The Wisdom of the Desert: Sayings from the Desert Fathers of the Fourth Century

by Thomas Merton

In the fourth century, the wildernesses of Egypt and Palestine were inhabited by a strange breed of spiritual the first Christian hermits. Thomas Merton's affection for these "Desert Fathers" shines in this much-loved treasury of their acts and words of wisdom. His free translation from the Latin source Verba Senorium illuminates their radical lives with insight and humor and sets them in close relation to Zen recluses, Hindu renunciants, and all those who have ever fled conventional life in search of higher wisdom.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Christianity, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theology, Christian

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Thomas Merton, religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. In December 1941 he entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani and in May 1949 he was ordained to priesthood. He was a member of the convent of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death.
Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948). His account of his spiritual journey inspired scores of World War II veterans, students, and teenagers to explore offerings of monasteries across the US. It is on National Review's list of the 100 best nonfiction books of the century.
Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through his study of mystic practice. His interfaith conversation, which preserved both Protestant and Catholic theological positions, helped to build mutual respect via their shared experiences at a period of heightened hostility. He is particularly known for having pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama XIV; Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki; Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He traveled extensively in the course of meeting with them and attending international conferences on religion. In addition, he wrote books on Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, and how Christianity is related to them. This was highly unusual at the time in the United States, particularly within the religious orders.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a selection of the sayings of the Early Desert Fathers chosen by the Trappist monk Thomas Merton—poet, mystic, peace activist, and author of the classic spiritual autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain. Merton, who was a member of a contemplative community, is not interested in the colorful accounts of demonic temptations, questionable miracles, and extravagant penances—which, he says, were a later development, following the popularity of The Life of St. Anthony by St. Anathasius of Alexandria—and instead concentrates on the anecdotes contained in the Verba Seniorum.

In his introduction, Merton makes it clear that these men were not rebels who rejected their civilization (although he concedes that “anarchist” would not be an inappropriate term for them), nor were they seekers after ecstatic experience; no, they were men who thought they could best honor their beliefs and traditions by perfecting themselves. The goal of all their striving was “’purity of heart’—a clear unobstructed vision of the true state of affairs, an intuitive grasp of one’s own inner reality as anchored, or rather set free, in God through Christ. “They had much in common,” Merton says, ‘with Indian Yogis and with Zen Buddhist monks of China and Japan.”

Here follow 8 of the 150 anecdotes Merton has chosen—slightly less than 5% of this slim collection:

XXI. A MONK ran into a party of handmaids of the Lord on a certain journey. Seeing them he left the road and gave them a wide berth. But the Abbess said to him: If you were a perfect monk, you would not even have looked close enough to see that we were women.

XLV. IT WAS told of Abbot John the Dwarf that once he had said to his elder brother: I want to live in the same security as the angels have, doing no work, but serving God without intermission. And casting off everything he had on, he started out into the desert. When a week had gone by he returned to his brother. And while he was knocking on the door, his brother called out before opening, and asked: Who are you? He replied: I am John. Then his brother answered and said: John has become an angel and is no longer among men. But John kept on knocking and said: It is I. Still the brother did not open, but kept him waiting. Finally, opening the door, he said: If you are a man, you are going to have to start working again in order to live. But if you are an angel, why do you want to come into a cell? So John did penance and said: Forgive me, brother, for I have sinned.

LXXII. ABBOT LOT come to Abbot Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and according as I am able I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not be totally changed into fire?

LXXXVI. TO ONE of the brethren appeared a devil, transformed into an angel of light, who said to him: I am the Angel Gabriel, and I have been sent to thee. But the brother said: think again—you must have been sent to somebody else. I haven’t done anything to deserve an angel. Immediately the devil ceased to appear.

CVI. ONCE Abbot Anthony was conversing with some brethren, and a hunter who was after game in the wilderness came upon them. He saw Abbot Anthony and the brothers enjoying themselves, and disapproved. Abbot Anthony said: Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it. This he did. Now shoot another, said the elder. And another, and another. The hunter said. If I bend my how all the time it will break. Abbot Anthony replied: So it is also in the work of God. If we push ourselves beyond measure, the brethren will soon collapse. It is right, therefore, from time to time, to relax their efforts.

