Thomas à Kempis / George Stanhope - The Christian's pattern : or, a treatise of the imitation of Jesus Christ. In four books. Written - 1759

Thomas à Kempis / George Stanhope: The Christian's pattern: or, a treatise on the imitation of Jesus Christ. In four books. Originally written in Latin by Thomas à Kempis. Now translated into English. To which are added meditations and prayers for the sick. By George Stanhope, D.D., late Dean of Canterbury and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty. London: Printed for D. Browne, C. Hitch and L. Hawes, C. Bathurst, R. Dod, B. Barker, John Rivington, James Rivington and J. Fletcher, R. Baldwin, J. Ward, W. Johnston, S. Crowder, P. Davey and B. Law, T. Longman, T. Caslon, H. Woodgate and S. Brooks, A. Richards, M. Cooper, and C. Ware. 1759. 8vo: (12)339, (2)45 pages. Original leather with ribbed spine and spine title. Slightly worn at the top and bottom of the spine. The front and back boards are missing a piece of leather. Corners slightly worn. Some old wormholes in the inner margin outside the text. Binding and paper in good condition. At the front, a couple of pasted-in ex libris and an antiquarian stamp with a handwritten name. Complete with the five beautiful plates (copper engravings).

De imitatione Christi (Latin: On the imitation of Christ) is a medieval book attributed to Thomas a Kempis that describes how a Christian should behave.
In the Netherlands, the Modern Devotion emerged, a religious movement initiated by Geert Grote (1340-1384) from Deventer, which aimed for an honest and deeply Christian life. From this movement, communities that did not take perpetual vows (the Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life) as well as a new monastic order, the Congregation of Windesheim, developed.
Although the authorship of The Imitation of Christ was long disputed, it is now generally accepted to be by Thomas à Kempis. However, the assumption is that Thomas à Kempis merely summarized the ideas of a particular mystical movement. The clearest and earliest parallels are those with the writings and sermons of Eckhart, which have been rediscovered and compiled over the past 200 years — especially the 'Reden der Unterweisung' and the 'Buch der göttlichen Tröstung' (Book of Divine Comfort), which originated around 1300. It is conceivable that the mystical spirit of Eckhart's works, which had been condemned by a papal bull, could have been more widely disseminated through 'De Imitatione Christi' in a more church-friendly and formally more moral form.
There are more than 3,000 different editions of the work, of which 1,000 are kept in the British Museum. There are said to be 545 Latin and approximately 900 French editions. The book is among the most translated and most printed books in the world. It is said that, after the Bible, it is the most read printed work in the world.
Originally, the book was written in Latin. There is a manuscript from 1441. A handwritten translation into German from 1434 is preserved in Cologne. The first German print appeared in 1486 in Augsburg. Around 1440, a Middle Dutch translation was made. A handwritten French translation dates from 1447, and the first prints were published in 1488 in Toulouse. An English edition followed in 1502, an Italian in 1488, a Spanish in 1536, an Arabic in 1663, an Armenian in 1674, and a Hebrew in 1837. Pierre Corneille wrote a poetic paraphrase of the work in 1651.
The 'De Over de navolging van Christus' belongs to the German-Dutch mystical school of the 14th and 15th centuries (see Modern Devotion). The book was long regarded as the most important guide for the Christian imitation of Jesus Christ and was widely used among Catholics and Protestants. Hendrik Seuse, Johannes Tauler, Nikolaus von Landau, Johannes von Dambach, the Franciscan Marquard von Lindau, and other 14th-century authors were possible sources of inspiration for Thomas à Kempis. The Jesuits included the book in their Spiritual Exercises. John Wesley and John Newton credited the work with influencing their conversion. General Gordon carried a copy of the work with him on the battlefield.

George Stanhope (March 5, 1660 – March 18, 1728) was a clergyman of the Church of England, who rose to become Dean of Canterbury and royal chaplain. He was also part of the committee responsible for the construction of fifty new churches in London and was a prominent figure in early 18th-century church politics. Stanhope also founded the Stanhope School in 1715.