The Ascent and the Dark Night are complementary, forming a diptych, two parts of the one journey to God. The Ascent deals primarily with the active nights of sense and spirit, while the Dark Night deals with the passive nights of sense and spirit. These are not two distinct paths between which seekers can choose, but two aspects of one unique active-passive journey to God. In fact, the Prologue to the Dark Night speaks of the same path leading to the summit of Mount Carmel, and adds "this narrow road is called a dark night."
