Excerpt from A Cheerful Ascetic, and Other EssaysThere has long been a demand for publication in book form of the literary work of Father James J. Daly, sj. His essays, wherever they appear, are in variably welcomed with pleasure and keen appreciation by a wide circle of readers. The artistry of his style, the Winsome yet profound spirituality of his thought, which never loses hold of human interest, the delicate nuances of his Wit, the play of light and shadow that passes over his pages like the clouds and rippling wind over a sunlit field, the freedom of Catholic expression, frank with the candor of a child, yet never offensive to those without the Fold, Should cast a spell over all who will come into contact with the author.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.