temptations they suffered! How often were they beset by the enemy! What frequent and ardent prayers they offered to God! What rigorous fasts they observed!

— How great their zeal and their love for spiritual perfection! How brave the fight they waged to master their evil habits! What pure and straightforward purpose they showed toward God! By day they labored and by night they spent themselves in long prayers. Even at work they did not cease from mental prayer.

3.  They used all their time profitably; every hour seemed too short for serving God, and in the great sweetness of contemplation, they forgot even their bodily needs. They renounced all riches, dignities, honors, friends, and associates. They desired nothing of the world. They scarcely allowed themselves the necessities of life, and the service of the body, even when necessary, was irksome to them.

— They were poor in earthly things but rich in grace and virtue. Outwardly destitute, inwardly they were full of grace and divine consolation.

4.  Strangers to the world, they were close and intimate friends of God. To themselves they seemed as nothing, and they were despised by the world, but in the eyes of God they were precious and beloved. They lived in true humility and simple obedience; they walked in charity and patience, making progress daily on the pathway of spiritual life and obtaining great favor with God. They were given as an example for all religious, and their power to stimulate us to perfection ought to be greater than that of the lukewarm to tempt us to laxity.

5.  How great was the fervor of all religious in the beginning of their holy institution! How great their devotion in prayer and their rivalry for virtue! What splendid discipline flourished among them! What great reverence and obedience in all things under the rule of a superior! The footsteps they left behind still bear witness that they indeed were holy and perfect men who fought bravely and conquered the world. Today, he who is not a transgressor and who can bear patiently the duties which he has taken upon himself is considered great.

6.  How lukewarm and negligent we are! We lose our original fervor very quickly and we even become weary of life from laziness! Do not you, who have seen so many examples of the devout, fall asleep in the pursuit of virtue!

Chapter 17: MONASTIC LIFE

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IF YOU wish peace and concord with others, you must learn to break your will in many things. To live in monasteries or religious communities, to remain there without complaint, and to persevere faithfully till death⁶⁸ is no small matter. Blessed indeed is he who there lives a good life and there ends his days in happiness.

— If you would persevere in seeking perfection, you must consider yourself a pilgrim, an exile on earth.⁶⁹ If you would become a religious, you must be content to seem a fool for the sake of Christ.⁷⁰

2. Habit and tonsure change a man but little; it is the change of life, the complete mortification of passions that endow a true religious.

— He who seeks anything but God alone and the salvation of his soul will find only trouble and grief, and he who does not try to become the least, the servant of all,⁷¹ cannot remain at peace for long.

3. You have come to serve, not to rule. You must understand, too, that you have been called to suffer and to work, not to idle and gossip away your time. Here men are tried as gold in a furnace.⁷² Here no man can remain unless he desires with all his heart to humble himself before God.

Chapter 16: BEARING WITH THE FAULTS OF OTHERS

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UNTIL God ordains otherwise, a man ought to bear patiently whatever he cannot correct in himself and in others. Consider it better thus -- perhaps to try your patience and to test you, for without such patience and trial your merits are of little account. Nevertheless, under such difficulties you should pray that God will consent to help you bear them calmly.
2.  If, after being admonished once or twice, a person does not amend, do not argue with him but commit the whole matter to God that His will and honor may be furthered in all His servants, for God knows well how to turn evil to good.⁶¹
— Try to bear patiently with the defects and infirmities of others, whatever they may be, because you also have many a fault which others must endure. If you cannot make yourself what you would wish to be, how can you bend others to your will? We want them to be perfect, yet we do not correct our own faults.
3.  We wish them to be severely corrected, yet we will not correct ourselves. Their great liberty displeases us, yet we would not be denied what we ask. We would have them bound by laws, yet we will allow ourselves to be restrained in nothing. Hence, it is clear how seldom we think of others as we do of ourselves. If all were perfect, what should we have to suffer from others for God's sake?
4.  But God has so ordained, that we may learn to bear with one another's burdens,⁶² for there is no man without fault, no man without burden,⁶³ no man sufficient to himself⁶⁴ nor wise enough.⁶⁵ Hence we must support one another,⁶⁶ console one another,⁶⁷ mutually help, counsel, and advise, for the measure of every man's virtue is best revealed in time of adversity -- adversity that does not weaken a man but rather shows what he is.

