The Desert Fathers
Subtitle: sayings of the early Christian monks
By: translated and with an introduction by Benedicta Ward.
Contributors: Ward, Benedicta, 1933-
Series: Penguin classics
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 2003
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 201
Subjects: Desert Fathers.; Spiritual life -- Christianity.; Monastic and religious life -- Middle East -- Early works to 1800.
Genres: Early works to 1800.
Work titles: Vitae patrum. English.
Description: "The desert fathers provided the inspiration for Christian spirituality throughout the Middle Ages and beyond. The men and women who first embraced the life of solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine and Syria were seldom clerics or scholars. Yet these uneducated peasants, shepherds, itinerant traders, former slaves and prostitutes soon attracted so many followers they were said to have turned the desert into a city. From the fourth century onwards, along with biographies and full-length treatises, their reflections were brought together and widely circulated. Powerful and moving in their depth of religious conviction and wholehearted, even joyful, commitment to poverty, simplicity and humility, the sayings directly influenced the Rule of Saint Benedict, and set the pattern for Western monasticism." "This edition makes freshly accessible the most influential Latin collection of sayings. The new English translations follow the original Latin organization around themes important to the monks, such as charity, fortitude, lust, patience, prayer, self-control and visions."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [xxvi]-xxviii).