This volume, part of the Library of Christian Classics series, features writings from some of the most important Christian ascetics of the Western tradition. Edited and annotated by renowned historian Owen Chadwick, the collection spans from the desert fathers of the early church to the medieval mystics. These texts offer insight into the practices and beliefs of those who sought a life of spiritual discipline and contemplation.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

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