Chapter 15: WORKS DONE IN CHARITY

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NEVER do evil for anything in the world, or for the love of any man. For one who is in need, however, a good work may at times be purposely left undone or changed for a better one. This is not the omission of a good deed but rather its improvement.

— Without charity external work is of no value,⁵⁹ but anything done in charity, be it ever so small and trivial, is entirely fruitful inasmuch as God weighs the love with which a man acts rather than the deed itself. He does much who loves much. He does much who does a thing well.

2. He does well who serves the common good rather than his own interests. Now, that which seems to be charity is oftentimes really sensuality, for man's own inclination, his own will, his hope of reward, and his self-interest, are motives seldom absent.

3. On the contrary, he who has true and perfect charity seeks self in nothing, but searches all things for the glory of God. Moreover, he envies no man, because he desires no personal pleasure nor does he wish to rejoice in himself; rather he desires the greater glory of God above all things.⁶⁰ He ascribes to man nothing that is good but attributes it wholly to God from Whom all things proceed as from a fountain, and in Whom all the blessed shall rest as their last end and fruition.

— If man had but a spark of true charity he would surely sense that all the things of earth are full of vanity!

Chapter 14: AVOIDING RASH JUDGMENT

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TURN your attention upon yourself and beware of judging the deeds of other men, for in judging others a man labors vainly, often makes mistakes, and easily sins; whereas, in judging and taking stock of himself he does something that is always profitable.
— We frequently judge that things are as we wish them to be, for through personal feeling true perspective is easily lost. If God were the sole object of our desire, we should not be disturbed so easily by opposition to our opinions

2. But often something lurks within or happens from without to draw us along with it. Many, unawares, seek themselves in the things they do. They seem even to enjoy peace of mind when things happen according to their wish and liking, but if otherwise than they desire, they are soon disturbed and saddened. Differences of feeling and opinion often divide friends and acquaintances, even those who are religious and devout.⁵⁸

3. An old habit is hard to break, and no one is willing to be led farther than he can see. If you rely more upon your intelligence or industry than upon the virtue of submission to Jesus Christ, you will hardly, and in any case slowly, become an enlightened man. God wants us to be completely subject to Him and, through ardent love, to rise above all human wisdom.

Chapter 13: RESISTING TEMPTATION

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SO LONG as we live in this world we cannot escape suffering and temptation. Whence it is written in Job: "The life of man upon earth is a warfare."⁴⁹ Everyone, therefore, must guard against temptation and must watch in prayer lest the devil, who never sleeps but goes about seeking whom he may devour, find occasion to deceive him.⁵⁰ No one is so perfect or so holy but he is sometimes tempted; man cannot be altogether free from temptation.

2.  Yet temptations, though troublesome and severe, are often useful to a man, for in them he is humbled, purified, and instructed. The saints all passed through many temptations and trials to profit by them, while those who could not resist became reprobate and fell away. There is no state so holy, no place so secret that temptations and trials will not come.

3.  Man is never safe from them as long as he lives, for they come from within us — in sin we were born.⁵¹ When one temptation or trial passes, another comes; we shall always have something to suffer because we have lost the state of original blessedness.
— Many people try to escape temptations, only to fall more deeply. We cannot conquer simply by fleeing, but by patience and true humility we become stronger than all our enemies.

4.  The man who only shuns temptations outwardly and does not uproot them will make little progress; indeed they will quickly return, more violent than before. Little by little, in patience and long-suffering⁵² you will overcome them, by the help of God rather than by severity and your own rash ways. Often take counsel when tempted; and do not be harsh with others who are tempted, but console them as you yourself would wish to be consoled.

5.  The beginning of all temptation lies in a wavering mind and little trust in God, for as a rudderless ship is driven hither and yon by waves, so a careless and irresolute man is tempted in many ways. Fire tempers iron⁵³ and temptation steels the just. Often we do not know what we can stand, but temptation shows us what we are.
— Above all, we must be especially alert against the beginnings of temptation, for the enemy is more easily conquered if he is refused admittance to the mind and is met beyond the threshold when he knocks. Someone has said very aptly: "Resist the beginnings; remedies come too late, when by long delay the evil has gained strength."⁵⁴ First, a mere thought comes to mind, then strong imagination, followed by pleasure, evil delight, and consent. Thus, because he is not resisted in the beginning, Satan gains full entry. And the longer a man delays in resisting, so much the weaker does he become each day, while the strength of the enemy grows against him.

