Skip to main content

The Sayings of the Holy Desert Fathers

A beautiful collection of sayings, dialogues and stories from early Christian ascetics and mystics of the first few centuries of Christianity--men (and women too) who left "the world" to go out into the desert wilderness in imitation of the life of Jesus Christ.

Not only did these "sayings" have significant influence on Eastern Christianity, on Coptic Christianity and on the Hesychastic movement within the Eastern Church, there is also a tremendous resonance in this work with many ideas and aspects of Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism (see the reading list below with links to book reviews here on this site). It's quite striking. The more I read about religion the more I see commonalities everywhere, all the time.

This is a book to be read a few pages a day, slowly and meditatively. It puts you in a calming place, in a place of a healthy, humble daily routine. The stories and anecdotes deal with universal questions: how to live a good life, how to behave, how to deal with the temptations of the world, how to live a life of quiet virtue and asceticism, how to avoid the traps of attachment, and so on. Some are funny, some are sad, some offer examples of great humility and beauty.

One final aspect of this book that a reader can't help but note is the deep respect that young monks show to their elder monks. And the elder monks usually respond by saying how little respect they deserve compared to the virtues of their elder monks. We stand on the shoulders of giants, whether we're aware of it or not. 

There are a lot of versions of this book, many are available free in the public domain. The Amazon Kindle version I read is available for a nominal price.

I read this book (very) gradually over nearly two years. It became a mentally restful, near-daily habit, and I wouldn't be surprised if I pick it up again in a few more years once "the world" starts to tempt me again. 

Pair with: 

More Posts

Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter

A wonderful, beautiful work. Ask me about it, and I'll start nattering at you about sphex wasps, fugues, isomorphisms and "jumping out of the system." And my voice will trail off and you'll see me get a faraway look in my eyes. It's actually quite difficult to describe what this book is about--at least, impossible to describe in a few short sentences. [1] But there are so many ways to read Godel, Escher, Bach , and such a wide range of ideas and insights one can get out of it, that it becomes a different book for every reader. And let me confess, if you haven't read GEB  yet, I am jealous of you. [A quick  affiliate link to Amazon  for those readers who would like to support my work here: if you purchase your Amazon products via any affiliate link from this site, or from my sister site  Casual Kitchen , I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!] First of all this book can be understood on many levels. You can read it a...
Read more

Marshall McLuhan: The Medium and the Messenger by Philip Marchand [biography]

"Instead of scurrying into a corner and wailing about what media are doing to us, one should charge straight ahead and kick them in the electrodes. They respond beautifully to such resolute treatment and soon become servants rather than masters." Plenty of insights throughout this capably-written biography of Marshall McLuhan. And the book really develops some genuine heft as it documents McLuhan's intellectual "gestation" as he turned away from the predictable life of an English Lit professor and instead began studying modern media. McLuhan would grow into one of the more idiosyncratic and controversial minds of the 20th century. You'd never guess, but McLuhan was revolted by television, and utterly sickened by advertising. But he also believed that careful study of these domains enabled him to understand, and more importantly to resist, their influence. As the author puts it, McLuhan "was one of those men who, without any prompting, find observation o...
Read more

Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

I've now read three of Thomas Friedman's books, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, The World Is Flat, and now, Hot, Flat, and Crowded. And Hot Flat and Crowded is--by far--the weakest book of the three. In fact, a cynic might consider it more of a brand extension than a book--a recycling of The World is Flat to include well-meaning and repetitive chapters on energy policy, the environment and global warming. And despite his earnest and palliative writing tone, Friedman's political message has become shrill, and that shrillness debases many of the potentially intriguing ideas and arguments he makes throughout the book. According to Friedman, everything is the Americans' fault. We're supposed to be leaders of the free world, yet we should only act with the consensus blessing of all the rest of the world's countries. We invaded Iraq, which was wrong. We invaded Afghanistan, which was sort of right, but we're making far too many mistakes there. We don't educat...
Read more