The early editions of Thomas a Kempis' great work were in
manuscript, many of them beautifully illuminated. A
noteworthy edition was brought out in 1600 at Antwerp by
Henry Sommalius, S. J. The works of Thomas a Kempis in three
volumes were issued by this same editor in 1615.
The first English version of the _Imitation_ was made by
Willyam Atkynson and was printed by Wykyns de Worde in 1502.
In 1567 Edward Hake issued a fine edition. Among the best
English editions are those of Canon Benham, Sir Francis
Cruise, Bishop Challoner and the Oxford edition of 1841. The
best edition for the beginner is that edited by Brother Leo,
F. S. C., Professor of English Literature in St. Mary's
College, Oakland, California. It is in the Macmillan's Pocket
Classics and has an admirable introduction of fifty-three
pages. The notes are brief but very helpful.
Some of the best articles on Thomas a Kempis are to be found
in _The Catholic Encyclopedia_ and _The Schaff-Herzog
Encyclopedia of Religious Thought_.
There has been much controversy over the authorship of _The
Imitation of Christ_, but the weight of evidence is
conclusive that Thomas a Kempis was the writer of this book,
which has preserved his name for five hundred years. The book
was issued anonymously and some manuscript copies of it bore
the name of St. Bernard and others that of John Gerson. As
Thomas a Kempis spent most of his life copying sacred books
it was assumed that he had merely copied the text of another
monk's work.
A Spanish student in 1604 found a sentence from the
_Imitation_ quoted in a sermon attributed to Bonaventura, who
died in 1273, two hundred years before the death of Thomas.
This caused a great literary sensation and it was some time
before it was established that the sermon was not by
Bonaventura but belonged to the fifteenth century. In casting
about for the real author of the _Imitation_ the Superior of
the Jesuit College at Arona, Father Rossignoli, found an
undated copy of the _Imitation_ in the college library with
the signature of Johannis Gerson. The college had been
formerly conducted by the Benedictines, so it was assumed
that Gerson was the real author. It was only after much
research that it was proved that this manuscript copy of the
_Imitation_ was brought to Arona from Genoa in 1579.
Constantine Cajetan, a fanatic in his devotion to the order
of St. Benedict, found in a copy of the _Imitation_ printed
in Venice in 1501 a note saying, "this book was not written
by John Gerson but by John, Abbot of Vercelli." A manuscript
copy was also found by him bearing the name of John of
Carabuco. Out of these facts Cajetan built up his theory that
John Gerson of Carabuco, Benedictine Abbot of Vercelli, was
the real author of the _Imitation_.
Thus began the most famous controversy in the annals of
literature, which raged for several hundred years. Among the
claimants to the honor of having written this book were
Bernard of Clairvaux, Giovanni Gerso, an Italian monk of the
twelfth century; Walter Hilton, an English monk; John
Gerson, Chancellor of Paris; John Gerson, Abbot of Vercelli,
and Thomas a Kempis.
What would seem to be conclusive evidence that Thomas a
Kempis was the author is the fact that the _Imitation_ was
written for chanting. Carl Hirsche compared the manuscript
copy of the _Imitation_ of 1441 which he found in the
Bourgogne Library in Brussels with other writings of Thomas a
Kempis, also marked for chanting, and found great similarity
between the _Imitation_ and the works admitted to have been
written by Thomas a Kempis.
The _Imitation_ has been a favorite book with many persons.
Mrs. Jane L. Stanford, who showed such remarkable faith in
the university which Leland Stanford founded and who made
many sacrifices to save it in critical periods, always
carried a fine copy of Thomas a Kempis with her. Miss Berger,
who was Mrs. Stanford's secretary and constant companion for
over fifteen years, told me that whenever Mrs. Stanford was
in doubt or trouble she took up the _Imitation_, opened it at
random and always found something which settled her doubts
and gave her comfort.