In fact, Thomas Merton does not so much introduce the Fathers of the desert; he stands in their midst, one of them.

Father Daniel Berrigan

The Wisdom of the Desert

by Thomas Merton

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 tone 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 Scete who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like our own had much in common with the Zen Master 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.

Paperback(published Jan, 01 1961)

ISBN
9780811201025
Price US
11.95

audiobook

ISBN
9780811229999

Ebook(published Jan, 01 1961)

ISBN
9780811220132
Price US
11.95
Portrait of Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton

20th Century Theological Poet

In fact, Thomas Merton does not so much introduce the Fathers of the desert; he stands in their midst, one of them.

Father Daniel Berrigan