Top 250 Thomas à Kempis Quotes (2025 Update)
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151. “How should thy patience be crowned in heaven if none adversity should befall to thee in earth? If thou wilt suffer none adversity how mayest thou be the friend of Christ?”

— Thomas à Kempis

152. “What thou art, that thou art; that God knoweth thee to be and thou canst be said to be no greater.”

— Thomas à Kempis

153. “A humble knowledge of ourselves is a surer way to God than is the search for depth of learning.”

— Thomas à Kempis

154. “Do not let your peace depend on the hearts of men; whatever they say about you, good or bad, you are not because of it another man, for as you are, you are.”

— Thomas à Kempis

155. “Intelligence must follow faith, never precede it, and never destroy it.”

— Thomas à Kempis

156. “Study, therefore, to withdraw the love of your soul from all things that are visible, and turn it to things that are invisible.”

— Thomas à Kempis

157. “Scruples, temptations, and fears, and cutting perplexities of the heart, are often the lot of the most excellent persons.”

— Thomas à Kempis

158. “Know all and you will pardon all.”

— Thomas à Kempis

159. “Our dependence upon God ought to be so entire and absolute that we should never think it necessary, in any kind of distress, to have recourse to human consolations.”

— Thomas à Kempis

160. “A wise and good man will turn examples of all sorts to his own advantage. The good he will make his patterns, and strive to equal or excel them. The bad he will by all means avoid.”

— Thomas à Kempis

161. “Grant me prudently to avoid him that flatters me, and to endure patiently him that contradicts me.”

— Thomas à Kempis

162. “All is vanity but to love God and serve Him.”

— Thomas à Kempis

163. “All that is in the world is vanity except to love God and serve him only.”

— Thomas à Kempis

164. “For they truly know their Lord in the breaking of bread, whose heart within them so vehemently burneth, whilst Thou, O blessed Jesus, dost walk and converse with them.”

— Thomas à Kempis

165. “Grace is the mastery of truth, the teacher of discipline, the light of the heart, the comforter of affliction, the banisher of sorrow, the nurse of devotion.”

— Thomas à Kempis

166. “God evaluates by this criterion: How much love you invest in what you do is more important than how you do. The one who loves much is actually the one who does much.”

— Thomas à Kempis

167. “It is better to feel repentance, than to be able to define it.”

— Thomas à Kempis

168. “Do not be influenced by the importance of the writer, and whether his learning be great or small, but let the love of pure truth draw you to read. Do not inquire, Who said this? but pay attention to what is said.”

— Thomas à Kempis

169. “At the day of judgment we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done.”

— Thomas à Kempis

170. “Faith is required of thee, and a sincere life, not loftiness of intellect, nor deepness in the mysteries of God.”

— Thomas à Kempis

171. “Forasmuch as many people study more to have knowledge than to live well therefore ofttimes they err and bring forth little fruit or none.”

— Thomas à Kempis

172. “Love is active and sincere, courageous, patient, faithful, prudent and manly.”

— Thomas à Kempis

173. “Praise adds nothing to your holiness, nor does blame take anything from it. You are what you are, and you cannot be said to be better than you are in God’s sight.”

— Thomas à Kempis

174. “Count not thyself to have found true peace, if thou hast felt no grief; nor that then all is well if thou hast no adversary; nor that this is perfect, if all things fall out according to thy desire.”

— Thomas à Kempis

175. “A man that is well ordered in his soul needeth little the unkind demeanor of worldly people nor yet their proud behavior.”

— Thomas à Kempis

176. “In judging others a man laboreth in vain; he often erreth, and easily falleth into sin; but in judging and examining himself he always laboreth to good purpose.”

— Thomas à Kempis

177. “Peace and happiness are what you covet, but these are only to be obtained by labor.”

— Thomas à Kempis

178. “If thou art willing to suffer no adversity, how wilt thou be the friend of Christ?”

— Thomas à Kempis

179. “Trust not to your feelings for whatever they might be now, they will quickly be changed towards some other thing.”

— Thomas à Kempis

180. “If your heart were sincere and upright, every creature would be unto you a looking-glass of life and a book of holy doctrine.”

— Thomas à Kempis

181. “May not be your peace in the mouth of the men; since no matter if they thing good or bad about you, you should not be a different man because of that.”

— Thomas à Kempis

182. “No one is qualified to converse in public except those contented to do without such conversation.”

— Thomas à Kempis

183. “If thou hadst simplicity and purity, thou wouldst be able to comprehend all things without error, and behold them without danger. The pure heart safely pervades not only heaven, but hell.”

— Thomas à Kempis

184. “Love longs to be free, a stranger to every worldly desire, lest its inner vision become dimmed, and lest worldly self-interest hinder it or ill-fortune cast it down.”

— Thomas à Kempis

185. “I have often heard, that it is safer to hear and to take counsel, than to give it.”

— Thomas à Kempis

186. “I can take credit for only two things: pride and sin.”

— Thomas à Kempis

187. “To take no account of oneself, but always to think well and highly of others is the highest wisdom and perfection.”

— Thomas à Kempis

188. “It carries a burden which is no burden; it will not be kept back by anything low and mean; it desires to be free from all wordly affections, and not to be entangled by any outward prosperity, or by any adversity subdued.”

— Thomas à Kempis

189. “Thy peace shall be in much patience.”

— Thomas à Kempis

190. “Thou art my glory and the exultation of y heart: thou art my hope and refuge in the day of my trouble.”

— Thomas à Kempis

191. “Simplicity reaches out after God; purity discovers and enjoys Him.”

— Thomas à Kempis

192. “Do what lieth in thy power, and God will assist in thy good will.”

— Thomas à Kempis

193. “Don’t flatter the rich, or appear to willing before the great.”

— Thomas à Kempis

194. “Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from grace.”

— Thomas à Kempis

195. “We feel and weigh soon enough what we suffer from others: but how much others suffer from us, of this we take no heed.”

— Thomas à Kempis

196. “He that seeketh anything else but simply God and the salvation of his soul, will find nothing but trouble and sorrow.”

— Thomas à Kempis

197. “Some people are tempted most strongly at the beginning of their spiritual life, others near the end. Some are troubled all their lives. Still others receive only light temptation. Such things are decided by God, and we can trust his wisdom.”

— Thomas à Kempis

198. “Happy is the man who renounces everything which may bring a stain or burden upon his conscience.”

— Thomas à Kempis

199. “What difference does it make to you what someone else becomes, or says, or does? You do not need to answer for others, only for yourself.”

— Thomas à Kempis

200. “A book has but one voice, but it does not instruct everyone alike.”

— Thomas à Kempis