KEMPIS, Thomas à
Of the Imitation of Christ.
London, Peter Short, 1602.£2,250.00
12mo. pp. (xlviii) 277 (xi) [i]. Roman letter. Two woodcuts depicting King David to first verso and B12v, printer’s device to last verso. Woodcut initials, woodcut and typographical headpieces. Small rust stain to t-p, light intermittent inkstain to upper outer corners. A good copy in C18 vellum. Fox Pointe bookplate.
A rare and lovely English edition of the first three books of Thomas à Kempis’s hugely influential spiritual guide, the popular translation of Thomas Rogers (d. 1616), first published 1580. Rogers published a translation of the fourth book, the Soliloquium animae, in 1592.
The Imitatio Christi, written by the Augustinian monk Thomas à Kempis (c.1380-1471), was one of the most enduring religious texts of the late medieval and early modern periods. It emphasised withdrawal from the vanities of life but also passive and internal spirituality rather than active devotion, and so was popular with both the clergy and laity. The first English translation was in the mid-C15th. Thomas Rogers was a prolific translator of religious texts into English and is also known for his exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles. The dedication is to Thomas Bromley (1530-87) who as Lord Chancellor presided over the trial and execution of Mary Queen of Scots. The influence of the French Reformed tradition on Rogers is obvious: he provides two letters, the first on the reasons for imitating Christ, the second on the Latin translation by the French Reformer Sebastian Castellio (1515-63); there follows a ‘godlie preface’ by the French translator of the Latin edition.
‘‘The Imitation of Christ’ is a book of mystical thought which throughout history has appealed to Roman Catholics and Protestants alike. It has been the most widely read devotional manual apart from the Bible, perhaps even surpassing the influence of such books as ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ and Augustine’s ‘Confessiones’ (PMM, p. 9).
ESTC S111512. This ed. not in Brunet or Lowndes. ESTC notes only a single copy of this edition in North America, at Harvard; OCLC adds Simon Fraser. ESTC notes only three copies of the first ed. in the US, at Harvard, Huntington and the Folger.