<p>Written in the 16th century by a reform-minded Carmelite monk, &ldquo;Dark Night of the Soul&rdquo; is a treatise focusing on the metaphor of a dark night to represent a lonely phase in one&rsquo;s personal spiritual life. Saint John was a Roman Catholic mystic and a Spanish poet, and this work reflects his mystical stages toward union with God. Divided into two books, the purification of the senses and the spirit, &ldquo;Dark Night&rdquo; describes these two phases and additionally explains the ten steps of the ladder of love, which was first expressed by Saint Thomas Aquinas. In Saint John&rsquo;s poem, one comes to understand his belief in a benevolent God, outside of all thought or imagination, who we can only come to know through love. A profound description of absolution, desolation, progress, and love, &ldquo;Dark Night of the Soul&rdquo; is a powerful work that captures the discouragement of doubt, as it offers help through spiritual loneliness. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.</p>