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To a work so long and universally known and so highly valued as THE IMITATION OP CHRIST, any remark by way of introduction is uncalled for. It has been in the hands of the Christian world upwards of three centuries; it has been translated into almost all languages; it has received the unqualified approbation of every learned and pious ornament of the Church; even Fontenelle has emphatically described it as the most excellent production that ever yet issued from the hand of man—God himself having dictated the Scriptures—and it is still held in as high estimation, by people of every denomination, as it was at any time since it came from the pen of THOMAS A KEMPIS.
In the present edition, a "Practical Reflection," and a Prayer have been introduced at the end of each chapter. It is hoped that they will be considered by the reader as a valuable addition to the original work; the former, as a practical epitome of the sentiments and maxims contained in the text; the latter, as an invocation to Almighty God, that He may, by the infusion of grace into our hearts, induce us to love and practice the duties and precepts inculcated therein.
May God, in His divine mercy, deign to bless the undertaking; may".
"
To a work so long and universally known and so highly valued as THE IMITATION OP CHRIST, any remark by way of introduction is uncalled for. It has been in the hands of the Christian world upwards of three centuries; it has been translated into almost all languages; it has received the unqualified approbation of every learned and pious ornament of the Church; even Fontenelle has emphatically described it as the most excellent production that ever yet issued from the hand of man—God himself having dictated the Scriptures—and it is still held in as high estimation, by people of every denomination, as it was at any time since it came from the pen of THOMAS A KEMPIS.
In the present edition, a "Practical Reflection," and a Prayer have been introduced at the end of each chapter. It is hoped that they will be considered by the reader as a valuable addition to the original work; the former, as a practical epitome of the sentiments and maxims contained in the text; the latter, as an invocation to Almighty God, that He may, by the infusion of grace into our hearts, induce us to love and practice the duties and precepts inculcated therein.
May God, in His divine mercy, deign to bless the undertaking; may".