Customer Reviews

The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks (Penguin Classics)

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

 

 

This 2003 paperback is a good first book on the Desert Fathers. Benedicta Ward's introduction is excellent and her scholarship within the field is well known. This volume is a translation of the Latin text, Verba Seniorum, which arranges the stories and sayings according to topics (Self-Control, Fortitude, Unceasing Prayer, Humility, Charity, etc.) This particular text would make an excellent addition to a home library or a textbook for highschool or college students. A more complete version of these ancient texts can be found in Benedicta Ward's Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Cistercian publications,1975) and The Lives of the Desert Fathers, translated by Norman Russell with a monograph by Benedicta Ward (Cistercian publications, 1981.)

"The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks," translated and with an introduction by Benedicta Ward, not only provides insight into the life and thought of early Christian monasticism, but is a source of inspiriation for anyone who wishes to take seriously the disciplines of the Christian faith today.

As I read through most of these thought-provoking quotes and anecdotes, I was amazed at how much the spiritual struggles of these holy men and women are similar to my own. Granted, these were written about and for the monastic setting in the desert over 1,500 years ago, but it doesn't take much to translate the principles provided here into our secular contemporary lives.

This priceless volume served as my bedtime reading for many months, and it will be in the rotation so that I can return to it again and again.

There are so many treasures here. Below are a few samples:

"Chastity is born of tranquility, and silence, and inner prayer."

"If you are not tempted, you have no hope; if you are not tempted, it is because you are sinning."

"The passions work in four stages: first in the heart, then in the face, third in words, fourth in deeds -- and it is in deeds that it is essential not to render evil for evil. If you purify your heart, passion will not show in your expression, but if it does, take care not to speak about it; if you do speak, cut the conversation short in case you render evil for evil."

Highly recommended reading for anyone seeking spiritual discipline.

This wonderful collection gives an insight into early Christian thought and the part it played in the development of medieval monastic culture. The introduction by Ward is informative, placing the writings in their historical context and outlining the breadth of their influence throughout the middle ages and beyond.

The book is a collection of sayings by Palestinian, Syrian and Egyptian monks and is organised around various themes such as compunction, charity, humility, lust, patience and fortitude. One aphorism by Sisois from the first section in the collection, entitled `Progress in Perfection', establishes a theme that is a constant refrain throughout the volume: `Be despised; put your self-will behind your back; be free of wordly concerns, and you will have peace.'

The section on compunction is possibly the most rich and humane in the collection. It is the `deep piercing' or `compunction' of the soul by grief and love that was central to the faith of the Desert Fathers: `It was said about Arsenius that whenever he was doing manual work he kept a cloth at his chest because of the tears that streamed from his eyes.'

The desert fathers, most likely due to their harsh environment, had a particularly low opinion of the natural world and the human body. Their ideas could consequently be seen as contributing to the anti-ecological strain of Christianity, and the notion that man's spirit is supposedly superior to the rest of creation. Nevertheless, Ward has produced a wonderful translation of the Latin texts that offer unusually rich insights into the secrets of the heart and the psychology of the spiritual life. Its pages are full of wisdom that can still resonate with people in a modern context and, despite their antiquity, assuage some of the anxieties peculiar to our contemporary condition.

An important early Christian compilation-weirdly compelling because of sheer age . The austerity and faith of these early hermits is almost incomprehensible to 21st century minds.I found the book very difficult going primarily because of the alienness of their lives. Their words are stripped naked and primarily focus on asceticism and the barrenness of the life of the world. After a few pages I found I couldn't absorb any more. I read the sayings piecemeal, over a period of time( which is easy to do as they are short paragraphs from various men arranged under subject headings). Their thoughts give me a glimpse of of lives and faith I could not imitate. In fact after reading many of the sections, I found myself returning to the Gospels to refresh in myself the sense of God and especially Jesus' all encompassing love that made me a Christian in the first place. There are many fountains of true water in the stories of the desert fathers but not for the faint of heart.

I can't say enough good things about the selections in this book. Its like the book of Proverbs, in that it is a collection of often pithy (but sometimes paragraph long) sayings that are chalked full of wisdom. However, Benedicta Ward has arranged them topically, which is helpful. Like the biblical Proverbs, trying to read straight through the book would be like drinking from the fire hose. You really have to mull the sayings over, and you'll be glad you did. On occasion the sayings are quite strange and hard to apply, sometimes gross and overly self-deprecating, sometimes funny, but most of the time you feel that there is something deep and insightful to take away for yourself. There are also many stories of interactions between hermits or other community members, sometimes in conflict. The way they treat each other and solve their problems in humility is surely something we can learn much from today. And, if nothing else, the sheer devotion and self-discipline of the pious men and women described will stir your soul and inspire you. I can't recommend it enough.

Of course the sayings of the Desert Fathers are great. I couldn't have enjoyed reading them more and I certainly was edified along the way many times over. My reason for rating this book at 3 stars is the translation itself, with which I was very disappointed, and the introduction of the book, also written by the translator. The introduction of the book entirely ignores all Eastern monasticism; how you can write an introduction on the relevance of the Desert Fathers and skip over Mount Athos I'll never understand. The translator also seems ignorant of the continued monasticism in the Egyptian desert, on Mount Sinai and in many of the same places where the great Desert Fathers lived, such as at St. Anthony's monastic community. The conscious choice of the translator to leave out the title "Abba" or "Father" for the monks (and its equivalent "Amma" or "Mother" for the nuns) seems to me to be disrespectful at least, no matter her justification. I'm sure there's better translations.

You write "In contrast to the formalized and official theology of the "founding fathers" of the Church, they were ordinary Christians who chose to renounce the world and live lives of celibacy, fasting, vigil, prayer, and poverty in direct and simple response to the gospel."

I ask, who do you think the founding fathers where? St. Anthony the Great defended the so called "formalized official theology". Please demonstrate where any of the Desert fathers stood in contracst to any of the Christological or Trinitarian doctrines of the seven ecumenical councils.

As far at the Desert Fathers go they are incredible, they are the bases of Christian Theology as has been taught and is continued to be taught in the Orthodox Church.