The Wisdom of the Desert

The Wisdom of the Desert

Thomas Merton

This book 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 revernce 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.