6.  Some suffer great temptations in the beginning of their conversion, others toward the end, while some are troubled almost constantly throughout their life. Others, again, are tempted but lightly according to the wisdom and justice of Divine Providence Who weighs the status and merit of each and prepares all for the salvation of His elect.

7.  We should not despair, therefore, when we are tempted, but pray to God the more fervently that He may see fit to help us, for according to the word of Paul, He will make issue with temptation that we may be able to bear it.⁵⁵ Let us humble our souls under the hand of God⁵⁶ in every trial and temptation for He will save and exalt the humble in spirit.⁵⁷

8.  In temptations and trials the progress of a man is measured; in them opportunity for merit and virtue is made more manifest. When a man is not troubled it is not hard for him to be fervent and devout, but if he bears up patiently in time of adversity, there is hope for great progress.
— Some, guarded against great temptations, are frequently overcome by small ones in order that, humbled by their weakness in small trials, they may not presume on their own strength in great ones.

Chapter 12: THE VALUE OF ADVERSITY

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IT IS good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing. It is good for us sometimes to suffer contradiction, to be misjudged by men even though we do well and mean well. These things help us to be humble and shield us from vainglory. When to all outward appearances men give us no credit, when they do not think well of us, then we are more inclined to seek God Who sees our hearts.

2. Therefore, a man ought to root himself so firmly in God that he will not need the consolations of men. When a man of good will is afflicted, tempted, and tormented by evil thoughts, he realizes clearly that his greatest need is God, without Whom he can do no good.⁴⁷ Saddened by his miseries and sufferings, he laments and prays. He wearies of living longer and wishes for death that he might be dissolved and be with Christ.⁴⁸ Then he understands fully that perfect security and complete peace cannot be found on earth.

Chapter 11: ACQUIRING PEACE AND ZEAL FOR PERFECTION

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WE SHOULD enjoy much peace if we did not concern ourselves with what others say and do, for these are no concern of ours. How can a man who meddles in affairs not his own, who seeks strange distractions, and who is little or seldom inwardly recollected, live long in peace? Blessed are the simple of heart for they shall enjoy peace in abundance.

2.  Why were some of the saints so perfect and so given to contemplation? Because they tried to mortify entirely in themselves all earthly desires, and thus they were able to attach themselves to God with all their heart and freely to concentrate their innermost thoughts. We are too occupied with our own whims and fancies, too taken up with passing things. Rarely do we completely conquer even one vice, and we are not inflamed with the desire to improve ourselves day by day; hence, we remain cold and indifferent.

3.  If we mortified our bodies perfectly and allowed no distractions to enter our minds, we could appreciate divine things and experience something of heavenly contemplation. The greatest obstacle, indeed, the only obstacle, is that we are not free from passions and lusts, that we do not try to follow the perfect way of the saints. Thus when we encounter some slight difficulty, we are too easily dejected and turn to human consolations.

4.  If we tried, however, to stand as brave men in battle, the help of the Lord from heaven would surely sustain us. For He Who gives us the opportunity of fighting for victory, is ready to help those who carry on and trust in His grace. If we let our progress in religious life depend on the observance of its externals alone, our devotion will quickly come to an end. Let us, then, lay the ax to the root⁴⁴ that we may be freed from our passions and thus have peace of mind.

5.  If we were to uproot only one vice each year, we should soon become perfect. The contrary, however, is often the case -- we feel that we were better and purer in the first fervor of our conversion⁴⁵ than we are after many years in the practice of our faith. Our fervor and progress ought to increase day by day; yet it is now considered noteworthy if a man can retain even a part of his first fervor.⁴⁶ If we did a little violence to ourselves at the start, we should afterwards be able to do all things with ease and joy.

6.  It is hard to break old habits, but harder still to go against our will. If you do not overcome small, trifling things, how will you overcome the more difficult? Resist temptations in the beginning, and unlearn the evil habit lest perhaps, little by little, it lead to a more evil one.

