Today's American Minute

Thomas a` Kempis (c.1379-August 8, 1471) was an Augustinian friar at Zwolle in the Netherlands, who wrote the devotional, On the Imitation of Christ, 1420. This work has greatly influenced western writers, including: Martin Luther, Samuel Johnson, George Eliot and Lamartine. In Imitation of Christ, Thomas a` Kempis wrote: <Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.> 1379TK001 In Imitation of Christ, Thomas a` Kempis wrote: <Man proposes, but God disposes.> 1379TK002 In Imitation of Christ, Thomas a` Kempis wrote: <Love is swift, sincere,...

John Hus (c.1372-July 6, 1415) was a professor of philosophy and the rector of the University of Prague, Bohemia. Influenced by John Wycliffe, he insisted on teaching and expounding the Holy Scriptures in the language of the people and inspired a great following, similar to John Wycliffe in England. Amidst great controversy, he was betrayed and martyred. His last words were: <O holy simplicity!> 1372JH001 -- American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement. Endnotes: 1372JH001. John Hus, 1415, his last words. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company,...

Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1342-October 25, 1400) was known as the "Father of English Poetry." He was honored as an English poet-laureate. The son of a vintner, he was born in London; rose to being a page to the Countess of Ulster, 1357; captured while fighting in France; and ransomed by Edward III, 1360. In 1385, Chaucer became a knight of the shire for Kent and a Justice of the Peace. He was supported by his steady patron, John of Gaunt (1340-1399), to whom he was related through marriage. At his death, he was buried in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer's works include: The Book...

John Wycliffe (c.1330-December 31, 1384) was a professor at Oxford University, England. He became one of the greatest English religious reformers, writing under the protection of John of Gaunt (1340-1399). His most outstanding achievement was being the first to translate, along with his followers, the Holy Scriptures from the Latin Vulgate into the English language. Known as the "Morning Star of the Reformation," John Wycliffe wrote in the General Prologue of his 1384 translation of the Bible: <The Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People.> 1330JW001 -- American Quotations by William J....

Declaration of Arbroath (April 6, 1320) during the reign of Robert the Bruce as King of Scotland, the yoke of English oppression was released from the land. The English, under Edward II had been defeated at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, and expelled from Scottish soil with the recapture of Berwick in 1319. But the English and Pope John XXII still refused to recognize Scotland as an independent country. In response, many of Scotland's leaders sat down in 1320 to write a plea of recognition to the Pope for Scotland. The document was eventually successful, and is now named...