CXII. THERE were two elders living together in a cell, and they had never had so much as one quarrel with one another. One therefore said to the other: Come on, let us have at least one quarrel, like the other men. The other said: I don’t know how to start a quarrel. The first said: I will take this brick and place it between us. Then I will say: It is mine. After that you will say: It is mine. This is what leads to a dispute and a fight. So they placed the brick between them, one said: It is mine, and the other replied to the first: I do believe that it is mine. The first one said again: It is not yours, it is mine. So the other answered: Well then, if it is yours, take it! Thus they did not manage after all to get into a quarrel.

CXXIX. ONE of the elders said: Either fly as far as you can from men, or else, laughing at the world and the men who are in it, make yourself a fool in many things.

CXXXIX. AN ELDER was was asked by a certain soldier if God would forgive a sinner. And he said to him: Tell me, beloved, if your cloak is torn, will you throw it away? The soldier replied and said: No. I will mend it and put it back on. The elder said to him: If you take care of your cloak, will God not be merciful to his own image?

[KamRun · Rating 3 out of 5]

پی‌نوشت: این ریویو را در سال 2015 با جانبداری از مذهب در مقابل عرفان نوشتم. امروز نظری متفاوت با این نوشته دارم (بماند که از نظر جمله‌بندی و علایم نگارشی افتضاح است). بخصوص در این قسمت‌ها: 1- بدعت دانستن و محکوم کردن عرفان‌های وحدت وجودی (هرچند هنوز با چنین تفکری مخالفم) 2- دفاع از جامعه مذهبی و اصطلاحا روحانی 3- تا حد زیادی مضمون مذهبی متن (اینکه به جای فعل "می‌گوید" از "می‌فرماید" استفاده کرده‌ام برایم خنده‌دار است). عموما دست به اصلاح و دوباره‌نویسی این نوع ریویوهای قدیمی که تعدادشان هم کم نیست نمی‌زنم تا لزوم خوداصلاحی پیوسته را به من یادآوری کند
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یکی از راهبان به نام سراپیون،کتاب انجیل خود را فروخت و بهایش را به گرسنگان داد و گفت : من کتابی را فروختم که به من گفت هر آنچه دارم بفروشم و به فقرا بدهم

