Ebook: The Desert Fathers

Customer Review from Amazon:

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.


About the book:

By the fourth century A.D., devout Christians -- men and women alike -- had begun to retreat from cities and villages to the deserts of North Africa and Asia Minor, where they sought liberation from their corrupt society and the confining shell of the social self. "The Desert Fathers" is the perfect introduction to the stories and sayings of these heroic pioneers of the contemplative tradition. Selected and translated by Helen Waddell, "The Desert Fathers" opens a window onto early Christianity while presenting us with touching human models of faith, humility, and compassion.