The first Latin translation of a collection of monks' stories is published here in a text-critical edition. They were originally written in Greek by bishop Palladius ca. 420 CE, who was commissioned by Lausus, a high official at the court of Constantinople under Emperor Theodosius II. The Latin form of the text of the first edition, which is presented with an introduction, is the basis of the version edited by H. Rosweyde as an appendix to the Vitae Pa-trum (printed in Migne, PL 74, 243-342).

It has a text-critical apparatus, an apparatus of biblical passages and similies, as well as several indexes.