“As an approach in spirituality, the apophatic tradition can be traced to yet another source in the fourth century. The monastic experience of early desert dwellers like Evagrius of Pontus gave rise to the discipline of prayer which paralleled the negative way. Living at Nitria in the wilderness west of the Nile, desert silence and simplicity taught him the relinquishment of self that accompanies the renunciation of language.”

Lane, Belden C. The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 64.