THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

BOOK ONE
THOUGHTS HELPFUL IN THE LIFE OF THE SOUL

Liber Primus
Admonitiones ad Vitam spiritualem utiles.

Chapter 18 THE EXAMPLE SET US BY THE HOLY FATHERS 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.	Cap. 18. De exemplo Sanctorum Patrum. 1. Intuere Sanctorum Patrum vivida exempla, in quibus vera perfectio fulsit, et videbis quam modicum sit, et vere nihil, quod nos agimus. Heu quid est vita nostra, si illis fuerit comparata. Sancti et amici Christi Dominio servierunt in fame et siti, in frigore et nuditate, in labore et fatigatine, in vigiliis et jejuniis, in orationibus et sanctis meditationibus, in persecutionibus et opprobriis multis.
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. 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.	2. O quam multas, et graves tribulationes passi sunt Apostoli, Martyres et Confessores, Virginies et reliqui omnes, qui Christi vestigia voluerunt sequi. Nam animas suas in hoc mundo oderunt, ut in vitam æternam eas possiderent. O quam strictam et abdicatam vitam sancti Patres in eremo duxerunt, quam longas, et graves tentationes pertulerunt: quam frequenter ab inimico vexati sunt, quam graves, et fervidas orationes Deo obtulerunt, quam rigidas abstinentias peregerunt, quam magnum zelum, et fervorem ad spiritualem profectum habuerunt, quam forte bellum adversus edomationem vitiorum gesserunt, quam puram, et rectam intentionem ad Deum tenuerunt, per diem laborabant, et noctibus orationi diutinæ vacabant: quamquam laborando ab oratione mentali minime cessarent.
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.	3. Omne tempus utiliter expendebant, omnis hora ad vacandum Deo brevis videbatur. Et præ magna dulcedine contemplationis, etiam oblivioni tradebatur necessitas corporalis refectionis. Omnibus divitiis, dignitatibus, honoribus, amicis et cognatis renuntiabant. Nihil de mundo habere cupiebant: vix necessaria vitæ sumebant, corpori servire etiam in necessitate dolebant. Pauperes igitur erant rebus terrenis, sed divites valde in gratia, et virtutibus. Foris egebant, sed intus gratia, et consolatione divina reficiebantur.
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.	4. Mundo erant alieni, sed Deo proximi, ac familiares amici. Sibi ipsis videbantur tanquam nihili, et huic mundo dispecti, sed erant in oculis Dei prætiosi, et delecti. In vera humilitate stabant, in simplici obedientia vivebant, in charitate et patientia ambulabant, et ideo quotidie proficiebant, et magnam apud Deum obtinebant gratiam. Dati sunt in exemplum omnibus Religiosis et plus provocare nos debent ad bene proficiendum, quam tepidorum numerus ad relaxandum.
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.	5. O, quantus fervor omnium Religiosorum in principio suæ sanctæ institutionis fuit; o, quanta devotio orationis, quanta æmulatio virtutis, quam magna disciplina viguit, quanta reverentia et obedientia sub regula in omnibus floruit. Testantur adhuc vestigia derelicta, quod vere viri sancti et perfecti fuerunt, qui tam strenue militantes, mundum suppeditaverunt. Jam magnus utique putatur, si quis transgressor non fuerit, si quis quod accepit cum patientia tolerare potuerit.
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!	6. O, tepor et negligentia status nostri, quod tam cito declinamus a pristino fervore et jam tædet vivere præ lassitudine et tepore. Utinam in te penitus non dormiret profectus virtutum, qui multa sæpius exempla vidisti devotorum.