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The Wisdom Of The Desert
During the 4th and 5th centuries, thousands of Christian men and women withdrew to the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. In these remote locations, they led lives of rigorous discipline and solitude. Their techniques of prayer, spiritual direction, discipleship and stories have provided inspiration for many Christians to this day. The Wisdom of the Desert is a collection of stories and sayings compiled from the literature of these first Christian monks, and serves as an introduction to the thoughts, lives and doctrines of the early desert Christians. Scriptoria Books has transcribed this edition word for word from the original text. It was then edited, formatted, typeset, and proofread through each revision. Our procedures are not automated. Our editions are not facsimiles and do not contain OCR interpreted text. Our books are carefully created new editions of classic works.
- GenresReligion
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1904
About the author
James O. Hannay
8 books3 followersJames Owen Hannay (16 July 1865 - 2 February 1950), Irish clergyman and prolific novelist. His pen name was
George A. Birmingham
He was born in Belfast, ordained in 1889, as a Church of Ireland (Anglican) minister and served as rector of Holy Trinity Church, Westport in County Mayo. His early writings raised the ire of nationalist Catholics, and he withdrew from the Gaelic League in the wake of ongoing protests about the tour of his successful play General John Regan. He became rector of Kildare parish from 1918 to 1920, and after serving as chaplain to the Viceroy, he joined the British ambassadorial team in Budapest in 1922. He returned to officiate at Mells, Somerset from 1924 to 1934, after which he was appointed vicar of Holy Trinity Church in the London suburb of Kensington where he served from 1934 to his death in 1950.
He was born in Belfast, ordained in 1889, as a Church of Ireland (Anglican) minister and served as rector of Holy Trinity Church, Westport in County Mayo. His early writings raised the ire of nationalist Catholics, and he withdrew from the Gaelic League in the wake of ongoing protests about the tour of his successful play General John Regan. He became rector of Kildare parish from 1918 to 1920, and after serving as chaplain to the Viceroy, he joined the British ambassadorial team in Budapest in 1922. He returned to officiate at Mells, Somerset from 1924 to 1934, after which he was appointed vicar of Holy Trinity Church in the London suburb of Kensington where he served from 1934 to his death in 1950.
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April 26, 2020
The lessons of the hermits, abbots, and saints of the Egyptian desert by their words of wisdom and living Christ’s teachings are hard and exacting. The chapters are devoted to such practices as Chapter III “Being Dead to the World,’ Chapter IV “How We Ought to Return Good for Evil,” Chapter V “On Charity for Sinners,” Chapter VI “On Humility,” Chapter VII “On Discretion,” Chapter VIII “On the Necessity for Striving,” Chapter IX “On Fasting,” Chapter X “On Poverty.” They teach their lessons on how to grow in virtue by telling short and simple stories like Christ told His parables.
Chapter X “On Poverty”
“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor . . . and come and follow Me.” (Matt. 19. 21) Monks of St. Anthony’s time renounced all earthly goods absolutely and literally. They trusted “Him who feeds the ravens and clothes the lilies in the field. To save and make provisions for the future was to call down the Lord’s rebuke-‘Oh, ye of little faith.’” The monks gave away all their money and possessions and the renounced the desire for them.
Chapter XI “On Obedience”
“Obedience is the sacrifice of self-will.”
Chapter XII “On Aviding the Praise of Men”
“The desire of being praised--and this is what the hermits meant by vainglory--is natural to every man.” The temptation for it can be subtle. It is not to be confused with pride because the strong have lesser need of praise. Milton’s Satan is not troubled about how others judge him. The hermits wanted to live and die and chose to be unknown.
Chapter XIII “On Anger”
The hermits attribute anger to the self, our closest enemy. There is no possibility of even righteous anger, as it is altogether wrong to be angry with a brother no matter how evil without risking the hell of fire. (Matt. 5. 22) The hermits made a distinction between these stages of anger:
1. Sudden rushing reaction on injustice suffered (heart)
2. Choking down bodily expression of anger (face)
3. Expressing anger in words (tongue)
4. Losing self-control in a physical assault (action)
Hermits recognized also as sinful the occasions of a dark spiritual state, which their life in a cell could create. They called it acedia and the only cure for it was a renewed communion with God, which brought back joy and departure of anger.
Chapter XV “On Evil Thoughts”
Abbot Pastor taught a monk to overcome evil thoughts by his own effort and reject them. Trying to stop them though is like attempting to stop the wind from blowing because the mind works like a millwheel and never stops turning with its flow of thoughts and temptations. The temptations are not sins. They are occasions of being good.
Old evil thoughts will decay with time. Meditation and remembering spiritual thoughts help us in overcoming apathy and inactivity. A soul that frequently meditates on the words of God is purer.
The concluding Chapter XVIII rather appropriately deals with the hour of death. Author tells four death stories. “Is it to be joy or fear?” The author gives us several reflections illustrating startlingly different approaches toward the last hour from some of the wise men we went over in this volume.
