The art of the hermit

spectator.co.uk

27 points·mayiplease··8 comments

Speaking of hermits ... it's a great time to read the excellent book about the "North Pond Hermit" (in Maine, the US state)—The Stranger in the Woods[1].

I learnt about it when I was in Denver, CO, last year at an outstanding independent bookstore, Tattered Cover[2] (don't miss it when you're in Denver; it's a calm, spacious, and a gorgeous bookstore with an equally outstanding selection of books and a passionate staff). One of the staff members urged me to read the book; I'm glad she did!

[1] https://www.michaelfinkel.com/the-stranger-in-the-woods/

[2] https://www.tatteredcover.com/detailed-history-tattered-cove...

I strongly recommend Thomas Merton’s translation and excerpts of Sayings of the Desert Fathers, as well.

“these were men who believed that to let oneself drift along, passively accepting the tenets and values of what they knew as society, was purely and simply a disaster.“

On the note of the Desert Fathers, the "Life of St. Anthony" written by St. Athanasius is one of my favorite books, and is a relatively short and accessible read: http://newadvent.org/fathers/2811.htm or for a facsimile of a print from 1697: https://archive.org/details/TheLifeOfStAntony/page/n5/mode/2...

Here is the painting at the National Gallery website, click on the full-screen button to get rid of the cookie banner.

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/antonello-da-me...

https://archive.md/zGJ7z

Curious how the study seems to be a large piece of furniture.

That freestanding workspace sitting in the middle of an open room evokes a lone cubicle.

"Six weeks on and we are all holy men and women."

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