کتابی از راهب ترپیست و نویسنده ی کاتولیک، توماس مرتون در باب سخنان حکیمانه ی راهبان صحرانشین قرن چهارم میلادی که نمود بارز افکار،عقاید و شیوه زندگی آن هاست. نام مصطفی ملکیان به عنوان ویراستار نهایی ارزش دو چندانی به این اثر بخشیده است. کتاب سه بخش اصلی دارد: در بخش اول مترجم مقاله ای در باب آرا و خلاصه ای از عقاید مولف آورده است. در بخش دوم درباره فلسفه رهبانیت، سنت و خاستگاه آن صحبت شده و در بخش سوم که عمده ترین قسمت کتاب را تشکیل می دهد مرتون مجموعه ای از سخنان راهبان بزرگ آن دوران گردآوری کرده است؛ سخنانی که بعضی از آنان تامل برانگیز و نیازمند ساعت ها تفکر است. تعالیم این بخش از کتاب تضادی با کتاب مقدس ندارد (در عین حال که در بعضی از قسمت ها اصلا بر آن استوار نیست). توصیه اکید این تعالیم به دیگران مصداق آن جمله از مسیح است که به فریسیان می‌فرماید: اي معلّمان شريعت، واي به حال شما نيز، چون بارهاي بسيار سنگين بر دوش مردم مي گذرانيد و خودتان يک انگشت هم به آن بار نمي زنيد. لوقا 11 : 46
مرتون خود راهبی تراپیست بود.از دسته راهبانی که عهد می کنند تا پایان عمر سخنی بر زبان نرانند و سکوتی همیشگی اختیار کنند.مرتون در کمال وفاداری به کلیسای کاتولیک، دلبستگی شدیدی به عرفان شرقی و ذن داشت.تا حدی که این دلبستگی در آرا وی نیز تاثیرگذار شده بود و چه بسا در صورتی که بیش از این،زیست می کرد راست دینی وی مورد شک و سوظنی جدی قرار می گرفت. "وحدت در مسیح" گوهر مسیحیت و گرایش عرفانی آن است
کولسيان 2 : 10
و شما نيز به وسيله اتّحاد با او كه مافوق همه قدرتها و رياستهاست، كامل شده ايد
افسسيان 5 : 8
شما زماني در تاريكي بوديد امّا اكنون در اتّحاد خود با خداوند، در نور هستيد. پس مانند فرزندان نور زندگي كنيد
افسسيان 2 : 22
شما نيز در اتّحاد با او و همراه ديگران به صورت مكاني بنا خواهيد شد كه خدا به وسيله روح خود در آن زندگي مي کند
عارفان مسیحی در طول تمام اعصار نه تنها وحدت بخشی به وجود خودشان را، وصال با خدا را، بلکه اتحاد با یکدیگر را در قالب روح می جستند و می یافتند
غلاطيان 3 : 28
پس ديگر هيچ تفاوتي ميان يهودي و غيريهودي، برده و آزاد، مرد و زن وجود ندارد، زيرا همه شما در اتّحاد با عيسي مسيح يک هستيد
روميان 12 : 5
ما نيز اگرچه بسياريم، در اتّحاد با مسيح، همه ما يک بدن را تشكيل مي دهيم و فرداًفرد نسبت به هم اعضاي يكديگريم
. با این وجود آن نوع از یگانگی و وحدت با خدا که باعث از میان رفتن فردیت وی می گردد و نوعی خداشدگی را در پی دارد در مسیحیت بی معنا و یک بدعت است. آن دسته از گرایشات رهبانی که از جامعه به انزوا می گریختند،خود را برتر از مردم دیگر نمی دیدند یا به دنبال ساختن جامعه ای آرمانی نبودند، بلکه گریز آنها به مانند گریز از لاشه ای متعفن بود. آنان می گریختند تا از نابودی خود و جهان جلوگیری کنند. تا بنا به آنچه مرتون مرتبا تکرار می کند،از سلطه دیگران و تعلقات دنیوی و در نهایت خویشتن ظاهری خود رها گشته و خود واقعی باشند. آن خودی که با ایمان به مسیح مصلوب مرده و با قیام وی زنده شده و تولد تازه یافته است. نمي دانيد كه وقتي ما در اتّحاد با مسيح عيسي تعميد يافتيم، در اتّحاد با مرگ او تعميد يافتيم؟ پس با تعميد خود با او مدفون شديم و در مرگش شريک گشتيم تا همان طوري که مسيح به وسيله قدرت پر شكوه پدر، پس از مرگ زنده شد، ما نيز در زندگي تازه اي به سر بريم.زيرا اگر ما در مرگي مانند مرگ او با او يكي شديم، به همان طريق در رستاخيزي مانند رستاخيز او نيز با او يكي خواهيم بود. اين را مي دانيم كه آن آدمي كه در پيش بوديم با مسيح بر روي صليب او كشته شد تا نفس گناهكار نابود گردد و ديگر بردگان گناه نباشيم زيرا کسي که مرد از گناه آزاد شده است. رومیان 6 :3-7

آن گونه که درخت آفریده شده تا درخت باشد،انسان نیز آفریده شده تا انسان باشد و انسان زمانی انسان است که به شباهت "صورت خدا" باشد. نکته ی قابل ذکر دیگر این است که رهبانیت مسیحی،شاخه های بسیاری دارد که جملگی زیر چتر ایمان مسیحی (و عموما چهارچوب کلیسای کاتولیک) قرار دارند. جز این، نقطه ی مشترک تمام این گرایشات، ساده زیستی و عدم دلبستگی به تعلقات دنیوی و عدم مالکیت یا مالکیت اشتراکی (در صورت زندگی اجتماعی) می باشد. با آن که گروهی از راهبان از طریق جمع آوری هدایا و نوعی گدایی روزگار می گذراندند، اکثریت آنان کار سخت جسمی و رنج را اصل مسلم زندگی رهبانی خود قرار می‌دادند؛ تاحدی که نه تنها بیکاری، حتی کار راحت و کوتاه را نیز مایه تباهی فکر و روح می دانستند. از این رو پیش فرضی که معمولا در مورد روحانیون وجود دارد (تنبلی،بیکاری و شکم بارگی) در مورد این افراد صادق نیست

