Customer Reviews

The Desert Fathers

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was my first foray into this world, a wonderful world of humble, faithful and consistent people of God. This is an appealing start for people such as me as each chapter has an illuminating bit of background about the original translators of the individual works. The wisdom and godliness of the individual men and women is an excellent example and challenge for us.

However, the general introduction, as well as some of the chapters' introductory remarks, assume a knowledge of antiquarian works that won't be common, and is often pedantic.

Overall, this book inspired me to learn more about the men and women shown, and I heartily commend this book to those interested in the true beginnings of Christian spirituality, and has much to give.

Sayings of the early Christian monastics and stories of their lives of austerity and prayer in the Egyptian deserts have appeared as "flavoring" in books like Norris' Cloister Walk. This sturdy volume gathers up many of these tales and wisdom teachings in a clean, readable translation that also sports an encellent introduction which frames and contextualizes this ancient part of our Christian heritage. Waddell calls her book "a case book of spiritual direction, ironic and wise" (p 24), and indeed it can encourage and inspire the reader today. The abbess Matrona could be speaking to our modern urges and contradictions when she says, "It is better to have many about thee, and to live the solitary life in thy will, than to be alone, and the desire of thy mind be with the crowd" (page 72). If other stories strike the modern ear more harshly ("The abbot Arsenius said, "It sufficeth a monk if he sleep for one hour: that is, if he be a fighter" [p. 74]), they still provide the modern reader with the traditions and cultures that developed shortly after the Christian gospels were written. These stories also formed the backdrop for the moderation and carefulness of St. Benedict's Rule--still being followed by monastic orders like the Benedictines and Trappists today.

These earliest of monks take Christ's admonition "to sell everything and follow Him" to heart. With deep austerity, and prayer they follow a path utterly dedicated to a spiritual life. Despite their austerity, there are at times a surprising expressions of personality, and even community among the solitaire cells and companionship of the monks. There are stories of hermits with lions as companions, of sustainment of a few herbs or palm leaves, of them helping thieves stealing from them, or selling Gospels to help the poor. However these monks are humble in their faith, and a lesson often repeated in these stories is humility and compassion for temptations that they themselves feel. The temptations of women, and even a monks' expression of Pelagia "the harlots" beauty was surprisingly sensuous. It may seem impossible for us to be isolated like this, but we can quest for solitude as abbot Antony said "Who sits in solitude escapes from three wars: hearing, speaking, seeing"

Intrigued by the listing title with its statement that it comprises "Translations from the Latin" I ordered this book only to find that save for the first selection from St. Jerome (originally written in Latin) all of the selections are indeed translations from the Latin but the Latin translations from which Waddell translates are translations of other authors from the original Greek. The Desert Fathers are much more appropriately presented by Faber & Faber in their series of volumes entitled Philokalia which comes in a three or four volume paperback edition and a one volume abridgement and is translated to English directly from the original Greek. I believe.

Richard Foster (author of The Spirit of Disciplines and other contemporary Christian works) recommends that for every contemporary Christian book you read it is important to read another one more than at least 400 hundred years old. One way to access such older Christian worlds is through the Vintage Spiritual Classics series that makes classical Christian works accessible to believers who often haven't read anything written prior to currently-living Evangelical writers.

This is arguably a good introduction to the thoughts and beliefs of early Christian monastics, both male and female. This is a period all Christians should study since it reflects the origins of most early Christian theology and practice derived from men and women who were sometimes just a generation or two removed from the Apostles. It helps Christians get in touch with their spiritual roots and offset some of the spiritual nonsense that occupies much of the shelf space in most Christian bookstores.

However, I found this relatively thin (221 page) book a disappointment. First, although it's a first edition for this publisher in 1998, it's actually a reproduction of work translated by a woman who died in 1965 at the age of 76, so who knows when it was actually prepared. Then, it's a translation of source documents for the stories and sayings, but they're sometimes less than easy to follow or "pithy" in this format. One really needs to dig for the most compelling and enlightening material. There are a number of more contemporary, extensive and more usefully translated books on the Desert Fathers, a number of which are listed in this book's two-page "Suggestions for Further Reading", virtually all of which post-date by 10-20 years this book itself.

I suggest consulting Orthodox Christian WEB sites and publishers for good summaries, explanations and references for the philosophy, beliefs and practices of the Desert Fathers since the Orthodox denominations are arguably the Desert Fathers' direct descendents in today's world.

Some thirty years ago I received the Benedictine habit in the Abbey of Saint Pierre in Solesmes, France. My Prior at that time was the Reverend Father Dom Lucien Regnault. Anyone interested in the Desert Fathers would do better to go to the Solesmes homesite and search their "librarie" (bookstore) for the works of Dom Regnault which are unsurpassed for scholarship and spiritual orthodoxy. Dom Regnault's several works in this field (or, rather, desert) are beyond compare, and tragically many are now out-of-print. I cherish mine very much.

This present volume comes through the Vintage Spiritual Classics series. Catholic readers should know this as a section of Random House (who first brought us under Bennet Cerf the greatest novel of our time: Ulysses by James Joyce) and while it is a very excellent and popular printing house (along with its colophon) it is not a Catholic Press and bears no ecclesial authority. This is one reason why you find the poor to luke warm reviews presented here. This is not their field of expertise. We can come little closer than the fine work of Dom Regnault.

