The Imitation of Christ: Translated by Ronald Knox and Michael Oakley. This item is unavailable.The Imitation of Christ: Translated by Ronald Knox and Michael Oakley

The spiritual classic by à Kempis, the second most widely read spiritual book after the Bible, has had an astonishing impact on the spiritual lives of countless saints, peasants, and popes for centuries. Even today, the soul-searching words of the fifteenth-century cleric Thomas à Kempis continue to resonate, unbounded by time or geography. Drawing on the Bible, the Fathers of the early Church and medieval mysticism, his four-part treatise shrugs off the allure of the material world, blending beauty and bluntness in a supremely spiritual call-to-arms.

This beautiful translation by Ronald Knox and Michael Oakley is considered by many teachers, writers, and readers to be the best English translation ever, and one that greatly enhances the life-changing insights of Thomas à Kempis. Illustrated.

Thomas À Kempis (1379-1471) was born in Germany and schooled by the Order of Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life in Netherlands. He lived for seventy years among the Canons Regular of St. Augustine at Mount St. Agnes Monastery. Ordained a priest, he twice served as the community's subprior and copied books by hand, including the entire Bible. He is best known as the author of the spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, both as an Anglican and as a Roman Catholic, Ronald Knox was a well-known part of the English literary landscape. He was a favored preacher for occasions great and small; his articles on a host of topics found a place in the newspapers and monthly literary magazines; his voice was heard often on the BBC. He wrote numerous popular spiritual and literary works including The Belief of Catholics, Captive Flames, The Hidden Stream and Pastoral and Occasional Sermons.