I just hit upon a gem of a book "The Spiritual Combat and a Treatise On Peace of the Soul" by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli. This is the book that St. Francis De Sales carried in his pocket and supposedly read every day.
I just started but its blowing my mind open. Here's a sample quote:
"We shall see clearly that it is greater to despise the world than to have it at one's command; that it is infinitely preferable to submit to the humblest of men for God's sake, than to command kings and princes; that an humble knowledge of ourselves surpasses the deepest sciences; in short that great praise is due to him who curbs his passions on the most trivial occasions, than to him who conquers the strongest cities, defeats entire armies, or even works miracles." (pg 20)
