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The Reformation · 1589

The Spiritual Combat

Il Combattimento Spirituale

Lorenzo Scupoli · c. 1530–1610

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What it is

Four weapons for the interior struggle — distrust of self, confidence in God, use of the faculties, and prayer — with no visions and no extraordinary states.

Why it lasted

Francis de Sales carried a copy for eighteen years; adapted into Greek by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, it became a classic of Orthodox spirituality too.

Where to read it

Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.

These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.

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