Among the hermits of the Egyptian desert, the austere monk Paphnuce resolves to rescue Thais, the most celebrated actress and courtesan of Alexandria, from sin. His journey takes him into a city of philosophers and pleasure seekers, including a long banquet where Stoics, Epicureans and Christians argue, while his own certainty starts to crack.
An ironic, beautifully written fable of faith and desire that later inspired Massenet’s opera. Download the free EPUB.