A devotional book sometimes called the "Following of Christ," published anonymously in 1418. Its authorship, once in dispute, is now attributed to Thomas a Kempis, a Canon of Windesheim, Netherlands, whose autographed manuscript of the work appeared in 1441. It is a series of counsels of perfection written in Latin in a familiar style, and divided into four books:
It aims to instruct the soul in Christian perfection with Christ as the Divine Model and, next to the Bible, is perhaps the most widely read spiritual book in the world.