The Imitation of Christ is a Christian devotional text divided into four books, which provide detailed spiritual instructions: "Helpful Counsels of the Spiritual Life," "Directives for the Interior Life," "On Interior Consolation," and "On the Blessed Sacrament." The books are characterized by their emphasis on the interior life and withdrawal from the world, as opposed to an active imitation of Christ by friars.The Imitation is perhaps the most widely read Christian devotional work next to the Bible, and is regarded as a devotional and religious classic. Its popularity was immediate, and the text was printed 745 times before 1650. Apart from the Bible, no book had been translated into more languages than the Imitation of Christ at the time.