The Imitation of Christ · Chapter
Of the exaltation of a free spirit, which humble prayer more deserveth than doth frequent reading explained
The chapter discusses the ideal of a free spirit that remains detached from worldly cares and affections, seeking only heavenly things.
What happens
The chapter discusses the ideal of a free spirit that remains detached from worldly cares and affections, seeking only heavenly things. The narrator prays for preservation from the entanglements of life, for bitterness in fleshly consolations, and for the grace to use bodily necessities with moderation, relying on God's guidance.
Themes in this chapter
Contempt for the World
The narrator prays to be preserved from the cares of this life and asks that fleshly consolation be turned into bitterness, emphasizing disdain for worldly attachments.
Interior Life and Solitude
The chapter focuses on the 'free spirit' that cleaves to no creature with inordinate affection and seeks attention to heavenly things, highlighting the interior life.
Characters to notice
- The Disciple
The narrator prays for a free spirit and for deliverance from worldly cares and fleshly consolations.
- God the Father
Addressed as 'my most merciful Lord God' and 'O my God', the narrator beseeches Him for preservation, guidance, and the gift of His Spirit.
Key passages
“Lord, this is the work of a perfect man, never to slacken his mind from attention to heavenly things, and among many cares to pass along as it were without care, not after the manner of one indifferent, but rather with the privilege of a free mind, cleaving to no creature with inordinate affection.”
The perfect person continually focuses on heavenly matters, moving through worldly concerns without being burdened by them, not out of apathy but because of a liberated spirit that avoids excessive attachment to any created thing.
This defines the ideal of spiritual freedom and detachment.
“O my God, sweetness unspeakable, turn into bitterness all my fleshly consolation, which draweth me away from the love of eternal things, and wickedly allureth toward itself by setting before me some present delight.”
God, who is beyond all sweetness, make all worldly pleasures bitter to me, because they distract me from loving eternal realities and tempt me with temporary satisfaction.
A prayer for the transformation of worldly comforts into distaste, to foster love for the eternal.