From: Commonweal | Date: September 22, 1995| Author: | COPYRIGHT 1995 Commonweal Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

by James A. Francis Pennyslvania State University Press, $32.50, 222 pp.

Ascetism (Greek: askesis) meant, in the anient world, the self-denial demanded of those who wre in athletic training. it took on the added sense of a philosophy of life which prized moderation, withdrawal from the competitive world, a dietary regime, frugality in style of life, and a spirit of detachment. Toward what end? For some, like the Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius, it was a mean toward a rational life. For others, like some devotees of Cynic philosophy, it was a vehicle for both social criticism and a ...