[Darwin8u · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Worldly men have ruined Rome and monks have ruined Scete"
- Sayings from the Desert Fathers



Thomas Merton, a Trappist Monk who has written at length about Buddhism and the monastic life, compiles here a sampling of sayings and parables of the Desert Fathers. These were the monks and hermits living in the Scetes desert of Egypt around the third and fourth centuries AD. This isn't a full collection, but more of a sampling of Merton's favorites. Many read like Zen koans. The similarity to Zen Buddhism won't be and shouldn't be lost on faithful readers of Merton. There is something both strange and familiar, foreign and family, about these ascetics who walked into the wilderness JUST AS Crhistianity was formally being adopted by the Roman Empire.

Reading it reminds me of a couple things: 1. Cappadocia. I loved wandering in the caves and the cells of those early Christians. I've never had the opportunity to visit Egypy and explore its Coptic heritage, but Cappadocia seems to give me the closest rock to suck on. 2. St. Anthony's Monastery in Florence, AZ. I once had the opportunity to viist the monestary and eat after the monks (visitors can, periodically, eat the "leftovers" of the monks). It was a funky experience that was one of my first exposures to both the hospitality of the fathers AND their business sense. Later, I bought honey and oil from the fathers. It all seemed a fair exchange. I'm not sure I feasted spiritually, but that might have been my own limitation, at the time.

A couple of the stories seemed to have inspired Victor Hugo's Bishop Myriel in Les Misérables. I'm sure, in all of his research for Les Miserables, especially for the Petit-Picpus convent sections, Hugo was familiar with the The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection. Anyway, it was a short introduction to the Desert Fathres, but like anything Merton puts together, beware things that appear to be either short or easy.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost Zen like - truly amazing that this group from so long ago can still speak to us from across the desert of time. One of the most fascinating things I have found through reading is how there are so many principle concepts that are shared by different religions. It makes me wonder: could it be a single voice that we hear in a slightly different way?

[Feliks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly slim, brisk, read. Not 'difficult' study, as the title might imply. Everything is arranged in terse, pithy, succinct little aphorisms and anecdotes. Very rewarding overall; glad I sampled it. Monks, anchorites, copts, and hermits offer an example of spirituality and inner-guidance almost completely forgotten in the West these days; and (as the editor notes in his foreword) all the more neglected with the modern backlash against organized religions. But at the heart of these 4th c. ponderings is something very valuable: deep questions of 'how we treat others' and 'how others treat us'. It turns out that most religious hermits do not flee to the desert because they hate men or hate the society of men. Instead, they're desperate to find a place in which to re-cultivate love of both men and God. They want to find a way to 'get a hold of themselves' and behave steadily, devotedly, deliberately; and with forethought. They want to empty themselves of petty yearnings, distractions, and cravings. There's much in this to counsel us, today. How can we re-wrest control of our lives away from the usual to-and-fro of daily life? How can we attune our ears to listen to whats going on inside us, for a change? How do we divorce ourselves from the constant hurly-burly of ego, self-will, overly-righteous self-absorbtion? How do we stop 'taking offense' at the words of others? How can we stop over-valuing these absurd, puny, piddling little piles of material possessions we're always so obsessed with amassing (are we ants in an ant-mound, gathering grains)? Is 'putting ourselves first' the only way to go through the world? To all these questions, these long-forgotten monks demonstrate that yes, there is surely 'another way'.

[Sonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excerpt:

It was told of Abbot John the Dwarf that once he had said to his elder brother: I want to live in the same security as the angels have, doing no work, but serving God without intermission. And casting off everything he had on, he started out into the desert. When a week had gone by he returned to his brother. And while he was knocking on the door, his brother called out before opening, and asked: Who are you? He replied: I am John. Then his brother answered and said: John has become an angel and is no longer among men. But John kept knocking and said : It is I. Still the brother did not open, but kept him waiting. Finally, opening the door, he said: If you are a man, you are going to have to start working again in order to live. But if you are an angel, why do you want to come into a cell? So John did penance and said: Forgive me, brother, for I have sinned.


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UPDATE
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Curious and deep nuggets of wisdom and devotion about and from some early Christians who actually tried to live according to the ideas of Jesus.