Of course those in the know realize the Father Basil Pennington is a well respected author and member of the heroic Trappist Monastery in Spencer, Massachusetts. His spiritual works are well known and appreciated as rich soil for meditation. I have met him personally as well, of course as I have also Dom Regnault, although not as constantly as the very humble yet magnificent and valient Dom Regnault. Yet, even so, I find Dom Regnault's works an unlimited and eternal jewel, and have often meditated them through translation into English.

Notice well that Father Pennington does the Preface alone to this book and not the heavy lifting. Also notice the cover represents a community of monks from after the 1400's (when did Trappists wear an old white habit? Or is this the Carthusians, even later? or "white" Benedictines, even? no indication given in the book aside from a general source of religious illustrations). The cover does not display the mighty anchorites out alone in the Egyptian desert who wrote these apophthegmes a thousand years earlier. Enough said. Believe me, I was mistaken when I automatically gave this five stars. Read your Regnault.

I urge you to find his out-of-print works here in the mighty amazon, or anywhere you can. It is very easy to order what is still in print from Solesmes, and they are very good about shipping and payment. They are after all Benedictines of the highest order.

Vintage Spiritual series meanwhile, is not a Catholic house and its work must be viewed as a popularization rather than a sacrament of the Living Word. The reviewer below who noted the probable age when Ms Waddell wrote this is correct. More recent work abounds. Especially, dare I say, Dom Regnault.

The Desert Fathers is an interesting insight into how the Desert Fathers lived their lives and practiced their faith. The preface written by M. Basil Pennington makes an interesting observation that John the Baptist might have been influenced by the Essene/Qumranite community that was in that region of Palestine. John's behavior may seem bizarre to the modern-day reader, but the Essenes were already practicing similar behavior in their desert asceticism, and John was revered as a holy man (Waddell, xxv).
Waddell's translation can be difficult to understand at times, but overall the book is interesting and insightful, and at points bizarre and unsettling. For example, St. Jerome's account of the hermit Antony's encounter with a hippocentaur and a faun/satyrs is extremely peculiar. Jerome even claims that a faun/satyrs was captured alive and brought to Alexandria during the reign of Constantius. The creature was either killed, or just died, and its remains were then preserved in salt (Waddell, 37-38). Furthermore, Jerome states that lions came and dug the grave for the hermit St. Paul (Waddell, 42). These reports are extremely difficult for the modern-day reader to accept as being historically accurate, and the reader is left wondering if this account is meant to be allegory, and not an actual historical account.
However, it is interesting to read how the monks had some competitiveness among themselves, and of Jerome's love of classical works (Waddell, 45-46). There are several accounts of monks being well educated and possessing codices of Scripture. The monk Gelasius had a "codex in parchment worth eighteen solidi" (Waddell, 125-127). The monk Arsenius is described as a "great scholar" of Latin and Greek (Waddell, 122).
Even though there was infighting among some of the monks, it appears that the majority of the Desert Fathers, in their solitary lives, showed great compassion and concern for one another:
If by chance any one is missing in that gathering, straightway they understand that he has been detained by some unevenness of his body and they all go to visit him, not indeed all of them together but at different times, and each carrying with him whatever he may have by him at home that might seem grateful to the sick. (Waddell, 58)

There kindness to each other and those in need is commendable.
Racism seems to have always been with us. Pelagius wrote of the monk Moses "the `long black man' who was converted from among the robbers, and was liable to gibes about his colour" (Waddell 65). This same desert abbott Moses was humble, but so revered that a provincial judge sought to meet with him (Waddell, 99).
The desert monks' lives were lives of fasting, and it appears from the writings that since fasting was such a huge part of their lives they developed a fixation on food. Many of the stories relate to how they often only ate very small portions of food, and frequently that was mere bread and salt. One story relates how an old ailing monk, at the urging of the his fellow monk, ate some cake in hopes of aiding in his recovery, but the cake was accidently spread with linseed oil instead of honey--which likely killed the old monk. The underlying, and untold, moral is that such an indulgence deserved punishment (Waddell, 142).
Woman, too, are a source of temptation for the monks. There are several stories about the monks' struggles with lust. One young monk who refused to be tempted by women went on a journey with his mother, and wrapped his hands in his cloak to prevent from touching his own mother's hands--for fear of lust, "Because the body of a woman is fire. And even from my touching thee, came the memory of other women into my soul" (Waddell 79). There are also some more fanciful accounts of desert monks being tempted by women. In another account, the temptress actually dies and the monk raises her from the dead to live a new chaste life (Waddell 86-87). This same theme is found at the end of the book in the story of The Life of St. Mary the Harlot (Waddell 199-209). However, there are also accounts of pious women who also lived the desert life (Waddell, 131, 138).
The life of the dessert monk was one of denial and sacrifice, but also compassion and love for others. This interesting book gives the reader a glimpse into the lives of this devoted men and women.

I agree with the review of C. Ryan: "One really needs to dig for the most compelling and enlightening material."
It's an okay read, but probably has more to offer the historian looking for tidbits of insight into the day-to-day lives of the desert fathers, than it does the spiritual seeker hoping to find a spiritual snack.

This book is an OK introduction, but otherwise disappointing. There are many other books out there much better. Helen Waddell did translate these writings from the Latin. The problem is that save for the first selection from St. Jerome (originally written in Latin) all of the selections are translations from the Latin but the Latin translations from which Waddell translates are translations of other authors from the original Greek.

Still, if you have not been exposed at all to the thoughts and beliefs of our early Christian monks it may be a good brief introduction. You will get a look into how these early monastic thought and lived their lives. Of course in any translation of the Desert Fathers you will find words of wisdom that you will benefit from.