During the 4th and 5th centuries, thousands of Christian men and women withdrew to the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. In these remote locations, they led lives of rigorous discipline and solitude. Their techniques of prayer, spiritual direction, discipleship and stories have provided inspiration for many Christians to this day. The Wisdom of the Desert is a collection of stories and sayings compiled from the literature of these first Christian monks, and serves as an introduction to the thoughts, lives and doctrines of the early desert Christians. Scriptoria Books has transcribed this edition word for word from the original text. It was then edited, formatted, typeset, and proofread through each revision. Our procedures are not automated. Our editions are not facsimiles and do not contain OCR interpreted text. Our books are carefully created new editions of classic works.