The Imitation of Christ – Thomas à Kempis
Chapter XXII – Of the consideration of human misery
Miserable thou art, wheresoever thou be, or whithersoever thou turnest. Why art thou troubled when things succeed not as thou wouldst or desirest? For who is he that hath all things according to his mind? neither I nor thou, nor any man upon earth. There is none in this world, even though he be king or bishop, without some tribulation or perplexity.
Many weak and infirm persons say, Behold ! what a happy life such an one leads ; how wealthy, how great he is, in what power and dignity ! All the goods of this life are nothing to be accounted of. They are very uncertain, and rather burdensome than otherwise, because they are never possessed without anxiety and fear. Man’s happiness consisteth not in having abundance of temporal goods, but a moderate portion is sufficient for him.
Truly it is misery even to live upon the earth.
The more spiritual a man desires to be, the more bitter does this present life become to him ; because he sees more clearly and perceives more sensibly the defects of human corruption. For to eat and to drink, to sleep and to watch, to labour and to rest, and to be subject to other necessities of nature, is doubtless a great misery and affliction to a religious man, who would gladly be set loose, and freed from all sin.
For the inward man is much weighed down by the necessities of the body.
Therefore the Prophet prayed with great devotion to be enabled to be free from them, saying, ” Bring thou me out of my distress.”
But woe be to them that know not their own misery; and a greater woe to them that love this miserable and corrupt life !
How senseless are these men and unbelieving in heart, who lie so deeply sunk in the earth, that they can relish nothing but carnal things.
Chapter XXIII – Of meditation on death
Very quickly there will be an end of thee here : look what will become of thee in another state. To-day we are here, to-morrow we disappear, and when we are gone, quickly also we are out of mind.
The stupidity and hardness of man’s heart, which thinketh only upon the present, and doth not rather care for what is to come !
Thou oughtest so to order thyself in all thy thoughts and actions, as if thou wert about to die.
If thou hadst a good conscience, thou wouldst not greatly fear death.
It were better to avoid sin, than to escape death.
If to-day thou art not prepared, how wilt thou be so to-morrow !
To-morrow is uncertain, and how knowest thou that thou shalt live till to-morrow !
What availeth it to live long, when there is so small amendment of our lives ?
Alas ! length of days doth not always better us, but often rather increaseth our sin. O that we had spent but one day in this world thoroughly well !