Wonderful!

[Murtaza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book of sayings from a set of monks living in ancient Egypt and Palestine, selected by the American theologian Thomas Merton. The sayings remind me of stories Muslims tell about particularly virtuous sheikhs and imams: how they might go out of their way to cover the faults of another or forego material goods in order to benefit others and show love for God. The monks in this book spent lifetimes in worship, contemplation and fellowship. There were many sayings that I clipped to save for later. These men lived in pre-Islamic times and it is obvious to me from reading their stories and teachings why early Muslims, including the Prophet himself (pbuh) spoke so well of Christian monks and their goodness and piety. They were hanifs, righteous people who followed another path. I highly recommend this book.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

CXLVII:
"Abbot Hyperichus said: A monk who cannot hold his tongue when he is angry will not be able to control the passion of lust either."

Thomas Merton has condensed the succinct shrewdness of the hermits of the desert into several powerful paragraphs, each separate and not connected. The effect manages to be bracing and soothing at the same time, unlike the writings of some, which serve mostly to chafe and guilt. While penitence has an undeniably central role in living the Gospel, the feeling of guilt is something unhealthy that racks apart the body and mind, shortens our lives, and limits what we are able to do.

I was having a sick day when I read the following paragraph a couple weeks ago, and it is honestly one of the most encouraging things I have read in a long time. I can accept my pain, when it comes, as God's gift, and not feel guilty that I am not doing what another is able to do.

XLVII

"If there are three monks living together, of whom one remains silent in prayer at all times, and another is ailing and gives thanks for it, and the third waits on them both with sincere good will, these three are equal, as if they were performing the same work."

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Christian counterpart to Zen koans and parables and delightful collection of spiritual tales, wit and insight.

One of my favorites is by Abbot Pastor: "Any trial whatever that comes to you can be conquered by silence."

Or this one, also by Abbot Pastor: "Get away from any man who always argues every time he talks."

And yet another involving Abbot Pastor: A Brother came to Abbot Pastor and said: "Many distracting thoughts come into my mind, and I am in danger because of them. then the elder thrust him out into the open air and said: Open up the garments about your chest and catch the wind in them. But he replied: This I cannot do. so the elder said to him: If you cannot catch the wind, neither can you prevent distracting thoughts from coming into your head. Your job is to say No to them."

[Aaron Stokes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant and succinct curation of Merton's favorite Sayings. The great value of the book, however, was the brief introduction provided by Merton in which he elaborates on the motivation of the hermits and their lifestyle. It almost acts as an apology for the monks (which is much needed in our current skeptical age). Merton writes that the hermits -- who have left a "strange reputation" -- fled to the desert in search of salvation. This is underscored by the belief that "Society . . . was regarded by them as a shipwreck from which each single individual man had to swim for his life" (paradoxically, this shipwrecked society had recently become Christian).

The Empire from which these monks escaped was much like our present one: obsessed with the imposition of will and desire upon one another. The Desert Fathers were unconcerned with imposing any sort of spiritual will upon another human or having one imposed upon them. To that end, they sought the freedom to pursue God individually in the wilderness. Their example is especially timely in an age of hollow, popularized Christianity. The ship has run aground again and perhaps the only place in which to find the Divine (both within and without) is the wilderness. As one of the Abbots said: "The reason why we do not get anywhere is that we do not know our limits, and we are not patient in carrying on the work we have begun. But without any labor at all we want to gain possession of virtue."

[Josh Issa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read this book and wow it’s so good. The desert fathers were clearly marked by their deep humility.

Saying XLIII: An Elder said: Do not judge a fornicator if you are chaste, for if you do, you too are violating the law as much as he is. For He who said thou shalt not fornicate also said thou shalt not judge.

Saying LXXXII: Abbot Pastor said: A man must breathe humility and the fear of God just as ceaselessly as he inhales and exhales the air.

Saying LXXXIII: Abbot Alonius said: Humility is the land where God wants us to go and offer sacrifice.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite spiritual books of all time. Amazing, and fun, insights into the human spirit and the task of discipleship.

[Benjamin Lawrence Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully compact book I was able read on a plane flight. One that will stay by my bedside for many years to come.

