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Named source · 15th century

The Imitation of Christ Quotes by Thomas à Kempis: Context & Meanings

4 quotations linked to The Imitation of Christ by or associated with Thomas à Kempis, with source notes, explanations and related topics.

About this source

Late-medieval Christian devotional work traditionally attributed to Thomas à Kempis

Topics and ideas

Gratitude, humility, grace, patience, acceptance of limits, inward life, consolation, self-denial and spiritual discipline.

English wording

Translation

William Benham — Translator · Latin → English

The wording shown here follows the represented English edition or translation.

Why the edition matters

Translations and editions can differ in wording, punctuation and emphasis, so the source attached to each quotation matters when exact phrasing is important.

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Leading themes in this source

Prominent ideas connected with the quotations represented here

Wisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living Well 4Spiritual 4Humility 3Short 3Anger 2Calm 2Discipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & Consistency 2Gratitude 2Happiness 2Joy 2Mindfulness 2Patience 2Peace 2Positive Quotes About a Constructive Outlook 2
Represented passages

4 quotations with source context and meaning

Source identified1
Give thanks unto God for His grace, but for thyself alone confess thy fault.
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“Give thanks unto God for His grace, but for thyself alone confess thy fault.”

Thomas à Kempis
Meaning & context

The sentence separates gratitude from self-congratulation: what is received as grace is answered with thanks, while personal failure remains something to examine rather than disguise with spiritual pride.

Source details

The Imitation of Christ, Book II, Chapter X, “Of gratitude for the Grace of God,” William Benham translation, Project Gutenberg #1653. The sentence appears in the third paragraph, distinguishing thanks for grace from confession of one’s own fault within the work’s Christian theology of grace and humility.

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Source identified2
Be thankful, therefore, for the least benefit and thou shalt be worthy to receive greater.
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“Be thankful, therefore, for the least benefit and thou shalt be worthy to receive greater.”

Thomas à Kempis
Meaning & context

The devotional instruction treats gratitude as a discipline of scale: small benefits should not disappear merely because larger gifts are desired, since attention to what is received is itself part of humility.

Source details

The Imitation of Christ, Book II, Chapter X, “Of gratitude for the Grace of God,” William Benham translation, Project Gutenberg #1653. The sentence appears in the chapter’s fifth paragraph and treats gratitude for even the least divine benefit as part of humility; this remains explicitly Christian devotional teaching rather than a general promise of material reward.

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Source identified3
First keep thyself in peace, and then shalt thou be able to be a peacemaker towards others.
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“First keep thyself in peace, and then shalt thou be able to be a peacemaker towards others.”

Thomas à Kempis
Meaning & context

The devotional instruction makes inward steadiness prior to outward peacemaking: a person who is internally ruled by agitation will struggle to reduce conflict in relationships around them.

Source details

The Imitation of Christ, Book II, Chapter III, “Of the good, peaceable man,” William Benham translation, Project Gutenberg #1653.

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Source identified4
Those things which a man cannot amend in himself or in others, he ought patiently to bear, until God shall otherwise ordain.
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“Those things which a man cannot amend in himself or in others, he ought patiently to bear, until God shall otherwise ordain.”

Thomas à Kempis
Meaning & context

The devotional advice separates attempted correction from patient endurance: when a fault cannot presently be changed, continued struggle to control it may need to give way to forbearance.

Source details

The Imitation of Christ, Book I, Chapter XVI, “Of bearing with the faults of others,” William Benham translation, Project Gutenberg #1653. The chapter advises patiently bearing what cannot presently be amended while also urging prayer and mutual forbearance; it remains Christian devotional counsel rather than permission to tolerate preventable harm.

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