"This book is a record of the virtuous asceticism and marvelous manner of life of those blessed and holy fathers, the monks and anchorites which inhabit the desert, written with a view of stirring to rivalry and imitation those who wish to realize the heavenly mode of life and desire to tread the road which leads to the kingdom of heaven..."

The Lausiac History is a timeless classic of immense value to anyone studying the lives of the great Desert Fathers and Mothers. Embark with Palladius on a journey into the desert and encounter saints like John of Egypt, Moses the Black, Isidora the Fool-for-Christ, and Macarius the Great.

Palladius (363-431) was a monk and bishop from Galatia. He first went to Egypt in ~388, beginning his sojourn there in Alexandria before moving into the desert and meeting some of the figures he portrays in this book. The Lausiac History, written in 420, is primarily a series of portraits, sketches of holy (and not-so-holy) men and women Palladius both personally encountered and only heard tell of.

Before Dom Cuthbert Butler, the Benedictine abbot and historian, rescued this edifying book from an immensely complex, tangled network of manuscript traditions, parts of Palladius' work found their way into compilations like St. Makarios of Corinth's famous Evergetinos, a staple of Orthodox monastic refectories.

This edition of the Lausiac History contains:

• An introduction written by the editors of Publican Press.
• High-quality, scholarly notes.
• A dignified translation from the Greek, slightly revised by Publican Press for the sake of clarity and accessibility.

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