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute classic

[Bobby Chastain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began this book as an observance for Lent this year. My goal was to read a quote per day (allowing chance to permit me to miss a day) and meditate on the meaning of the quote. I haven't finished it because it would probably take two Lenten seasons to get through it at that point. However, I think I will continue at the established pace. I walked away from this book realizing how difficult it can be to be truly "not of this world." However, as with all writings by/compiled by Thomas Merton, I find answers as to why I often feel so disconnected with society. Most notable practical lesson to learn from this book: Thank God for your suffering, your temptation, your weakness. Without these things, we are the rich man (who finds it harder to get to Heaven than fitting a camel through the eye of a needle), because we never feel that burning desire to reach out to God.

[Dick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very readable collection of stories from the earliest stages of the monastic movement in the 4th century. The vignettes are variously clever, profound, ironic, humorous, and radical. Most are sound-bite brief or just a bit longer. None are comfortable for our self-indulgent generation.

A few of these sayings have stuck with me over many years. For example, when I feel that familiar little temptation to bend the truth to burnish my reputation, I'm often haunted by this saying from 'Abbot John', We have thrown down a light burden, which is the reprehending of our selves, and we have chosen instead to bear a heavy burden, by justifying our own selves and condemning others.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reading this, be aware that Merton was not seeking to present an in-depth analysis of the Apothegmata of the Desert Fathers, nor was he trying to gather together a comprehensive body of their words and sayings. Rather, think of this as a pieced-together collection of an old friend's favorite sayings by the wise early Christian monastics of the Egyptian and Palestinian deserts (all preceded by a short but profound introduction wherein said friend showcases their subtly brilliant understanding of the spirituality of said monks).

Wonderful.

[Ryan Milbrath]

A very good professor of mine gave this to me as a gift for working with him on the Tao Te Ching. The short, concise statements of wisdom will appeal to any one seeking spiritual and mental enlightenment. A reader can breeze through these nuggets of wisdom in a single sitting, but I would suggest digesting them slowely over time. I usually read only three a day. The depth of the message depends on the reader, but it's refreshing again to see wisdom coming from some of the oldest documents found on monks.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much wisdom in the desert fathers.

[Peter Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?”

What an interesting collection of wisdoms

[John McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

They were known to early Christians as the "Desert Fathers". Although some came from religious orders where they were known as monks, they assumed the life of hermits living alone, praying the Psalms generally, working, and, of course, living by a strict code of celibacy where even thinking about a woman violated their consciences and perhaps even an oath some of them took.

Thomas Merton--himself a monk at the Cistercian (Trappist) abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, points out that these men--all were men--were not aesthetics, but lived a sparse lifestyle in order to find humility and empathy, and, through all that humility engenders, find a freedom from the world that allows a person to love totally and unconditionally.

Merton has taken a couple hundred anecdotal stories from the Verba Seniora, one of the volumes in the Latin Patrologies and formed this wonderful little book around these pithy anecdotes. I suspect that writing the book may have fulfilled a desire Merton had to research, to write, and to teach, activities he never ceased to do, despite his monasticism, over his short life of 53 years. Merton writing is a 24-page preface says the stories are distinctive because and distinguished by written a beautiful preface "their total lack of literary artifice, their complete and honest simplicity." In this assessment, Merton blasts it out of the park. The relationship of these monks to the world and of each monk to his brother monk is characterized repeatedly by the confusion monks, except the senior monks, displayed in identifying correct behavior, correct thoughts, correct involvement with others, and striving always to fend off the psychological and emotional demons that people are beset with, like revenge or backbiting. One monk described only as the Abbot Pastor told his monks "get away from any man who always argues every time he talks" and again "never despise anybody, never condemn anybody, never speak evil of anyone, and the Lord will give you peace." An elder monk was asked by his brother monk, 'what is humility' whereupon, he responded: "[humility occurs] when you forgive a brother who has injured you before he asks pardon." One of the elders opines,

"If you want to have rest here in this life and also in the next, in every conflict with another,
say: Who am I? And judge no one."

