近古時期的靈修傳統近來有愈來愈多的學者投以關注。法國學者Pierre Hadot對此的定義是：我們人性的蛻變。Pierre Hadot將心智純粹的理性訓練一併考量，以俾從其全面而整體的彰顯來檢視靈修，他認為就是：藉著操練人類行為與思想的所有面向，使靈魂獲得淨化。令人感到有趣的是，根據希臘羅馬傳統的環境，看待靈修的方式也有所不同。猶思定主張哲學的訓練與深究可以引導基督徒理解神聖的真理；而戴爾都良認為殉道行為是基督徒獲得身分認同的不可或缺的工具。北非在公元二世紀時遭逢巨大的轉變，靈修的議題成為引導北非基督徒找尋自我身分與認同的重要原則。戴爾都良與他的接棒者們，在面對他們的信友團體時，如何表達靈修的重要性？在本文中，作者將檢視戴爾都良、西彼廉、拉克坦斯的作品，以試圖釐析他們對於靈修的想法，並且從建立基督徒自我認同的角度來看靈修的重要性與侷限性，藉此，探索靈修中的苦修、智識理性、與解經，如何作為基督徒自我陶成的一部份。

The tradition of the spiritual training in late antiquity has received frequent scholarly attention. Pierre Hadot, a French classical scholar, defines it as a “metamorphosis of our personality.” While taking into consideration of the purely intellectual training of the mind, Hadot examines spiritual discipline in its more holistic manifestation: the purgation of the soul by exercising all facets of human behaviour and thought. It is interesting to note that the spiritual training in question varied according to the circumstances of the Greco-Roman tradition. Justin Martyr maintained that philosophical investigation could guide Christians to the understanding of divine truth. Tertullian understood Christian martyr acts as an indispensable vehicle for the articulation of the Christian identity. After the rapid expansion of Christianity in North Africa during the second century, the issue of spiritual training appears to be a guiding thread of the making of the Christian identity of North Africans. How did Tertullian and his successors express the significance of the spiritual discipline in the community of faith? In this paper, I shall ask how Tertullian, Cyprian, and Lactantius understood the concept of spiritual training. I shall consider it from the viewpoint of its significance and limits in constructing the Christian identity, thereby exploring it as part of a Christian programme of self-cultivation in its ascetic, intellectual, and exegetical aspect.