«I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free».
The Ascetic is a philosophical manifesto imbued with a visionary-prophetic tone, infused with the lyricism of its creator.

The meaning of life and existence is condensed into a continuous struggle during the "ascent of man," where moral "duty" aligns with existential "cry," giving voice to "freedom," the complete release of the human entity from all fear and all hope.

Kazantzakis reworked his Ascetic time and again; it is the seed from which all his work sprouted, as he once confessed to Prevelakis.

In other words, it is the quintessence of his thought.
This generous book, with its painful honesty and poeticism, is the fervent desire for freedom, the struggle towards completion, which ultimately culminates in a powerful cry to lead us to the highest step of maturity: silence.

"We come from a dark abyss; we end up in a dark abyss; the bright interval in between we call Life.
As soon as we are born, the return begins; simultaneously the start and the return, every moment we die.

That is why many have proclaimed: The purpose of life is death.
But as soon as we are born, the effort to create, to compose, to make matter into life begins, every moment we are born.
That is why many have proclaimed: The purpose of ephemeral life is immortality."

The new editions, with new covers and specially designed fonts, are accompanied by introductory texts and an afterword, providing more details about the work itself and the era in which it was written.