Sound familiar, Pope Francis? Merton relates the story of the monk who boasted to a brother monk that he "was beyond all temptation", and the monk shrewdly told the boasting monk that, since he felt that way, he should pray to God for a few "good battles" in order for his life to continue to be worth something. Ouch, and, that sounds like the cure for complacency, for any aspect of our lives.
What was the point of all this, Merton asks? For one thing, he says, "solitude and labour, poverty and fasting, charity and prayer" enable the "old superficial self to be purged away and [permit] the gradual emergence of the true self." Faith, humility, charity, meekness, discretion, self-denial through prayer allows one to achieve freedom. Forbidden were punishment and revenge since those qualities assumed a superiority of purpose and person that had no place in a life of humility.

My favorite story, though, is one Merton tells about the two old monks who lived together in their cell or cave and had never quarreled. They allowed that in life, men quarreled and so they set out to have a quarrel. They tried and they failed to have a quarrel, so they went back to their mystical lives together.

There are some pearls of wisdom in these few pages, some of which have become my favorites:

"whatever you see your soul to desire according to God, do that thing and you shall keep your heart
safe."

An elder monk told another, "go sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything."

"Never acquire for yourself anything that you might hesitate to give to your brother if he asked you for it . . . If anyone asks, give it to him, and if anyone wants to borrow from you, do not turn him away."

And perhaps, in my view, the best lesson of all: "A man who keeps death before his eyes will at all times overcome his cowardice."

[Esteban · Rating 2 out of 5]

En un ensayo extraordinario titulado Las direcciones del rechazo religioso del mundo, Max Weber contraponía al ascetismo y al misticismo entre sí, y a ambos con las "éticas sociales orgánicas" comprometidas la conservación y la reproducción de la vida social. Es curioso que una religión con una doctrina tan esperpéntica como la del cristianismo haya logrado cumplir ese último rol durante tanto tiempo. Al menos ese es el efecto que me produjo releer esta compilación abreviada de los Apotegmas de los padres del desierto , una miscelánea de la vida cotidiana de unos pocos individuos (místicos en el sentido de Weber) que abandonaron los compromisos mundanos para lanzarse a una lucha desgarradora con (sus propios) demonios en el desierto. Libres de teología, los apotegmas ocasionalmente tienen una gracia y sabiduría que los convierte en un libro interesante para los no creyentes. Muchos de esos episodios están excluídos por el recorte de Merton, que con el fin de hacer más atractiva la vida contemplativa desestima el aspecto agonístico de la vida de los monjes del Scetis. Apotegmas tampoco es un libro tan largo para justificar un ajuste tan brutal, así que al lector o la lectora interesada en estos extremos de la experiencia humana le conviene ir a traducciones completas del original, como la de Benedicta Ward.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fetching description of monastic life followed by casual translations from the Verba Seniorum by one of the great spiritual writers of modern Christianity. My favorite inclusion:
"There were two elders living together in a call, and they had never had so much as one quarrel with one another. One therefore said to the other: Come on, let us have at least one quarrel, like other men. The other said: I don't know how to start a quarrel. The first said: I will take this brick and place it here between us. Then I will say: It is mine. After that, you will say: It is mine. This is what leads to a dispute and a fight. So then they placed the bricks between them, one said: It is mine, and the other replied to the first: I do believe that it is mine. The first one said again: It is not yours, it is mine. So the other answered: Well then, if it is yours, take it! Thus they did not manage after all to get into a quarrel." (CXII; p. 67)

[Ryan Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I become a monk, you’ll know why.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merton’s book is made up of two parts. The first consists of his commentary on the “desert fathers”, those 3rd and 4th century monks who went into the deserts of the middle-east. What were they were trying to accomplish? The second is made up of sayings and stories of these men and women (mostly men) in their own words.

He writes of their motivation for isolating themselves, “These men seem to have thought, as a few modern thinkers like Berdyaev have thought, that there is really no such thing as a ‘Christian state.’” That is to say, that a fully Christian society could never be realized, so the alternative was to withdraw from that flawed society and try to find their true selves, rejecting the false values that lead to a false material self. They didn’t reject any of the dogmatic beliefs of Christianity but tried to live them out in a simplified way.

A life of solitude meant the practice of work, an embrace of poverty, fasting and prayer, and if successful, the superficial, or false, self would be purged away. What would emerge would be the virtues of faith, humility, charity, meekness, discretion, and self-denial, all of which might serve as a definition of “salvation.”