“In the hour of death if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” (John 8. 51)
“Shall we be absorbed with regret looking backwards, or rapt in expectation of what is to come? Will joy and fear, regret and hope, all alike yield to an overmastering curiosity about what that other world is like? Will doubt for the last time harass us, or may we look for the extreme beatitude of the satisfaction at length of desire for the Beloved?
Archbishop Theophilus was conscious that he would have lived better had he lived more as one who was about to go.”
Abbot Pammon saw his life as “I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course.”
Abbot Agathon was doubtful and “not sure, even at the last, what God’s pronouncement is to be.”
Death brought “unspeakable rapture” to Saint Sisoës, monk. He sees St. Anthony, prophets and Apostles yet he regrets knowing “he is not good enough to join such company . . . The angels have come to bear away my soul, and I am asking them to grant me yet a little while for penitence.”
Abbot Pammon confessed, “his service of God had been but very imperfect.”
Abbot Agathon “though he knew nothing against himself, yet was not thereby justified . . . I have no confidence now that I am standing in the sight of God. Man judges about what is right and wrong. That is one judgment. God also judges what is right and wrong. His judgment is another and different.”
Archbishop Theophilus spoke at the hour of his death: “Blessed art thou, Arsenius, for thou has always had this hour before thine eyes.”
Chapter X “On Poverty”
“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor . . . and come and follow Me.” (Matt. 19. 21) Monks of St. Anthony’s time renounced all earthly goods absolutely and literally. They trusted “Him who feeds the ravens and clothes the lilies in the field. To save and make provisions for the future was to call down the Lord’s rebuke-‘Oh, ye of little faith.’” The monks gave away all their money and possessions and the renounced the desire for them.
Chapter XI “On Obedience”
“Obedience is the sacrifice of self-will.”
Chapter XII “On Aviding the Praise of Men”
“The desire of being praised--and this is what the hermits meant by vainglory--is natural to every man.” The temptation for it can be subtle. It is not to be confused with pride because the strong have lesser need of praise. Milton’s Satan is not troubled about how others judge him. The hermits wanted to live and die and chose to be unknown.
Chapter XIII “On Anger”
The hermits attribute anger to the self, our closest enemy. There is no possibility of even righteous anger, as it is altogether wrong to be angry with a brother no matter how evil without risking the hell of fire. (Matt. 5. 22) The hermits made a distinction between these stages of anger:
1. Sudden rushing reaction on injustice suffered (heart)
2. Choking down bodily expression of anger (face)
3. Expressing anger in words (tongue)
4. Losing self-control in a physical assault (action)
Hermits recognized also as sinful the occasions of a dark spiritual state, which their life in a cell could create. They called it acedia and the only cure for it was a renewed communion with God, which brought back joy and departure of anger.
Chapter XV “On Evil Thoughts”
Abbot Pastor taught a monk to overcome evil thoughts by his own effort and reject them. Trying to stop them though is like attempting to stop the wind from blowing because the mind works like a millwheel and never stops turning with its flow of thoughts and temptations. The temptations are not sins. They are occasions of being good.
Old evil thoughts will decay with time. Meditation and remembering spiritual thoughts help us in overcoming apathy and inactivity. A soul that frequently meditates on the words of God is purer.
The concluding Chapter XVIII rather appropriately deals with the hour of death. Author tells four death stories. “Is it to be joy or fear?” The author gives us several reflections illustrating startlingly different approaches toward the last hour from some of the wise men we went over in this volume.
“In the hour of death if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” (John 8. 51)
“Shall we be absorbed with regret looking backwards, or rapt in expectation of what is to come? Will joy and fear, regret and hope, all alike yield to an overmastering curiosity about what that other world is like? Will doubt for the last time harass us, or may we look for the extreme beatitude of the satisfaction at length of desire for the Beloved?
Archbishop Theophilus was conscious that he would have lived better had he lived more as one who was about to go.”
Abbot Pammon saw his life as “I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course.”
Abbot Agathon was doubtful and “not sure, even at the last, what God’s pronouncement is to be.”
Death brought “unspeakable rapture” to Saint Sisoës, monk. He sees St. Anthony, prophets and Apostles yet he regrets knowing “he is not good enough to join such company . . . The angels have come to bear away my soul, and I am asking them to grant me yet a little while for penitence.”
Abbot Pammon confessed, “his service of God had been but very imperfect.”
Abbot Agathon “though he knew nothing against himself, yet was not thereby justified . . . I have no confidence now that I am standing in the sight of God. Man judges about what is right and wrong. That is one judgment. God also judges what is right and wrong. His judgment is another and different.”
Archbishop Theophilus spoke at the hour of his death: “Blessed art thou, Arsenius, for thou has always had this hour before thine eyes.”
June 15, 2015
This is one of the earlier books on the desert fathers in English. Decent book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews