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Article: Subversive Virtue: Asceticism and Authority in the Second Century Pagan World.
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- September 22, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 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. (Hide copyright information)
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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 "deconstruction" of the prevailing mores of a society.
James Francis points out, ...