For For readers of monastic spirituality who want Merton's summary of its principles; general readers will find The Silent Life fuller.
Should I read this?
For the general reader
2 of 5worth a look
For the researcher
3 of 5worth your time
Difficulty
2 of 5moderate
A short statement of the foundations of monastic life, written for the formation of monks.
How it proceeds
Philosophic2 of 5
Scriptural3 of 5
Experiential3 of 5
Sociological2 of 5
Historical2 of 5
Independent intensities, 0–5 — what the work is made of, not how good it is.
A short work (71 pages in the London edition of Burns and Oates, 1957) setting out the principles of monastic spirituality as Merton taught them in the years when he was master of scholastics and then of novices at Gethsemani.
