ORIGIN OF MONACHISM*- 



and Plato, and Philo*, and the burning heats and dry 

 jatmofphere, brought forth myflicifm, and myfticifrri 

 fcegat monachifm. 



Multitudes of chriftians likewlfe fled to the defartS' 

 to avoid the perfecutions of the roman emperors, and 

 numbers of them never came back from the defarts.; 

 One of the moft famous of thofe who efcaped the per- 

 secution of Decius was Paul, a native of Thebes, theT 

 $rft chriftian hermit. 



On the breaking out of the chriftian troubles, this 

 noble, rich, and learned youth, fought to hide him- 

 felf in a retired part of the country. But, being in- 

 formed of a defign to difcover his place of retreat to 

 the pagans, he went deeper into the wildernefs among 

 the mountains ; where, after travelling a long way, he 

 came to a great cave, at the foot of one of them, the 

 entrance to which was covered by an overhanging rock. 

 This cave he entered ; and, walking onwards, found a 

 roomy fpace, which had an opening at top, that ad^ 

 mitted the light through the fpreading branches of an 

 aged palm ; in this fubterranean apartment was likewife 

 a limpid fpring, but which flowed not far before it loft 

 itfelf again in the earth. In the fame mountain were 

 feveral other dwellings, and in them various imple- 

 ments for coining, as in the time of Cleopatra the falfe 

 coiners were wont to* make it a place of refuge. 



Here Paul chofe immediately to fix his abode. The 

 palm-tree yielded him raiment: and food, the fou i"ain 

 fuppliecl him with drink. He lived in this place, di- 

 viding his time between prayer and other fpiritual ex- 



* Mofheim, who has fet all this in toe . .-nred light, finds the 

 tyftcje fyflern of royfticifm in Phiio, the jplatomhng jew. 