If you but consider what peace a good life will bring to yourself and what joy it will give to others, I think you will be more concerned about your spiritual progress.

Chapter 10: AVOIDING IDLE TALK

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SHUN the gossip of men as much as possible, for discussion of worldly affairs, even though sincere, is a great distraction inasmuch as we are quickly ensnared and captivated by vanity. Many a time I wish that I had held my peace and had not associated with men.

— Why, indeed, do we converse and gossip among ourselves when we so seldom part without a troubled conscience? We do so because we seek comfort from one another's conversation and wish to ease the mind wearied by diverse thoughts. Hence, we talk and think quite fondly of things we like very much or of things we dislike intensely.

2. But, sad to say, we often talk vainly and to no purpose; for this external pleasure effectively bars inward and divine consolation. Therefore we must watch and pray⁴² lest time pass idly.

— When the right and opportune moment comes for speaking, say something that will edify.⁴³ Bad habits and indifference to spiritual progress do much to remove the guard from the tongue. Devout conversation on spiritual matters, on the contrary, is a great aid to spiritual progress, especially when persons of the same mind and spirit associate together in God.

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BOOK ONE: THOUGHTS HELPFUL IN THE LIFE OF THE SOUL

Chapter 1: IMITATING CHRIST AND DESPISING ALL VANITIES ON EARTH

Chapter 2: HAVING A HUMBLE OPINION OF SELF

Chapter 3: THE DOCTRINE OF TRUTH

Chapter 4: PRUDENCE IN ACTION

Chapter 5: READING THE HOLY SCRIPTURE

Chapter 6: UNBRIDLED AFFECTIONS

Chapter 7: AVOIDING FALSE HOPE AND PRIDE

Chapter 8: SHUNNING OVER-FAMILIARITY

Chapter 9: OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION

Chapter 10: AVOIDING IDLE TALK

Chapter 11: ACQUIRING PEACE AND ZEAL FOR PERFECTION

Chapter 12: THE VALUE OF ADVERSITY

Chapter 13: RESISTING TEMPTATION

Chapter 14: AVOIDING RASH JUDGEMENTS

Chapter 15: WORKS DONE IN CHARITY

Chapter 16: BEARING WITH THE FAULTS OF OTHERS

Chapter 17: MONASTIC LIFE

Chapter 18: THE EXAMPLE SET US BY THE HOLY FATHERS

______________________
Text is from Cyber Books
Footnotes are from: Tylenda, Joseph N., Translator; The Imitation of Christ;Vintage Spiritual Classics; New York; 1998.

Chapter 9: OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION

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IT IS a very great thing to obey, to live under a superior and not to be one's own master, for it is much safer to be subject than it is to command. Many live in obedience more from necessity than from love. Such become discontented and dejected on the slightest pretext; they will never gain peace of mind unless they subject themselves wholeheartedly for the love of God.

— Go where you may, you will find no rest except in humble obedience to the rule of authority. Dreams of happiness expected from change and different places have deceived many.

2. Everyone, it is true, wishes to do as he pleases and is attracted to those who agree with him. But if God be among us, we must at times give up our opinions for the blessings of peace. Furthermore, who is so wise that he can have full knowledge of everything? Do not trust too much in your own opinions, but be willing to listen to those of others. If, though your own be good, you accept another's opinion for love of God, you will gain much more merit.

3. I have often heard that it is safer to listen to advice and take it⁴¹ than to give it. It may happen, too, that while one's own opinion may be good, refusal to agree with others when reason and occasion demand it, is a sign of pride and obstinacy.

Chapter 8: SHUNNING OVER-FAMILIARITY

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DO NOT open your heart to every man,³⁷ but discuss your affairs with one who is wise³⁸ and who fears God. Do not keep company with young people and strangers. Do not fawn upon the rich, and do not be fond of mingling with the great.³⁹
—Associate with the humble and the simple, with the devout and virtuous, and with them speak of edifying things. Be not intimate with any woman, but generally commend all good women to God.⁴⁰ Seek only the intimacy of God and of His angels, and avoid the notice of men.

