The Imitation of Christ

Excerpt from The Imitation of Christ: Called Also the Ecclesiastical Music English editions have adhered to a bad custom which grew up in the controversial times of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, not simply of omitting certain passages, but of altering the expression in almost countless in stances. The monk became a devout person, his cell was changed into a secret chamber, his penance into repentance, the Pope appeared as a bishop, and so on. But if a Kempis is to be read, certainly if he is to be understood, he must be allowed to speak with his own voice. His sentiment is that of the universal church; his opinions are those of his time. There are a few other points on which a word of explanation may be offered. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.