The Wisdom of the Desert (New Directions) (Paperback)

by Thomas Merton (Author) "IN the fourth century a. d. the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Arabia and Persia were peopled by a race of men who have left behind..." (more)
Key Phrases: certain brother, certain elder, Abbot Anthony, Abbot Moses, Abbot Agatho (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Wisdom of the Desert was one of Thomas Merton's favorites among his own books—surely because he had hoped to spend his last years as a hermit. The personal tones of the translations, the blend of reverence and humor so characteristic of him, show how deeply Merton identified with the legendary authors of these sayings and parables, the fourth-century Christian Fathers who sought solitude and contemplation in the deserts of the Near East.

The hermits of Screte who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like our own had much in common with the Zen masters of China and Japan, and Father Merton made his selection from them with an eye to the kind of impact produced by the Zen mondo.

About the Author
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion, Merton wrote numerous books on spirituality, including his monumental autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1 pages
• Publisher: New Directions (January 17, 1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811201023
• ISBN-13: 978-0811201025
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,049 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for What it sets out to do, September 6, 2000

By	Jim McKenna (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

As another reviewer notes, Merton's selections are not as comprehensive as Helen Waddell's, and his introduction does not provide nearly as detailed an account of the historical and literary context of the desert fathers' sayings. This is not Merton's purpose. He is trying to give us a sense of the spiritual essence of the fathers, and he does it brilliantly. Although he is not as elegant a writer as Waddell, nor as learned, he has a much deeper intuitive understanding of the fathers' search for God and their love for each other. His selections emphasize the importance of this love and downplay the fanatical asceticism that many people associate with the fathers. Throughout his introduction, he emphasizes that love is far more important in the Christian life than either mysticism or asceticism. Thus, although a sympathetic reader may not learn terribly much about the history of the desert fathers from Merton, she will begin to understand "the wisdom of the desert".

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some choices from the 'Verba Seniorum', October 22, 2006

By	M. A. Ramos (Florida USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Thomas Merton was a Trappist Monk and wrote this book that contains his favorite quotes from 'Verba Seniorum'. He chooses these for himself and his fellow monks in order to make some of the sayings of the Desert Fathers more accessible. He begins this book with a very well written introduction.

Merton wrote this book not as a history of the early Desert Fathers. What he provides are a selection of extracts from their writings that had proved useful for him in his contemplative life. The book is definitely worth reading. A book you will keep by your night stand.

If you are looking for a book that gives you a history of the Desert Fathers and a wide range of their writings, then this is the wrong book for you.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Drop of the Water of Wisdom, June 18, 2000

By	Carol Bonomo (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This small book (81 pages, including a 24 page introduction) is a collection of short sayings and stories out of the early Christian desert tradition predating monasticism. Taken from a classical collection called Verba Seniorium, in Migne's Latin Patrology, Merton selects a somewhat arbitrary group of personal "greatest hits", and adds an essay-introduction on the importance of the Desert Fathers as representing "a discovery of man, at the term of an inner and spiritual journey that is far more crucial and infinitely more important than a journey to the moon" (introduction, page 11).

Thus launched, the sayings spill out in no particular order or chapters, without name or context to read against. As an introduction to the desert tradition, this book may provide a small opening to test interest. Other collections, however, (The Desert Fathers, translated/introduced by H. Waddell; The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, translated/introduced by Benedicta Ward) are better grounded historically, and give a far wider rnage of material than does this personal gathering of favorites. This book sheds little light on either Father Merton or desert fathers.