2. We ought to have charity for all men but familiarity with all is not expedient. Sometimes it happens that a person enjoys a good reputation among those who do not know him, but at the same time is held in slight regard by those who do. Frequently we think we are pleasing others by our presence and we begin rather to displease them by the faults they find in us.

Chapter 7: AVOIDING FALSE HOPE AND PRIDE

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Vain is the man who puts his trust in men,³¹ in created things. Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ³² and to seem poor in this world.

--Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God. Do what lies in your power and God will aid your good will. Put no trust in your own learning nor in the cunning of any man, but rather in the grace of God Who helps the humble³³ and humbles the proud.

2. If you have wealth, do not glory in it,³⁴ nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God³⁵ Who gives all things and Who desires above all to give Himself.

--Do not boast of personal stature or of physical beauty, qualities which are marred and destroyed by a little sickness. Do not take pride in your talent or ability, lest you displease God to Whom belongs all the natural gifts that you have.

3. Do not think yourself better than others lest, perhaps, you be accounted worse before God Who knows what is in man.³⁶ Do not take pride in your good deeds, for God's judgments differ from those of men and what pleases them often displeases Him.

--If there is good in you, see more good in others, so that you may remain humble. It does no harm to esteem yourself less than anyone else, but it is very harmful to think yourself better than even one. The humble live in continuous peace, while in the hearts of the proud are envy and frequent anger.

Chapter 6: UNBRIDLED AFFECTIONS

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WHEN a man desires a thing too much, he at once becomes ill at ease. A proud and avaricious man never rests, whereas he who is poor and humble of heart lives in a world of peace.

-- An unmortified man is quickly tempted and overcome in small, trifling evils; his spirit is weak, in a measure carnal and inclined to sensual things; he can hardly abstain from earthly desires. Hence it makes him sad to forego them; he is quick to anger if reproved.

2 Yet if he satisfies his desires, remorse of conscience overwhelms him because he followed his passions and they did not lead to the peace he sought. True peace of heart, then, is found in resisting passions, not in satisfying them.

-- There is no peace in the carnal man, in the man given to vain attractions, but there is peace in the fervent and spiritual man.

Chapter 5: READING THE HOLY SCRIPTURE

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TRUTH, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part must be read in the spirit in which it was written. For in the Scriptures we ought to seek profit rather than polished diction.

--Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said.

2. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remains forever.²⁸ God speaks to us in many ways²⁹ without regard for persons.³⁰ Our curiosity often impedes our reading of the Scriptures, when we wish to understand and mull over what we ought simply to read and pass by.

If you would profit from it, therefore, read with humility, simplicity, and faith, and never seek a reputation for being learned. Seek willingly and listen attentively to the words of the saints; do not be displeased with the sayings of the ancients, for they were not made without purpose.

Chapter 4: PRUDENCE IN ACTION

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DO NOT yield to every impulse and suggestion²⁴ but consider things carefully and patiently in the light of God's will. For very often, sad to say, we are so weak that we believe and speak evil of others rather than good. Perfect men, however, do not readily believe every talebearer, because they know that human frailty is prone to evil and is likely to appear in speech.²⁵
2. Not to act rashly or to cling obstinately to one's opinion, not to believe everything people say or to spread abroad the gossip one has heard, is great wisdom.
--Take counsel with a wise and conscientious man.²⁶ Seek the advice of your betters in preference to following your own inclinations.
3. A good life makes a man wise according to God and gives him experience in many things,²⁷ for the more humble he is and the more subject to God, the wiser and the more at peace he will be in all things.

