The Hermits (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

During the unjust and corrupt world of the Roman Empire, the Reverend Kingsley asserts, certain Christian mystics and ascetics proved that men could live in harmony and brotherhood. He illustrates this point in his 1869 collection of biographical sketches of Saints Paul, Anthony, Basil, Simeon Stylites, Severinus, Malo, Brendan, and others.