In the fourth book of his Ecclesiastical History, after speaking briefly about the Egyptian Fathers, those who wish to know more about them point to a book written by Palladius, and says thus: "Whoever wants to know how they (the fathers of the Egyptian deserts) lived, what they did, what they said for the benefit of those who heard, how the beasts also obeyed them, there is a special book compiled by the monk Palladius, a disciple of Evagrius. In this book, he offered detailed information about them, mentions also about wives who are similar in their lives to those husbands mentioned above."

The Orthodox Church gives its testimony to the importance of this book for its children by the fact that from ancient times it has decreed as a rule at Matins of Great Lent to borrow two readings from among the four prescribed readings from the "Lavsaik" on all days of the Holy Forty Days, except Saturdays and Sundays.

Preface

This book describes the virtuous asceticism and wondrous way of life of the blessed and holy monastic fathers and desert hermits in order to arouse zeal for imitation in men who wish to lead a heavenly life; also described are the memoirs of old wives and God-pleasing mothers, who with courageous zeal undertook the labors of virtuous asceticism, as an example of love for God for women who wish to adorn themselves with the crown of abstinence and purity, – described at the request of one most honorable husband, and in the mind of many knowledgeable, and in the disposition of the quiet, and in the heart of the pious, and generous to those in need, and for the honesty of morals raised to the very top of virtues, preferable to many excellent men, and undoubtedly preserved by the power of the Spirit of God. He entrusted us, or rather, to tell the truth, our minds, slow to contemplate the best, stirred up to emulation and imitation of the ascetic virtues of our venerable and immortal spiritual fathers, who lived in pleasing God and in great exhaustion of the body, – he instructed us, having described the lives of the invincible ascetics, to send this description to him with a depiction of the strict virtues of each of these great men. The lover of this God-pleasing and spiritual desire is the most excellent man Loves, who by the will of God has been appointed the guardian of the God-enlightened and pious kingdom.

However, he described, as if in abbreviation, only the highest deeds and signs of valiant ascetics and great men, and not only famous men who led an excellent life, but also blessed and honest women who asceticized in a lofty life. I was vouchsafed to see the sacred faces of some of them personally, and the heavenly life of others, who had already been accomplished in the field of piety, I learned from the God-bearing ascetics of Christ. For a pious purpose, with great zeal, I walked through many cities and very many villages, as well as caves and all the deserted tabernacles of the monks. And after I myself have seen and described some things, and heard others from the Holy Fathers, having depicted in this book the feats of great men and women who conquered nature through hope in Christ, I send this description to your ears, loving the word of God, the adornment of the best and God-loving men and the glory of the most faithful and God-loving kingdom, sincere and Christ-loving servant of God Loves!

With my characteristic brevity I inscribed the famous name of each of the ascetics of Christ – men and women, then of the many and very great feats of each I spoke only about a few and very briefly, and for most of them I indicated the origin, and the city (domestic), and the place of residence. I have also mentioned those men and women who, having attained to the highest virtue, through arrogance and vanity have fallen into the deepest abyss, to the bottom of hell, and who had been acquired by long and many labors, they lost their ascetic perfections from pride and arrogance in an instant, but by the grace of our Saviour, and by the care of the holy fathers, and by the compassion of spiritual love, they were snatched from the snare of the devil, and through the prayers of the saints they returned to their former ways virtuous life.

Letter Written by Bishop Palladius to the Governor Laus

I praise your desire; You are worthy to begin a letter to you with praise, because when everyone is busy with vain things from which they will not benefit, you collect books and want to learn. Only the God of all things does not need teaching, for He is original and there was no other before Him, and everything else has need of teaching, because it was created and created. The first ranks of angels have the Most High Trinity as their guide, the second are taught from the first, and the third from the second, and so on in order, to the last. The most perfect in knowledge and virtue teach the imperfect in knowledge.

Therefore those who think of themselves as having no need of instructors are afflicted with ignorance, which is the mother of pride, and therefore they do not submit to those who teach them with love. Such people are preceded on the path to perdition for the same illness by demons who have been expelled from their heavenly residence, since they too have rejected their heavenly teachers.

But the subject of teaching should not be words and habits – such teaching is sometimes found even in the worst people – but good qualities of character: carelessness, fearlessness, non-anger and boldness in everything, which makes even words a flame of fire. If it were not so, the Great Teacher would not have said to His disciples: ... learn from me, that I am meek and lowly in heart (Matt. 11:29). Thus, He taught the Apostles not with eloquence, but with a good disposition, and did not grieve anyone except those who hated the teaching and teachers.

Thus, the soul that strives for Christ must either faithfully study what it does not know, or clearly teach others what it has learned. If she does neither, then she hurts with unreason. The beginning of falling away is satiation with instruction and aversion to the teaching, which the soul of the God-loving always hungers for. Farewell and be well, and what is most of all – may God grant you the knowledge of Christ.

About Isidor the Hospitable

First I came to the city of Alexandria, to the second consulship of the great emperor Theodosius (now for his true faith in Christ dwelling with the Angels), and in this city I met a man wondrous in life, adorned with all perfections – in word, and in character, and in knowledge. This was the presbyter Isidore, a pilgrim of the Church of Alexandria. The first years of his youth, they say, he spent in the wilderness in the labors of asceticism. I also saw his cell in Mount Nitria. He was about seventy years old when I came to see him. Having lived another fifteen years, he died in peace.

This holy man did not wear linen clothes until his very death, except for a veil on his head, did not go to the bathhouse, did not touch meat, never ate food until he was full. And yet, by the mercy of God, his body was so full, that all who did not know his life thought that he lived very luxuriously. If I were to tell in detail about each virtue, I would not have enough time to tell it. He was so meek, philanthropic and peace-loving, that his very enemies, whom he had because of his true faith in Christ, respected, one might say, the shadow of this man for his extraordinary kindness. And this holy man had such a great spiritual grace and such a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and an understanding of the Divine dogmas, that even during the meal, in the hours when he ate with the brethren, as usual, his mind became enraptured and secluded him. When he was asked to tell what happened during this rapture, he said: "I wandered in thought, being raptured by such and such contemplation." I myself often saw him cry during meals. To my question about the cause of his tears, he answered: "It is shameful for me, a rational creature, to eat dumb food; I should be in the paradise of sweetness and there be satiated with incorruptible food, according to the authority given to us by Christ."