Chapter 3: THE DOCTRINE OF TRUTH

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HAPPY is he to whom truth manifests itself, not in signs and words that fade,¹⁵ but as it actually is. Our opinions, our senses often deceive us and we discern very little. What good is much discussion of involved and obscure matters when our ignorance of them will not be held against us on Judgment Day? Neglect of things which are profitable and necessary and undue concern with those which are irrelevant and harmful, are great folly. We have eyes and do not see.¹⁶
2. What, therefore, have we to do with questions of philosophy? He to whom the Eternal Word speaks is free from theorizing. For from this Word are all things¹⁷ and of Him all things speak¹⁸ -- the Beginning Who also speaks to us. Without this Word no man understands or judges aright. He to whom it becomes everything, who traces all things to it and who sees all things in it, may ease his heart and remain at peace with God.
-- O God, You Who are the truth,¹⁹ make me one with You in love everlasting.²⁰ I am often wearied by the many things I hear and read, but in You is all that I long for. Let the learned be still, let all creatures be silent before You; You alone speak to me.
3. The more recollected a man is, and the more simple of heart he becomes, the easier he understands sublime things, for he receives the light of knowledge from above.
-- The pure, simple, and steadfast spirit is not distracted by many labors, for he does them all for the honor of God. And since he enjoys interior peace he seeks no selfish end in anything. What, indeed, gives more trouble and affliction than uncontrolled desires of the heart?
-- A good and devout man arranges in his mind the things he has to do, not according to the whims of evil inclination but according to the dictates of right reason.
-- Who is forced to struggle more than he who tries to master himself? This ought to be our purpose, then: to conquer self, to become stronger each day, to advance in virtue.
4. Every perfection in this life has some imperfection mixed with it and no learning of ours is without some darkness. Humble knowledge of self is a surer path to God than the ardent pursuit of learning.
-- Not that learning is to be considered evil, or knowledge, which is good in itself and so ordained by God; but a clean conscience and virtuous life ought always to be preferred. Many often err and accomplish little or nothing because they try to become learned rather than to live well.
5. If men used as much care in uprooting vices and implanting virtues as they do in discussing problems, there would not be so much evil and scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations. On the day of judgment, surely, we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived.
-- Tell me, where now are all the masters and teachers whom you knew so well in life and who were famous for their learning? Others have already taken their places and I know not whether they ever think of their predecessors. During life they seemed to be something; now they are seldom remembered.
6. How quickly the glory of the world passes away!²¹ If only their lives had kept pace with their learning, then their study and reading would have been worth while.
-- How many there are who perish because of vain worldly knowledge and too little care for serving God. They became vain in their own conceits²² because they chose to be great rather than humble.
-- He is truly great who has great charity. He is truly great who is little in his own eyes and makes nothing of the highest honor. He is truly wise who looks upon all earthly things as folly that he may gain Christ.²³ He who does God's will and renounces his own is truly very learned.

Chapter 2: HAVING A HUMBLE OPINION OF SELF

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EVERY man naturally desires knowledge;¹⁰ but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars.¹¹ He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised by men.
- If I knew all things in the world and had not charity,¹² what would it profit me before God Who will judge me by my deeds?
2. Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very unwise.
- Many words do not satisfy the soul; but a good life eases the mind and a clean conscience inspires great trust in God.
3. The more you know and the better you understand, the more severely will you be judged, unless your life is also the more holy. Do not be proud, therefore, because of your learning or skill. Rather, fear because of the talent given you.
4. If you think you know many things and understand them well enough, realize at the same time that there is much you do not know. Hence, do not affect wisdom,¹³ but admit your ignorance. Why prefer yourself to anyone else when many are more learned, more cultured than you? If you wish to learn and appreciate something worth while, then love to be unknown¹⁴ and considered as nothing.
5. Truly to know and despise self is the best and most perfect counsel. To think of oneself as nothing, and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom. Wherefore, if you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate.
- All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself.

Chapter 1: IMITATING CHRIST AND DESPISING ALL VANITIES ON EARTH

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HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness,"¹ says the Lord. By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.
2. The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna.² Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ.³ Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.
3. What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it.
For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God?⁴ Vanity of vanities and all is vanity,⁵ except to love God and serve Him alone.⁶ This is the greatest wisdom -- to seek the kingdom of heaven through contempt of the world.
4. It is vanity, therefore, to seek and trust in riches that perish.⁷
It is vanity also to court honor and to be puffed up with pride. It is vanity to follow the lusts of the body⁸ and to desire things for which severe punishment later must come.
It is vanity to wish for long life and to care little about a well-spent life.
It is vanity to be concerned with the present only and not to make provision for things to come. It is vanity to love what passes quickly and not to look ahead where eternal joy abides.
5. Often recall the proverb: "The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing."⁹
Try, moreover, to turn your heart from the love of things visible and bring yourself to things invisible. For they who follow their own evil passions stain their consciences and lose the grace of God.