Much attention has been devoted in recent years to Christian asceticism in Late Antiquity. But Christianity did not introduce asceticism to the ancient world. An underlying theme of this fascinating study of pagan asceticism is that much of the work on Christian "holy men" has ignored earlier manifestations of asceticism in Antiquity and the way Roman society confronted it.

Accordingly, James Francis looks to the second century, the "balmy late afternoon of Rome's classical empire," when the conflict between asceticism and authority reached a turning point.

Francis begins with the emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180), who warned in his Meditations against "display(ing) oneself as a man keen to impress others with a reputation for asceticism or beneficence. The Stoic Aurelius saw ascetic self-discipline as a virtue, but one to be exercised in moderation. Like other Roman aristocrats of his day, he perceived practitioners of ostentatious physical asceticism as a threat to prevailing norms and the established order.

Prophecy, sorcery, miracle working, charismatic leadership, expressions of social discontent, and advocacy of alternative values regarding wealth, property, marriage, and sexuality were the issues provoking the controversy.