In response to the nineteenth-century Irish moral philosopher Lecky's revulsion at the thought of asceticism, Villazala turns his attention to asceticism in the fourth century in Milan under its bishop Ambrose from both an etic (the scientific gaze of the external observer) and emic (the point of internal point of view of those involved) perspective to highlight the deficiencies of his position and to detail the various social functionalities of asceticism in Ambrose's community, particularly in terms of the power that it generated. This specific examination in this monograph is in contrast to the more generalised picture of asceticism presented by Peter Brown, even as Brown's socio-cultural and socio-anthropological perspective is praised as being of fundamental importance. For Villazala Ambrose does not quite fit the stereotype that Brown presents. In contrast also to some recent studies of Ambrose, like those of Palanque, Dudden, Paredi and McLynn, which focus on problems of chronology and Ambrose's political activities, Villazala examines Ambrose's self-projected understanding of asceticism and its political implications in what is described as a synthetic approach. After a summary presentation of the life and times of Ambrose and the rise of Christian asceticism in the first chapter, the work progresses thematically, first looking at the ways in which Ambrose promoted and legitimised asceticism (the rhetoric of asceticism) not only to transform the power base among the elite but the entire Christian population in order to promote himself (in chapter iii), then looking at the ways in which it was exercised in practice rather than just in theory, and how it confronted opposition, particularly from competing aristocratic world views (in chapter iv). In this final chapter there is a particular emphasis on Priscillianism. All of this aims at investigating the aims and political implications of Ambrosian asceticism. What is particularly interesting in this study is the way in which both the cult of the saints and penance were used by Ambrose to develop the status not only of the ascetic but also of himself. I appreciate the fact that Villazala, in chapter iii, distinguishes the renunciation of possessions from the renunciation of sex, within the overall framework of asceticism. However, the concept of the acquisition of power through renunciation is only really investigated within the context of virginity. Further, other forms of sexual renunciation, like widowhood, fail to rate much of a mention. Asceticism is certainly an important feature in much of Ambrose's writings, and Villazala is to be commended for offering fresh insights into the interaction between asceticism and power in the writings and life of Ambrose of Milan.