The Ladder of Divine Ascent is one of the most important works "to provide insights of remarkable subtlety into the spiritual and indeed, the psychological life of the inner being. The Ladder is an extraordinary Christian response to the precept adopted by Socrates from the oracle of Delphi: 'Know thyself!' . . . [John Climacus' views] provide an answer to the endemic problem of the dissociation of human nature into fragments, each more or less autonomous and governed by extrinsic influences. . . .Climacus envisages the reintegration of the human person as a practice, as the act, or series of acts, of living in accordance with the true essence of personhood, in an 'ascending' fashion." (John Chryssavgis)
"It must be remembered [when reading the Ladder and similar works] that the monastic way of life is essentially 'the life according to the Gospel.' All are invited to respond to Christ's call to salvation. While the circumstances of the response may vary externally, nevertheless the path is effectively one. In the spiritual life, there is no sharp distinction between monastics and non-monastics: the monastic life is simply the Christian life, lived in a particular way. Monks are Christians who have discovered special possibilities of imitating Christ and transcending normal conditions. . . . The Ladder is an invitation to pilgrimage, an invitation extended to all those who wish to be saved, provided they sincerely seek salvation. . . . The Ladder is an existential work, concerned with concrete experience, intended for monks but equally relevant to every reader, laypersons included, who are resolved to ascend. 'Only those who read it existentially will appreciate its value.'
(John Chryssavgis)
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