One of the first things I discovered in re-reading Bk. III of The Imitation of Christ was that all of the best lines were quotations of biblical verses. This starts with the very first. magnificent verse of Bk. III, Ch. I, which is a quotation of Psalm 85,9 (from here on I will give only the numbering of the Masoretic text, used also in the KJV and RSV, as it creates less confusion). In the same chapter, Psalm 35,3 and Job 4,12 are also quoted. This method of constructing the text raised the writing (and the Latin) to a higher level, while it also provided the author with some protection against accusations of heresy, since pretty much everything he was saying was in the Bible.
In Chapter II of Bk. III we find the following quotations, listed alongside the verses in which they appear:
1) I Sam. 3,9
2) Ps. 119,125
3) Ps. 119,36, Dt. 32,2
4) Ex. 20,19
There are many quotations of biblical verses in Chapter III of Bk. III. They include:
Prov. 4,10; John 6,64; Ps. 94,12-13; Is. 23,4; Ps. 74,19; Lk. 1,53; Mt 10,22; I Tim. 2,15; and Lk 8,13.
So far, so good. The going got a little difficult for me when I came to the prayer "Ad implorandam devotionis gratiam" (For Imploring the Grace of Devotion). Parts of it struck me as wrong thinking, and very medieval. Specifically:
"Ego sum pauperrimus servulus tuus, et abjectus vermiculus: multo pauperior et contemptibilior, quam scio, et dicere audeo.
Memento tamen, Domine, quia nihil sum, nihil habeo, nihilque valeo."
The approximate translation of the above is: "I am your poorest little servant, and abject little worm: much poorer and more contemptible than I know and dare to say. Remember however, Lord, that I am nothing, I have nothing, and I am worth nothing."
It is worth noting that a Spanish translation that I have left this prayer out completely, although it was listed in the index, and was assigned there to the correct paragraph numbers.
This medieval prayer is monumental in its wrongheadedness, setting up an unfortunate, self-fulfilling prophecy.
(to be continued)
Text and image Copyright © 2021 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
