The Church Fathers · c. 375–377
The Life of Paul the First Hermit
Jerome · c. 347–420
What it is
A short and frankly legendary life claiming that an older hermit than Antony had lived unknown in the desert, fed daily by a raven.
Why it lasted
Jerome's opening move in the competition over who invented monasticism, and hugely popular in the medieval West.
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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