How Long to Read The Spirit of Simplicity

How Long Does it Take to Read The Spirit of Simplicity?

It takes the average reader 2 hours and 40 minutes to read The Spirit of Simplicity by Jean-Baptiste Chautard

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Few people have ever seen or heard of The Spirit of Simplicity: it has been hidden for almost seventy years after quietly being published by the Abbey of Gethsemani in 1948. Anonymously translated and annotated by a young monk named Thomas Merton, the book’s author—who also is not mentioned by name in the original edition—is Jean-Baptiste Chautard, the famous French Cistercian whose only other book, The Soul of the Apostolate, has been a favorite of modern saints and popes, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Every generation struggles with the question of simplicity. In the history of our faith, there have been no more eloquent voices calling us back to simplicity than the monks of the Cistercian Order, from Bernard of Clairvaux to Chautard to Merton—all of whom contribute to this powerful book. Merton surrounds Chautard’s text with his own remarks on simplicity, translations of classic texts by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and commentary that allows readers to pursue the themes of simplicity in their own lives. "Only a very inadequate idea of exterior simplicity can be arrived at if we do not trace it back to its true source: interior simplicity. Without this, our resolution to practice exterior simplicity would be without light, without love …," Chautard wrote at the beginning of the book. He is writing to his fellow Cistercians, but he might as well be speaking to twenty-first century Christians. He goes on to lay out the best disciplines that a monk—or anyone—might practice to find the elusive simplicity, with quotations from St. Benedict, St. Bernard, and other pillars of monastic life and spirituality. A dozen photographs of Cistercian architecture illustrate how principles of simplicity are incorporated into Cistercian daily life. In Part 2, Merton opens up the teachings of St. Bernard, a great mystic and doctor of the Church, offering excerpts from St. Bernard’s writings on the original simplicity in the Garden of Eden, the difficulty of intellectual simplicity, the simplicity of the will (obedience), and other kindred topics. Merton also offers personal reflections from the perspective of one who had recently exchanged an active life in pursuit of worldly things for the solitude of a monk.

How long is The Spirit of Simplicity?

The Spirit of Simplicity by Jean-Baptiste Chautard is 160 pages long, and a total of 40,000 words.

This makes it 54% the length of the average book. It also has 49% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read The Spirit of Simplicity Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 3 hours and 38 minutes to read The Spirit of Simplicity aloud.

What Reading Level is The Spirit of Simplicity?

The Spirit of Simplicity is suitable for students ages 10 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy The Spirit of Simplicity?

The Spirit of Simplicity by Jean-Baptiste Chautard is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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