Did their efforts have any lasting effect.? Merton would say they did. He is concerned with their spiritual practices, but in their way, the monks popularized the notion, psychologically accepted today, that people need to go on retreats, vacations, breaks from their ordinary activities in order to revive themselves to examine what is important in their lives. Even short breaks such as meditation practices, employ this idea.

In reading their actual stories and their sayings, in the second part of the book, I was impressed by several things. While they lived alone, these desert fathers were never far from civilizations and had constant interactions with the regular society around them. They reminded me of Henry David Thoreau who similarly preached the values of independence and solitude, but at the same time, he was never more than a short distance from his neighbors.

Their sayings emphasize simplicity and non-judgment, and particularly humility. They’re not asking anyone to emulate them. As one says, “If a man has humility and poverty and judge not another” then he will become holy, a truly good person. In another saying, after a discussion of what a Biblical text means, Abbot Joseph, supposedly a learned man, is asked for his opinion. He simply says, “I know not,” and a comment follows that in his humility he truly knows “the way.” About the parable of Mary and Martha, in which Mary is generally praised for worshiping the Lord, an elder’s practical comment is that without Martha’s work, Mary’s life wouldn’t be possible.

Finally, I noticed the publication of a recent book, THE WANDERING MIND, WHAT MEDIEVAL MONKS TELL US ABOUT DISTRACTION. The monks referred to may be later ones, but the point seems to be that their attempts, like the earlier desert fathers, to find a life without all the extraneous noise and confusion, is still very much a conemporary concern.

[Mack · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystics of any religious tradition are usually the ones that interest me most, but I can't say I found much in here that compelling. Merton's introduction really sets these guys up as particularly insightful into the spiritual plight of man, but, while there are certainly some profound parables or inspired reflections presented here, I felt like this was largely a manual for self-hatred to an extreme degree. Then again, I'm coming at this as an agnostic, so I may not be the best judge of any of this. Christianity's message of self-denial is something I still hold to be so beautiful and even necessary to lead life well. I just felt like this was less about self-denial and mostly about convincing yourself everything you do is wrong. So I felt more sympathy, or even pity, for the desert fathers than inspiration. But again, I feel pretty weird weighing in with my own thoughts about a group of people considered saintly as all get out by so many.

[Mohammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

یک انسان بسیار بسیار منظم را تصور کنید که مقابل شما ایستاده است و به شما نگاه میکند. چهره اش چه حالتی دارد؟ کمی اخم کرده یا خندان و مهربان است؟
حالا یک انسان بسیار بسیار مذهبی را تصور کنید که مقابل شما ایستاده و به شما نگاه میکند. چهره اش چه حالتی دارد؟

فکر میکنم این سوال ها، و جواب هایی که به آن ها میدهیم باید مدتی ما را به خود مشغول کند.

با خواندن این کتاب یاد زمان نوجوانی ام افتادم که داستان فرانسوای آسیسی را خوانده بودم و با لباس پاره در شهر میگشتم. قدیسان و راهب های مسیحی واقعا سبک جذابی دارند. نه میتوانی به راحتی آنها را محکوم به سطحی بودن کنی، نه میتوانی هر چه آنان کردند مو به مو اجرا کنی. اما من هرگز خودم را از چند صفحه مهمان حکمت ایشان بودن محروم نخواهم کرد.

[Jared Kassebaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone drawn to the early church fathers in my adulthood but coming from a Reformed church that practically made the beginning of the Church be rooted in the reformation, not the actual early church, this collection of sayings by the Desert Fathers was refreshing. If I had to sum up all their sayings in a few words, it would be, poverty, humility, and recollection. These words are the central themes of the sayings. Merton's introduction is a beautiful and vital piece to understand and unlock their culture for us.

[Paul Hoehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cenobite Merton’s writings on the eremitic life have been some of the most formative texts for this layperson’s spiritual development. So while the introduction deepened my appreciation for Merton and helped me on my journey of discernment in ways that I could have predicted, the actual sayings were pretty surprising in their variety and sometimes very different tenor from later monastic wisdom.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

unconventional, often bizarre, yet eternally wise & thought provoking. this little book is a gift.